Since the main clause begins with, "even the most experienced," the implication of this sentence is that the scene had horrors unseen by even by these experienced people. This likely means that they were not merely surprised or intrigued. Instead, a much stronger word is needed. The sense is that they were "horrified," and this is what is meant by "aghast." This option alone expresses the strong sense of horror that such people likely felt upon seeing the scene. The word is related to "ghost," as can be seen in "ghast." (Think of the word "ghastly", which means causing terror or fright.)

We are not told in the sentence how horrible was the gang's activity. While it does state that the community was "terrorized," this could even occur by petty acts of vandalism (like the egging of houses) as much as by very dangerous gang violence. We just do not have enough information to make a judgment in this regard. However, what we do know—and this is important—is that the violence was "without provocation." When something is provoked, it is caused by something else. For example, consider the sentence: "Benjamin's nasty remark provoked an equally nasty response from Patty." The idea is that Benjamin's remark caused a nasty reaction from Patty. A "provocation" is some kind of action that functions to provoke. To be "without provocation" roughly means to have been done without any known reason. Thus, the best option is "wanton," which means unprovoked.

The second clause reveals how the neighbor being described dislikes everyone. Someone who dislikes or hates all people is called “misanthropic.” To provide further help, “benevolent” means kind and generous; “gregarious” means sociable and outgoing; “amiable” means friendly and well-liked; “profound” means deep and meaningful. 

The sentence tells you that Hugo is committed, dedicated and careful. This is most similar in definition to “meticulous.” To provide further help, “apathetic” and “nonchalant” mean not caring; “garrulous” means talkative; “foolish” means stupid.

Because the person described in the sentence was scared of blood and needles and then almost fainted when she heard about how the medicine would be administered, we can assume that the doctor told her he had to inject the medicine using a needle. This is called an “intravenous” injection, where the suffix "-venous" tells us it has to do with blood and veins, and the prefix "intra-" suggest under, beneath, or into. The term "IV" is actually derived from an abbreviated form of "intravenous." To provide further help, “jointly” means together, “approximately” means roughly or as an estimation, and “scholarly” means like a scholar.

The sentence tells us that the organization is of a certain type because it is active in many different nations, so this means the correct answer is “international.” The prefix "inter" can mean between, as in the words "intercontinental" and "intercom." So, "international" means between nations. To provide further help, “permissive” means accepting, and “obstructive” means getting in the way.

By reading the sentence, we can tell that Jim is "suspicious" because his wife is acting in an unusual, "secretive" way that suggests she is keeping something from him. We are looking for a word that helps to further describe the suspicious, secretive way that she is acting. Thus, the blank should contain a word like "mysterious," "quiet," or "unable to be interpreted," since Jim "can't tell why" she is acting this way. Thus, "enigmatic" is the best answer because it means mysterious, inscrutable or baffling. The other word choices can be eliminated since they do not work well in the sentence: "pretentious" means arrogant or cocky; "reverent" means respectful; and "boisterous" means loud and rambunctious.

We need to pick out an answer choice that is an adverb and means something like "knowingly” or "purposely" because the sentence tells us that Joy snuck out of the house and betrayed her dad's trust, which takes planning and intentional action. The word "betrayed" gives us a hint that Joy went against a rule or moral that her father expected her to follow. "Deliberately" is the best choice, since it means purposely or intentionally. This best conveys the idea that Joy snuck out of the house on purpose, which betrayed her father's trust and upset him. None of the other answer choices make sense in the blank: "reluctantly" means hesitantly; "inadvertently" means unintentionally; and "subordinately" means accidentally. 

By reading the sentence, we can infer that the "new and improved floor plans" made it possible for the architects to reach their goal of constructing the office building by March. Thus, we know that the blank should contain a word similar to "possible." The correct answer is "plausible," since it means possible, imaginable or feasible. The other words do not fit in the context of the sentence: "ambivalent" means undecided or unsure; "desiccated" means dried up; and "diffident" means shy.

The general idea in this sentence is that Amanda was able to overcome problems in an intelligent manner, even when little was at hand. When someone is "resourceful," such a person is able to use available things—resources—in a very shrewd manner.