To be "palatial" means to resemble a palace, often in size. The Taj Mahal only resembles a palace, and is in fact a "mausoleum," or a building that houses tombs.

The structure of the sentence indicates that the first word is a noun and the second word is an adjective that describes Napoleon’s nature. Moreover, the second word is “confirm[ing]” or supporting the first one. A "promulgation" is an announcement, and Napoleon’s claim that he will take over all of Europe would confirm his "headstrong" or stubborn and willful nature.

The phrase "formal structure" is a clue to the first word. "Pedantic" is the correct option, meaning overly concerned with formal rules and details. As the scientists benefitted from this, they performed their work well—so "alacrity," meaning liveliness or eagerness, works here.

The second part of the sentence describes the word that should fit in the first blank. “Canard” could fit the “rumors were lies” description, although this word is usually used in a derogatory manner; moreover, “jaded” does not fit in the second blank. “Falsehood” could work, except “tantamount,” meaning equivalent, does not fit the second blank. “Latent,” in this case meaning previously dormant, fits well for the second blank since Jerry is a high school senior. “Story” and “latent” form the correct answer.

Any of the choices could be used in first blank. It is only when the second blank is considered in conjunction with the first that the wrong choices can be eliminated. “Abeyance,” meaning a temporary halt, and “tawdry,” meaning cheap or tasteless, form the correct answer.

“Wendy became a dissenting voice” gives us insight into the answer choices. Since Wendy is speaking against others, the two blanks must represent contrasting viewpoints. One interesting clue is the word “casting,” which “aspersions” almost invariably follows. “Aspersions,” meaning slander, and “egalitarian,” meaning asserting belief in equality of all people, is the most correct answer.

There are no sentence shifts, so the first and second blanks will be in harmony with one another. “Bacchanalian” might look tempting if the word were derived from Johann Sebastian Bach, but it actually means a drunken festivity. One of the definitions of “involved” is complicated, and an “amalgam” is a mixture of things. Together, these form the correct answer.

The second blank is defined by the sentence as “always questioning everything she said and arguing at every opportunity.” From the answer choices, “skeptic,” “freethinker,” and, to a lesser extent, “bigot” and “anarchist” could all plausibly fit. Since the boy “transformed,” we can assume the first blank is opposite to the second. “Ingenuous,” meaning to be naive and innocent, is paired with “skeptic.” These form the best answer.

By filling these two blanks naturally, you likely will say that Joan was careful, giving her a reputation for being an excellent employee. Luckily, the word "reputation" is one of the options given among the answers. You could become confused by "renowned" and even "statured." What is key, then, is to consider the options provided for the first blank. "Lauded" is not appropriate, as it means praised. Certainly, Joan was praised by her fellow employees (as the sentence implies). That is not, however, the focus of the first blank. While we might wish to call her "obsessive," this is not quite fair, given the tone of the sentence. Therefore, the word "punctilious" is the best option, for it indicates the character trait of being very careful about details.

Stay as close as possible to the clues that are offered. All that we are told of Regina's life is that it was in the rural farmlands of Pennsylvania. As no other judgments or indications are made regarding her life in these farmlands, all that we can say is that the poetry must have inherited something of the character of her rural homeland. The word "roots" is fine for indicating this general idea of homelands. For the character of the poetry, the only word that works well is "georgic." The word comes from the Greek for "farmer," though it is often known from the Latin poetry by Virgil named the Georgics. The poetry dealt with rural life, though not necessarily without all of the drama involved in that form of social existence.