"Parched" works because it describes the act of the girl begging the waiters for water, and the thirst causing her to do so. "Obsequious" works because it describes the excessively servile waiters.

 "Churlish," meaning rude, doesn't work in context here, because the begging little girl has made no indications that she was behaving impolitely. 

"Egomaniacal," meaning having a large ego, doesn't work here, because the little girl has simply asked for food

 "Dark," meaning reflecting little light, doesn't work in context, as no clues have been given about the girls complexion or demeanor.

 "Specious," meaning superficially plausible but ultimately of questionable veracity, doesn't work, as the word is typically not used to describe others. 

"Obdurate," meaning stubborn and unwilling to change, works because it describes the old man who is unwilling to change his ways for anyone. "Flexible," meaning wiling to bend opinion or action, works because it describes the opposite of the old man, as well as the type of people who the daughter has around--people who can adapt and adjust their opinions.

While "crazy" may work to describe the old man, "careful" doesn't work in describing the type of people the daughter seeks to have in her life (those capable of changing their opinions), making the answer choice incorrect.

"Dumpy," meaning short and stout, doesn't work to describe the old man, as no indications have been given about his physical appearance, invalidating the entire answer choice.

"Daunting," meaning intimidating, could obliquely work to describe the old man; however, "daring" doesn't work as an indicator of the types of people the daughter wants around.

"Demonic" could obliquely work to describe the old man, but "suckling," meaning to be unweaned, doesn't work, as no indications have been given to suggest that the daughter wants those types of people around.

"Incredible," meaning extraordinary, describes the album which smashed many records. "Major," meaning big, describes the types of celebrities who are left looking small next to Adoll's success.

"Corny," meaning trite, doesn't work as no indications have been made to suggest that the album is as such, invalidating the answer.

"Healthy" doesn't work, as albums typically don't promote health, invalidating the answer.

"Tacky," meaning poor quality, doesn't work, as the album was indicated to have smashed many records and be a great success, invalidating this answer. 

"Jaunty," meaning expressing cheer, doesn't work, as no indications have been made about the tone of the album, invalidating the answer.

If her expertise were “potent” or “puissant,” then women wouldn’t have rejected him every time. These two words can be eliminated. It is unlikely that her expertise involved teach him how to be “execrable” or “deplorable.” People don’t need instructions on how to be bad at something. “Alluring” means attractive and tempting. “Impotent” means powerless or ineffective. “Alluring . . . impotent” is the correct answer.

“Balmy” weather is mild and relaxing, so it couldn’t possibly cause a flood. If water is described as “tepid,” it means that it is lukewarm. “Torrential” refers to heavy rain. “Alluvial” is used to describe what’s left after running water has died down. “Torrential . . . alluvial” is the correct answer.

“Supercilious” means someone is acting arrogantly and above everyone else. Since the sentence states the author was not that unfriendly, we could reasonably rule out “supercilious.” “Amicable” means friendly, but that doesn’t quite describe the author either. “Aloof” is when someone keeps to themselves. “Taciturn” means quiet and reluctant to join in conversations. “Aloof . . . taciturn” is the best answer.

The general idea of this sentence is that the Summa logicae was a kind of source text for other, later logic texts. (They "owed a great debt" to the work.) Whenever something is called a "seminal" work, it is an important source in this way. Actually, the word "seminal" comes form the Latin word for "seed." Hence, seminal things are like "seeds" that grow into other things that bud forth from them. The Latin word semina has many derivatives in English. "Insemination" is the process of making someone pregnant; it is the process of placing the male "seed" into the female egg. (Granted, the idea of "male seed" is certainly a bit of old-fashioned Aristotelian biology.) Likewise, as "seminary" where Christian clergy are trained actually means seedbed—as though the people being trained are like seeds that will grow into fully mature clergy members. 

As for the second blank, you are just looking for a synonym for "weighty." The word "substantial" is a fine synonym in this way. Think of it as just meaning "it has a lot of substance." This is really all that we can say: the text was no small affair!

The first blank is actually quite easy, so long as you pick up on the correct clues. The story about the tower is not really true. It is a kind of "tall tale." While it does seem that this was an interesting story for the visitors, it is better to express the idea of the tale being based on doubtful information. This is what it means for something to be apocryphal. Since even the monk did not know that his story was false, we can guess that it had arisen from some apocryphal sources. At least among the options provided, this is the best word.

The people were apparently naive in believing the tale. Hence, the word "gullibly" expresses the fact that they so willingly believed the story about the so-called "sauerkraut tower."

"Tawdry", meaning cheap looking, works because it describes the cheap look for the notebook that came from a dollar store. "Frugal" works because it describes the mom who seeks out cheap things.

"Desiccated" works because it describes an environment completely without moisture; "uncomfortable" works because it describes the infant who needed appeasing.