The old man was not just sitting on the porch, empty-headed and doing nothing. He was carefully watching things—observing them with care. He was not necessarily judging his neighbors (at least not yet). All we know is that the sentence is contrasting empty staring to the blank that we have to fill. "Observing" best fits for this—as the old man tries to figure out who stole the lawn decorations.

The key word in this sentence is "sufficient," which helps us understand the contrast being expressed. Although many might want to buy appliances with all the "bells and whistles," it is generally the case that they need one that "works well enough." The best adjective for describing this would be "basic." Words like "cheap" and "worthless" are too negative to match the clue "sufficient."

This sentence works by building from a legitimate amount to one that is extremely large and "over the top." The idea is that it is an almost incomprehensible expense to buy and own a hundred cars. Such an expense could be called "extravagant," meaning having no restraint or limits. The word is actually related to the word "vagrant," meaning a wandering person without work. Something "extra-vagrant" wanders around outside of the borders of being acceptable. It is "over the top."

The detective thinks that his option is the best available. This does not mean that it is the best and only option. It is not completely certain; it is just better than the others. Also, while it might be "interesting," we are not told that. Therefore, the best answer is "probable", which indicates that the option is likely, even if not certain.

The word "document" can be used as a verb to indicate the act of recording information. "Documentation" is the product of such recording. Clearly, the boss wants to have a clear record of any accidents. This means that he would like to see careful documentation of them. While "writing" might be tempting, the sentence is more specifically talking about the kind of writing involved in reporting. Thus, "documentation" is much better than "writing."

There are two facts in this sentence that will help you get the correct answer. The first is the fact that George is intelligent. Therefore, it is not the case that his low grades can be blamed on stupidity or something of that sort. The second hint is that he is said to show "laziness." This seems to indicate that he lacks a work ethic for his school work. This means that he likely is not very "motivated" to work. Therefore, of the options provided, this is the best. It is related to words for "motion." Motivation leads someone to do something—it moves him or her to do it.

The word "mediocre" is often misused as though it means of poor quality. It really means of middle quality, as in not too good. Even if something is not "too good," it is still good. The point is that it doesn't "stick out" as being very, very good. Therefore, if you wish to develop your skills beyond mediocrity, you wish to make them exceptional, very good, or perhaps even perfect. The word "perfect" can be used as a verb meaning to make perfect, fully accomplished, or of highest quality. The most tempting wrong answer is "improve." However, people can improve their skills from being bad to being mediocre. This sentence wants to talk about improving all the way to perfection.

Do not read into a sentence more than is provided by the given words. We are told nothing about how the child was warned about placing his or her hand on the stove. Perhaps the person is warning gently or, perhaps, very loudly and even nastily. What we do know, however, is that the child is placing his or her hand on the stove multiple times. This is hinted at by the words "once again." Therefore, it would seem that the warnings happened many times as well. Among our options this is the only real possibility. Therefore, the best answer is "repeated."

This sentence only discusses the fact of police gathering information in a general sense. It does not tell us whether they gathered it on paper, film, computer, or anything else. We can only tell that they came in order to gather such data. This means that they examined the data, perhaps gathering various kinds of details for their investigation—photographs, written testimony, audio testimony, etc. The most we can say is that they came to "look into" the details, that is, to "examine" them.

This sentence is a case of increasing intensity. The words "not merely . . . but instead" indicate that some people are not just unhappy. They are indeed very unhappy. To be "miserable" is to be extremely unhappy. This is the best choice for expressing a great degree of unhappiness.