You are told that the team was expected to lose. An "underdog" is a team or individual expected to lose in a competition, not the favorite. To provide further help, "porous" means full of holes, easily penetrated; "miserly" and "stingy" both mean not generous with money; "celestial" means divine, heavenly. 

The subjects of this sentence spent a very long time looking for the solution to a problem. Based on the degree of intensity put into the search it makes sense that they would be looking for the best possible, ideal solution to the problem, so the correct answer is "optimal." To provide further help, "lethal" means deadly; "hushed" means made quiet; "succinct" means brief, expressed accurately in as little words as possible; "laconic" means brief, quick.

If the wheels needed to be replaced it makes sense that they would be broken, not working properly. The correct answer then is "faulty" because this word means not working properly. To provide further help, "puny" means small and weak; "momentous" means very large or very important; "hideous" means ugly, repulsive; "delicious" means tasty.

If you could not hear what someone was saying you would have to rely on the tone of their voice in order to understand how they feel. So the correct answer is "inflection" which means tone, stress, rhythm, or a change in the form or expression of a word. To provide further help, "forte" means strong point; "joy" means great happiness; "culprit" means guilty person, person responsible for some crime; a "fanatic" is someone who is filled with excessive passion for some cause.

The boy's actions are described as "malevolent," which means bad-natured and his parents are worried that he refuses to take responsibility for his bad deeds. The correct answer then is "unrepentant," which means unapologetic, refusing to apologize, not feeling remorse for a bad deed. Additionally, "lively" means energetic, full of life; "tame" means docile, domesticated, not wild or threatening; "lustrous" means shiny; "abashed" means ashamed, embarrassed. 

The logic of this sentence indicates that we need an antonym for the description of Ronald's behavior and appearance. Since Ronald is sloppy and rude, we can guess that his brother must be orderly and polite. Now, we might think that wealthy or affluent people are always orderly and polite. This is not, however, at all necessarily the case. A rich person can be a rude slob as well. A very good description of someone who "follows all the rules" (esp. those of society and "good manners") is the word "formal." Likely, you have heard of "formal clothes." Whenever you need to be dressed for an important occasion, you have clothes that have a kind of dignity and "good manners" so as to match the etiquette of the situation.

When you first read this sentence, you might think that Gino must not be very intelligent. We really are not told if he is intelligent or not. What we do know is that he does not come up with new ideas. Whenever someone is "inventive," he or she is able to think creatively and come up with new ideas and insights. Clearly, you can see the relationship between this word and "invention." Someone who is inventive very likely makes many new inventions—maybe not new technological gadgets, but something that is new.

This sentence is very simple in structure and poses an opposition for you to consider. On the one hand, Theodore was very outgoing when he was young. The key word "although" indicates, however, that he has changed. He had this outgoing character only when he was young. In contrast to being outgoing, the word "introverted" is an excellent antonym. This word literally means turned inward. An introverted person does not share himself or herself with others, at least not readily.

Notice the contrast implied in this sentence. James's friends notice that he is generally very aware of his surroundings. It seems that he doesn't notice sounds at all. Now, the word "enamored" is not good, for this means to be in love with. The word "intrigued" means "interested in," which is not a good fit either. The other two options are not good matches, obviously. Therefore, the word "oblivious" is best. This means "totally unaware"—a perfect match for this question!

For this sentence, it can help to know what is meant by the expression "a handsome profit." Surely, this does not mean that the money looked good—like a handsome man! Instead, the meaning is metaphorical. The money "looks good" insofar as it is a significant amount of money. Thus, Harry used to make a good bit of money at this particular kind of work. The sentence structure indicates that he no longer was able to do so. Whenever something is very profitable, it is "lucrative." Hence, this is the best option among those provided.