The subordinate clause beginning with "though" seems to indicate that the room was not completely clean. The word "though" (or "although") does not indicate a complete contrast. Instead, expresses a qualification on what is said before. Therefore, the room really is clean, even though it might be deficient in some respects. Among the options provided, the word "relatively" indicates that the room was at least partially clean. The other options either imply that it was totally clean or was not clean enough.

Clearly, Laura does make negative judgments about other people and likely misjudges their characters. Still, among the options, "cynical" is the best because it most directly matches the hints provided in the further desription of Laura. She is said to question the motives of others. She always believes that everyone acts out of self-interest. When we believe this about other people, we are said to have a "cynical view" of them.

Since the man is being excluded from polite society, we need an adjective to describe his temperament as being "not polite." Now, some of the options do not describe the mannerisms of "normal" societal members (e.g. "unkempt," "disheveled," and even "quixotic"). However, these have to do either with appearance or with being a dreamer. These are not, properly speaking, opposites of "polite." (Remember, you need to follow the clues provided in the sentence.) The word "savage", though strong, does indicate a temperament that is violent and uncontrolled. Often, it also means that it is uncivilized. These two meanings together make for a good adjective for our sentence.

"Rural" means pertaining to the country. Therefore, "rural inhabitants" are people who live in the country. The sentence implies that many people believe such people to be unable to appreciate city culture. When someone is "civilized," he or she literally is "city-fied." The word comes from the Latin for "city." Civilized people are "cultured" in the sense that they are able to live in the city and appreciate its way of life. The general judgment (expressed in the sentence)—which is not necessarily true, mind you—is that rural people are uncivilized.

The key expression in this sentence is "after much bargaining," which indicates that the parties involved had to interact to come to their agreement. While this might have been the outcome of some legal or juridical proceeding, we cannot be certain of that. However, we can be sure that the parties "negotiated," that is, that they came to an agreement formed by discussion. Such a solution can likewise be designated by the adjective form "negotiated."

The context of the sentence tells us that there was a lot of pre-match excitement that built up but it all amounted to a disappointing conclusion. We call this kind of situation that is less exciting than we anticipated an “anticlimax" and describe it as being "anticlimactic," so "anticlimactic" is the correct answer. To provide further help, "penitent" means repentant, "dramatic" means full of drama and excitement, "foolish" means silly or unintelligent, and "amazing" means astonishing.

The key thing to notice in this sentence is that Thomas' outlook changes unexpectedly. That means that it is difficult to expect what he will or will not do at any particular time. When someone has an "erratic" temperament, he or she acts in a manner that is unpredictable. The word "erratic" comes from root words meaning to "wander" or to "stray." An "error" is something that "strays" from the truth. None of the other options capture the sense of the word "unexpectedly" as does the word "erratic."

Since the cottage is set into the lush forest, this indicates that it is in a rural area or a "rustic," pastoral region. An "urban" setting is a place in the city; "blatant" is loud; and "serene" means calm. These choices are not as fitting as "rustic" or a place in the countryside.

We can tell by the sentence's context that we're looking for an adjective that means something like old. While both "elderly" and "obsolete" mean old, "elderly" refers to people, while "obsolete" specifically means out of date. Because "obsolete" fits the context of the sentence best in referring to technologies that are no longer used, it is the best answer.

Since we know that the snow leopard is rarely seen, we should pick out an answer choice that means something like rarely seen. While "sneaky" may look like the best answer choice, "elusive" is actually the better answer because while "sneaky" means sly, "elusive" means difficult to find. "Elusive" fits the context of the sentence better than "sneaky" does because the meaning of "elusive" involves being hard to find, so "elusive" is the correct answer.