An "oasis" is a fertile spot in the middle of a desert that usually contains water, so it is what explorers would hope to find if they needed water in a desert.

Incorrect answers:

"Exhibit" means a public showing, such as an exhibit at a museum.

"Avalanche" means a slide of a large mass, such as snow or rocks, down a the side of a mountain, as in the sentence, "The skier triggered an avalanche when he knocked a large chunk off ice off the top of the mountain."

"Underpass" means a passage beneath something, as in the sentence, "The highway is too dangerous to cross, so engineers dug an underpass underneath it for pedestrians." In the context of this sentence, the explorers could try to look for an underpass, but it would not help them find water. The key words in the sentence are that the explorers are "thirsty and in search of water," so the answer should have something to do with water.

We can infer that because the “strange consistency” of mushrooms “can ruin a dish for [Francine],” we need to pick out a noun for the blank that means something like “consistency” and can be described by the adjective “spongy” and still make sense. While “flavor” might look like a potentially correct answer, it would not make sense in the sentence, which tells us that “Francine enjoys foods which feature the flavor of mushrooms.” So, “flavor” cannot be the correct answer. “Texture,” however, is a noun that means “the feel of a substance,” and because “texture” best fits the context of the sentence, “texture” is the correct answer.

For this sentence’s blank, we need to pick out a word that means something like “feathers,” because we know that “one bird can display red, blue, yellow, pink, and green feathers.” “Fur” might look like a potentially correct answer, but since birds don’t have fur, it wouldn’t make sense in the sentence’s context and cannot be the correct answer. “Plumage,” however, is a noun that means “all of a bird’s feathers,” and because “plumage” best fits the sentence’s context, “plumage” is the correct answer.

The author tells us that he enjoys a certain part of going to the cinema so much that he often leaves before the movie even starts. This tells us he must enjoy something that comes before the movie. The correct answer is therefore “previews.” The prefix "pre-" means coming before. To provide further help, a “review” is a comment about the quality of something after experiencing it; the “epilogue” is the part of the story that comes after the main story; the “prologue” is the part of the story that comes before the main story; “preface” means introduction.

In this sentence, the best word to fit in the blank would describe what happens after the police catches the criminal. The answer choice that makes the most sense is "in custody," which means in a state of being held by the police and prevented from leaving a certain place due to criminal charges. None of the other answer choices make sense in the blank: "in jeopardy" means in danger; "in poverty" means very poor; "in motion" means moving; and "controversy" means public argument or large-scale disagreement about an issue.

"Composure" is calmness and self-control of personal emotions. In the context of this sentence, a person who was upset would want to calm herself before talking to a teacher. 

The sentence tells us that Bell is widely perceived to be the inventor of the telephone, but some believe that his idea may not have been original. The best answer choice is "controversy," which is an argument among people who strongly disagree with one another.

The sentence tells readers that the children "left the house in a state of disaster," so we can tell that we need to pick out a noun for the blank that means something like "a disaster." "Havoc" is a noun that means destruction or damage and it is the correct answer because it best fits the sentence's context. None of the answer choices make sense in the blank: "orderliness" means organization; "forgetfulness" means the tendency to be unable to remember things; and "plenitude" means a large amount of.

Since people became homeless as a result of the hurricane, the answer choice that makes the most sense would be negative and show that something bad happened. The answer choice that makes the most sense is "catastrophe," which means something that causes misfortune or a disaster. None of the other answer choices make sense in the blank: "abode" means home; "hoax" means practical joke in which something false is made to seem true; "fate" means destiny or kismet; and "secret" means a piece of information that one purposely does not tell others.

The word in the blank needs to describe that the car accident left two people dead. The answer choice that makes the most sense is "fatalities," which can mean people who were killed due to some specified event. None of the other answer choices make sense in the blank: "hoaxes" is are practical jokes that convince people that something false is true; a "ferries" are boats that carry people or items across a body of water; "incentives" are reasons for doing something; and "omens" are signs that something is going to happen.