"Taciturn" works because it described a person who does speak much--and, we're told here that the monk speaks once a month. "Experienced" is harder to get, but given the extremity of the taciturn monk's practice, it should be surprising that even experienced monks would be impressed by him, a sentiment expressed in the sentence above.

While "quiet" may ostensibly work to describe the monk, "blue" doesn't makes sense in describing the monks who were impressed by the non-speaking monk. 

"Youthful" doesn't work to describe the monk who doesn't talk, as no indications have been given about his age, making the entire answer choice incorrect.

"Doubtful" doesn't work to describe the monk, as no indications have been given about his believability, making the entire answer choice incorrect. 

"Grieving" doesn't work to describe the monk, as no indications have been made that the monk has lost a loved one, making the entire answer choice incorrect.

"Hungry," meaning to desire food, works here because we know the guitar tuner hasn't eaten all day. "Unhealthy," meaning bad for one's well being, works because we are told the Chinese restaurant has thousands of calories in every meal.

"Trusting" doesn't work because no indications have been made about the tuner's propensity to trust, invalidating the answer.

"Beckoning," meaning making a gesture to come nearer, doesn't work because no indications have been made to suggest the tuner is doing such, invalidating the answer. 

"Tripping," meaning to be falling, doesn't work as the guitar tuner has not been portrayed as doing such, invalidating the answer.

"Crashing" doesn't work, as the guitar tuner has not been portray as colliding with any objects, invalidating this answer.

"Broken," meaning damaged and in pieces, describes the state of the doll, which we know is in pieces due to the following clause. "Frenzy" works because it describes a state of panic which we could imagine a little girl to be in after just receiving a doll. 

"Tizzy" is a noun, and the empty slot should almost certainly be an adjective, invalidating the answer.

"Harmful" doesn't work, as there is no indication that the doll is doing any harm, invalidating the answer.

"Creative" doesn't work, as no indications have been made about the level of creativeness the doll possesses or represents, invalidating the answer.

"Fleeting," meaning existing briefly, could work to describe the doll; however, "free-fall" doesn't work to describe the reaction of the girl after seeing the doll, invalidating the answer. 

"Irate" makes sense because it describes the anger of the school teacher. "Surly" also makes sense because it also describes the naturally angry principal who reacted negatively to the teacher.

The other answers you can rule out given their meanings:

"Ebullient" means cheerful and full of energy, which doesn't match the description of the school teacher as angry. "Harsh" may work, but "helping" certainly doesn't describe a principal who responded just as angrily. "Noble," meaning aristocratic, doesn't fit in with the context of anger here. "Sanguine," meaning optimistic, certainly doesn't fit with the anger of the teacher.

"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.