Since we know next to nothing about Amanda's brother, each of the answer choices theoretically could be true. We don't know his age, so he could be "elder," or older than she is. He could be "altruistic," or unselfish and prone to giving to others, or he could be "empathetic," or understanding of the emotions of people around him. We are looking for the most likely choice, however, and the only information we have about Amanda is that she is not close with her brother, and that this differs from her relationship with the rest of her family. This makes "estranged" the only relevant choice. This word refers to the act of being separated and distant from a person or group that was once close, generally referring to family.

The information after the semi-colon suggests that the author’s family celebrates together twice a year. Something that occurs twice a year can be said to happen “biannually.” To provide further help, “annually” means occurring once every year; “centennially” means occurring once every one hundred years; “suspiciously” means doubtfully or distrustfully; “furtively” means secretively.

The information after the semi-colon tells us that the word we are looking for means harmless. The correct answer is therefore “benign.” The prefixes ben- and mal­- are opposites of one another. When you see a word that begins with ben- you can assume it means helpful or good, and when you see a word that begins with mal- you can assume it means hurtful or bad. To provide clarification, “benevolent” means good-natured; “malevolent” means having a wicked nature; “malpractice” is bad practice; “benediction” is blessing from someone holy.

The author of this sentence tells us that the subject was lost in his thoughts and not paying attention to the world around him. This means he was “oblivious.” To provide further help, “considerate” means thoughtful about the feelings of others; “demanding” means tough, exacting; “nonsensical” means ridiculous or irrational; “intimidating” means scary. 

The context of the sentence suggests that the blank word must relate to the quality in some men that makes them call enthusiastically for warfare. We call people like this “bellicose.” To provide further help, “sequential” means occurring in order; “harmonious” means peaceful and agreeable; “menial” means not challenging, unskilled; “pacifying” means calming or soothing.

We are told that Sarah is "determined to win [her parents] over" and convince them to let her go on the field trip, and that she "kept bringing the topic up at every opportunity," so the answer choice that best fits the blank is "resolute," which means determined, unfaltering, or persistent. As for the other answer choices, none are justified by the sentence's context clues as the best choice for the blank: "sincere" means genuine; "gallant" means proper and heroic; "ruthless" means merciless; and "superficial" means having to do with surface appearances or only concerned with surface appearances.

Since the state park map used "unlabeled symbols" and displayed "paths that were easy to mix up with one another," we can infer that we need to pick out an adjective for the blank that means something like "confusing." The best answer choice is thus "baffling," which means confusing or bewildering. None of the other answer choices make sense in the blank: "tedious" means boring due to repetition; "concise" means short and is used to refer to written works; effortless means done without effort or done in such an impressive way as to make it appear as no effort was needed; and "deceiving" means conveying information that is false as if it were true.

Since Jessica needs another metric for differentiating between the two colleges, this indicates their financial aid packages were about the same, or "comparable," a word that means able to be compared or similar. None of the other answer choices are justified by the sentence's context clues:  "invariable" means never changing; "miscellaneous" means varied; "precise" means accurate; and "prearranged" means arranged prior to an event.

Since the child's happiness spread, it means that it was "contagious." "Contagious" means spreading easily from person to person and is usually used to describe diseases, but can also be used to describe other things. As for the other answer choices, "unwavering" means resolute or having no variation, "genuine" means truthful, "faithful" means loyal, and "surreptitious" means secretive or covert.

The blank should be filled in with a word that means the opposite of "active." "Passive" means the opposite of active because they are antonyms. "Active" means engaged or participating in something, while "passive" means unengaged or merely observing something instead of participating in it. "Inert" means not in motion. Given the context of the sentence, which describes learning techniques, that answer choice is not correct."Ineffective" is an opposite of "effective," but not the opposite of "active," so that is not the right answer choice. Plus, if learning techniques were known to be ineffective, studies wouldn't be needed to prove that they are ineffective. "Boring" is also not an opposite of "active."