The general idea is that Laura is able to "add up" the cost of groceries. When we do this, we calculate of course! None of the other options are close to this meaning. The word "producing" is probably the only tempting wrong answer. "Calculating" is much closer to the idea of "adding up," so that is the best option.

This sentence is contrasting two states of affairs. On the one hand, some people are able to think up things that are new and excellent, but these same people cannot express these ideas to others. That is, they cannot "communicate" the ideas.

Do not assume anything more than the sentence justifies. Apparently these fifteen people work for Francine. While it does not seem that she pays them a lot, the sentence says that she pays them a fair wage. Therefore, the best option is the simplest one for this question.  She "employs" them.

Clearly, this sentence is talking about eating the food. Therefore, the word "consume" is by far the best option. Do not be tempted by the option "took." Yes, the young man did "take in" the food by eating it. The most proper way of speaking is "consumed," which describes the action of "taking in" food.

The sentence contrasts the fact of the matter with the boys' action. Although he actually did the deed, he did not want to admit that he did it. Therefore, the young boy "denied" his guilt.  This is the only option that expresses how someone would not admit his or her guilt.

Since George has already received his report card, he cannot really improve his poor grade. Therefore, he must want to change the grade on the physical card itself. This means that he wants to put a false grade on the report card. The verb "falsify" indicates this kind of action. If you think of the literal meaning of the word, it means, "To make false"!

From what we can tell in this sentence, Pamela seems to desire greatly that her husband return home. None of the other answers really make much sense in this regard. The only one that does make sense is "longed." The word "long" can be used as a verb meaning, "To desire greatly." For example, you could say, "After thirty straight days of loud construction, I longed for a quiet morning on my street."

Notice carefully that the sentence says that the worker was afraid that the boss wouldn't believe his reasons for doing the action. This means that he tried to give the boss a reason—that is, he tried to explain his reasoning for burning the building. This answer is better than some trick answers like "deliver", "recall", and "remember." None of these options have the sense of explaining the reasons in addition to merely telling some facts. Hence, "explain" is by far the best option.

Notice that the boy wants the bird to eat the cherry out of his hand. Therefore, he is not going to toss it above his head nor throw it. Instead, he is just going to lift it above his head. The word "elevate" describes this kind of lifting. The "elevation" of a mountain is its height. The verb "to elevate" means "to lift upward." 

The general idea of this sentence is that the road didn't get better after the work was done. It seems to have remained just as bad—quickly returning to its former state with potholes causing problems. Therefore, the best option is the simple word "improve." The work didn't help to make the road better—that is, it didn't help to improve its condition.