Clearly, bouncing off the walls is not lazy or mournful (sad) behavior, so we can scratch those two options. Exotic, which means foreign or unfamiliar, doesn't fit, especially because running around and chasing its tail is normal behavior for a puppy. Jubilant and ecstatic both fit, but they mean the same thing and both imply that the puppy is happy, something we don't know from the behavior in the sentence. What we do know is that the puppy is being wild and unpredictably energetic, which is the meaning of frenetic. 

When someone pretends to be interested in a conversation, when he or she is not, that behavior is fake. "Disingenuous" means inauthentic or fake; therefore, it is the best answer choice. "Engaged" can mean actively interested in. That answer choice is not correct because the sentence states that the sister was pretending to be interested, so the best word to fill in the blank would convey the fact that she was pretending to be interested in the topic of conversation, not that she was actually interested in the topic of conversation. As for the other answer choices, "indecisive" means unable to make a decision or stick with it without going back on it, and "meticulous" means paying great attention to details.

The fact that Regina loved aspects of autumn likely means that she has an affection for the season itself. While she might be "nostalgic" for autumn or even get "excited" at its coming, neither of these words work well. (They also are somewhat awkward in the grammar of the sentence.) However, to be "fond" of something is to have an affection or a liking for it. This suffices for our purposes.

Although we might say many things about completing a sundae, we must stay as close as possible to the clues in the sentence. This sentence is talking about completing the process of making the delicious food item. The completion of a process leads to it being "finished," and it is no small coincidence that the word "finished" looks like "final."  They both come from common root words in Latin meaning end. Therefore, "final" is the best option of those provided.

We are looking for an adjective that might be contrasted to "soft." While we might be tempted to think that the passage implies that a soft bed is not comfortable, we must be careful not to read too much into the passage. The most that we know is that the contrast is between being soft and being "not soft"—"hard," or something like that. The word "firm" means solid, which is adequately opposed to "soft" for our purposes.

Do not be tempted to pick words like "industrious," as though this sentence were contrasting "dull, unimaginative" with "hard-working." Instead, "dull, unimaginative" should be contrasted with something indicating imagination and a kind of flair or ability. The best option for this is "creative," for people are creative when they are not dull or unimaginative.

The contrast here is between advanced and difficult topics and ones that are not advanced or so difficult. The idea is that you must first finish the basics before moving on to the more difficult aspects of a topic. The "elements" of something are its most basic parts, so the word "elementary" means pertaining to the basic parts. "Elementary school" gets its name from this, for it means "the school where the basics are learned."

To answer this question, stay as close to the sentence's meaning as possible. Thomas is said to be "relatively confident." That means that he is not completely sure about his answer, but has some certainty. To be "certain" without any other limitation is to be sure. This best fills the direct meaning that we need. While someone who is confident might brag, we are told nothing that should lead us to think that is the case with Thomas.

The main clue in this sentence is the expression "but when he actually would do so." The implication is that John did not eat peas very often. When he did, he ate a lot, but that was not very frequently. Therefore, he ate them "seldom," an adverb meaning rarely. This best expresses the idea that he did not eat peas very often. Notice that the word "seldom" is an adverb even though it does not end in "-ly" like most regular adverbs.

We do not know anything about Peter's specific painting style. For that reason, we should ignore "Impressionist" immediately. The option "amazing" might be tempting, for peter was able to paint with little training and practice at all. However, the idea that is stressed by the expression "with little practice at all" is that he seemed to have the ability to paint almost as if by nature. Therefore, the best option for our purposes will be "natural." A "natural painter" is someone who seems to have his or her abilities "from nature," that is, without any training or practice (as if he or she was born with it). Indeed, the word "nature" comes from the same Latin word that gives us "nativity" and "natal"—both words related to being born.