For any sentence with a contrast like this one, you need to stay as close as possible to the direct meaning of the sentence. The first part of the sentence talks about the inside of the house and its "cleanness" (or tidiness). The contrast is with something that is untidy. All we are given to help us determine the opposite word is "inside." Therefore, the sentence must be contrasting the inside to the outside—not to the garage, nor even (if it were an option) to the lawn. It is to the "exterior," which means related to or visible on the outside of something.

"Palatable" means acceptable to the taste. The todler found the baked chicken inedible (unacceptable to the taste). The wrong answers are antonyms of "palatable," and while they may initially look correct, the "not" in the sentence tells us that we need to pick out a word that means "tasting good" or at least "acceptable to the taste," not "tasting bad."

Since the researcher disagrees with the skepticism of the scientists, she would be "optimistic" - hopeful and confident - about her experiments. None of the other answer choices make sense in the sentence's context: "indifferent" means apathetic, "doubtful" means skeptical, "expressive" means expressing emotion, and "poor" means lacking money.

In order to appear to have disappared, the rabbit must be hidden from sight under the table. The correct answer is "concealed," which is a synonym of "hidden." None of the other answer choices make sense in the sentence's context: "discovered," when used as an adjective, is an antonym of "concealed" and means revealed or exposed; "compiled" means put together; "drenched" means soaked; and "visible" is another antonym of "concealed," and means able to be seen.

Since George is pretending that he is able to perform calculations, we can assume that he must not actually be able to do such calculations. This is implied both by the fact that he is pretending as well as the use of "instead," which likewise indicates that there is a contrast occurring. In contrast to being able to do something, someone can be called "incompetent." This means that someone lacks a given "competency," or an ability or skill. This is the only option that expresses such a lack of ability.

This sentence is very direct regarding the contrast that it expresses. The word "superficial" means surface level or not complete or thorough. Already, you can see that the best contrast will be "thorough." Still, consider the wrong answers. "Cursory" means means not detailed—it is basically a synonym of "superficial." "Passing" likewise is a relative synonym of "superficial." While "scholarly" might appear to be detailed, this really expresses something else, namely the fact that something is being written for a specific type of audience (i.e. an academic audience). There can be superficial "scholarly" works. Finally, we do not know whether or not the review was "supportive," merely that it was not a superficial review. (Perhaps it was a thorough critique!)

The word "still" can be used to mean "nevertheless." In this sentence, this means that, in spite of the fact that the prediction had an improbable premise, it was still not completely improbable. The implication is that while improbable, it was still possible (not completely ruled out by the improbability that was mentioned). Without a doubt, it would not be fair to say that it was "certain."  The improbability mentioned above needs to be recognized. Likewise, the use of "still" indicates that it is not completely out of the question either.

Because "the rock contains minerals not found on Earth," it is likely that it comes from space. This means that it must be “extraterrestrial” in origin, where the prefix "extra-" means from beyond and the root word "terrestrial" means having to do with the Earth. (The word "terrestrial" derives from the root "terra," which is Latin for earth.) To provide further help, “volcanic” means having to do with volcanoes or deriving from a volcano; “subterranean” means existing or having to do with underground areas. (It is derived from the prefix "sub-" meaning below and "terra," Latin for earth.) "Sedimentary" refers to a type of rock which is composed of sediment, and "urban" means having to do with cities as opposed to rural areas.

Because of the comparative structure of the sentence, we can tell that we need to pick out a verb that has to do with reading and books, but means the opposite of "flip through." So, "skimmed" cannot be the correct answer because to "skim" a book means "to read (something) quickly or cursorily so as to note only the important points," and that is not what Gary is doing in the sentence, since he is going "slowly." "Peruse," however, is a verb that means either "read (something), typically in a thorough or careful way" or "examine carefully or at length," and because it best describes Gary's actions in the sentence, "peruse" is the correct answer.

This sentence is based upon a contrast that is implied by the conjunction "though." A "remote possibility" is a "distant" or unlikely possibility. In contrast to such unlikeliness, Samantha actually had good reasons to believe that Ronald actually would take her to the dance; therefore, it is fair to say that she had good reasons to think it to be probable, meaning it was likely.