There are no clues in this sentence to help you answer this question other than that it must be very impressive for the driver to win the race having begun so far behind. It becomes necessary to plug words in to see which best fits. The correct answer is “scintillating,” because this means brilliant, bright and impressive, and amazing. “Horizontal” means level with the horizon or oriented in this direction; “divergent” means different, going separate ways, or fragmenting; “egregious” means appalling or terrible; and “deplorable” means deserving of hatred and disgust.

From the context of the sentence, you can infer that Steve would be likely to travel slowly to his friend's house; the sentence tells you he "was in no hurry." The answer choice that best captures this slow movement is “amble,” which means walk slowly. To help you, "sprint" means run quickly, and "allay" means calm or diminish and is usually used in the sense of allaying someone's fears or concerns.

It is key to note that the elders in the community were horrified not specifically at damage done in the cemetery but at the youths' "lack of respect for the dead." All of the wrong answers in some way deal with destruction. Certainly "bombing" is too specific, but the others are quite tempting. However, only "desecration" best describes not merely a destructive behavior but (quite importantly for us) an act that is disrespectful. The word "sacred" is related to "desecrate." To "desecrate" something means, in a sense, to remove its sacred character by treating it poorly. This is implied by the fact that the horror was "at the youths' lack of respect for the dead."

Pay attention to the words used in this sentence: "smell," "spices," and "restaurant" all refer to food. A "pungent" smell is very intense, and could lead to people in a restaurant stepping outside for a break. While the word "hateful" may be used in this context, "pungent" is more commonly tied to very stong smells, which is what is being referred to here with the words "smell," "spices," and "restaurant." "Flavorful" and "pleasant" describe something good as opposed to bad, and "unquestionable" does not fit in this context.

If something you read or listen to offends you, what does it do or sound like? While a "humorous" or "serious" piece of writing may offend some people, more people are likely to be offended by "abrasiveness" (which is, by definition, not pleasant) than by humor or seriousness. An "abrasive" tone means overly aggressive in how it addresses its audience, which the article described in the sentence clearly is, since all students felt offended upon reading it. The sentence is looking for a negative word as opposed to a positive one like "cheerful" or "pleasant."

The words "though" and "rather" should signal you to search for a word whose meaning is opposite of generous, or giving. Generous is a good quality, which suggests a person's good character as he or she desires to help others. "Thrifty" and "parsimonious" fit into a category for words that describe people who use their money or resources carefully, just like frugal. The sentence, however, wants you to find a word that is opposite to those three (thrifty, parsimonious, frugal). One may be thrifty, for example, but also generous to others. Eliminate therefore thrifty and parsimonious. "Generous" and "wasteful" are not opposed either-- not wishing to give your resources to others is not proof of being wasteful of your resources; it just means you keep them to yourself. A person who is "avaricious" keeps her or his resources entirely to herself or himself, with a degree of intensity that seems shallow and insensitive. Since picky is not opposed to generous, the best answer is therefore avaricious. 

The fact that the athlete lay "stricken" (deeply affected and pained by) and was "overcome" (affected very strongly by) provide important clues to the level of intensity of the pain felt by the athlete. The answer therefore is that he felt "excruciating" leg pain. "Excruciating" means incredibly painful, unbearable. To provide further help, "shoddy" means poorly built; "anonymous" means unknown; "incidental" and "slight" both mean minor. 

The use of the word "mobbed" provides a clue as to the level of intensity of the correct answer. "Mobbed" means surrounded by, inundated with. So, the correct answer must express the large number of fans that are surrounding the subject. The answer is therefore "legion," which means numerous, a multitude of. To provide further help, a "pantheon" is a group of Gods within a religion; "panache" means style; a "repository" is a place where things are stored; a "viewpoint" is a perspective, a point of view. 

The speaker of this sentence is still recovering from a cold so it makes sense that they would be feeling "weak" and "frail." So, to solve this problem you need to determine which of these answer choices means weak from illness, or made frail. The correct answer is "feeble." To provide further help, "sacred" means holy; "lonesome" means lonely; "arbitrary" means random, a decision made without any clear reason; "humane" means kind and compassionate. 

The dog that the girl chooses is especially small, based on this information the correct answer is "runt." The "runt" is the smallest or weakest of a group of animals. To provide further help, "grandest" means largest, most magnificent; "occupant" means resident, inhabitant, person who lives there; a "mirage" is an optical illusion, something seen that is not really there; a "donor" is a giver, someone who gives to others.