"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.

Since the boat rocked back and forth, it indicates that the waves were violent or turbulent.  The key to this question is noting that the waves must have been violent for the passengers to feel ill.

The sentence implies that Ronald is returning to life "among the people," that is, no longer doing military work as he had been doing. In contrast to "military" life, "civilian" life literally means "life in the city" or "life as experienced by those living in the city." Civilians are all the members of the population that are not in the military or police. This is the best option to choose as a contrast to Ronald's former military life.

Because she could barely fit through the door because of her hairstyle, we know that the queen's hairstyle was very large. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that is an adjective and a synonym of "large." While "largesse" may look like an obvious answer, "largesse" is not an adjective meaning "large" but a noun meaning "generosity in bestowing money or gifts upon others." So, "largesse" cannot be the correct answer. "Egregious" may also sound like a potentially correct answer, but egregious is an adjective meaning "outstandingly bad" or "shocking." Neither of these meanings are similar to "large," so "egregious" cannot be the correct answer either. "Voluminous," an adjective meaning "occupying or containing much space; large in volume," is the correct answer because it is the only answer choice that means "large in volume."