“Cadaverous” means something is like a corpse or a “cadaver.” “Mollify” means to calm someone down. It is unlikely that a corpse-like smile would calm down angry customers. “Saccharine” refers to something extremely sweet, so sweet it can be annoying. “Defuse” means to make less dangerous or tense. “Saccharine . . . defuse” is the correct answer.

“Congenial” means agreeable or pleasant. Certainly a check with lots of zeros would make one pleasant, but the expected reaction would be much more than that. “Amiable” means friendly. Once again, it is not enough of a reaction. “Flummoxed” means she was confused or bewildered. “Agog” means highly excited. “Flummoxed . . . agog” is the best answer.

“Eremitic” refers to being like a hermit or a social recluse, so it’s probably not something a neighbor would complain about to teenagers. To “allay” is to calm or put fears to rest. When a party is “rambunctious,” it is loud and wild. Both of these words fit the blanks like a glove. “Allay . . . rambunctious” is the correct response.

“Desecrate” means to defile or mistreat something sacred. This doesn’t work, given the context. “Prevaricate” means to mislead. To “amass” is to gather or collect over time. “Malodorous” is another way of saying that something stinks. “Amassed . . . malodorous” is the correct answer.

The second blank for this sentence is perhaps rather direct—so long as you pay heed to the clues. It seems that the brother has failed in his duties to maintain the family inheritance. Whenever someone holds money for the sake of someone else, he or she holds it "in trust" for those people. That is, he or she holds it on behalf of them. The word "fiduciary" comes from roots that are related to "fidelity." It particularly has to do with managing money on behalf of someone else. It can apply to any such circumstance, not merely to estates. Hence, the older brother failed in his fiduciary duties.

The first blank basically has to express some idea of ignoring these duties. The simple word "disregarded" works well in this regard. Since the brother failed in his duties, it is safe to assume that he disregarded them!

For the first blank, you should look for a synonym for "great mental acuity." That is, the first blank should express this idea of having great mental powers, not merely the fact that such powers might be rare. Hence, the word "prodigious" is an excellent option for this blank, as it expresses this kind of extreme mental ability. When something is "prodigious," it is remarkable but is so because of its great degree or amount.

For the second blank, be careful. The sentence states that the other people did have genuine abilities. It seems, however, that the young programmer looked down on these skills, given his own intelligence. One way of saying this is that he "underrated" them. This could also be expressed by an option that is provided, namely, "trivialize." When something is "trivial," it is unimportant. Whenever we trivialize something, we judge that it is unimportant (and treat it as such).

In order to “enhance” the struggle for the butterfly to leave its cocoon, he would have to intensify the struggle, not cut the insect free. To “ameliorate” is to make a situation more tolerable or better. “Egregious” means that something is really bad and hardly forgivable. He tried to help the butterfly and ruined its chances to fly. “Ameliorate . . . egregious” is the correct answer.

The first important clue here is the word "formerly," suggesting that there will be a shift in meaning contrasted with the word "now." The last part of the sentence tells us that the lake was changed in a negative way. Only "pristine" and "adulterated" fit the meaning of the sentence.

We know that the value of Theo's stocks is dropping ("plummeting") because he's losing thousands of dollars. The fact that he "never lets on the turbulence he feels" indicates that he is "impassive," or stoic.

“Erotic” is related to "sexy” or “arousing”; it might be a bit much, given his simple invitation “to share lunch together.” “Bawdy” and “lewd” refer to inappropriateness related to sexuality, so they are not really the words for which we are searching. “Amorous” refers to love, especially being inclined to love or to expressing it. “Rebuff” is to reject someone rather bluntly. “Amorous . . . rebuffed” is the best answer.