From the context, you know that the correct answer must be something at which someone's friends would get annoyed, and that it must be related to being "self-congratulatory." This should lead you to the correct answer which is “pompous.” Someone who is “pompous” is self-important, overbearing, and thinks extremely highly of him- or herself. “Pestilent” means destructive, deadly, and often related to disease; “melancholy” means sad and thoughtful; “penitent” means showing regret or remorseful; and “amiable” means loving and friendly.

From the context, you know that the correct answer must describe something that would make a professor seem ridiculous. As professors are supposed to be intelligent and perceptive, the correct answer is “obtuse,” which means slow-witted, insensitive, and foolish. As for the other answer choices, “astute” means perceptive; it is the opposite of “obtuse.” “Sagacious” means full of wisdom; “perceptive” means keenly noticing many trends and intelligent; and “adroit” means skillful.

It stands to reason that the man would react angrily to the man who ran over his dog. The best answer is therefore “wrathful,” which means full of anger. “Affable” means loving and friendly; “prone” means susceptible to, vulnerable to, or likely to suffer from; “deluded” means misguided; and “voluminous” means taking up a lot of space.

Of these answer choices, only “aged” makes sense to describe a man who has difficulty getting out of bed.

Because there was a theft in their community, the people would likely begin to think that the idea of their safety was not real or only imagined. This tells you that the correct answer is “illusory,” which means based on illusion, fake, or imagined. As for the other answer choices, “defensible” means able to be defended; “vast” means involving large amounts of open space; “ideal” means perfect; and “authentic” means real as opposed to fake or feigned.

The author tells you that the refugee camp was "unfit to live in" and "corrupt"; this suggests the conditions were “deplorable,” which means deserving of hatred or disgust. As for the other answer choices, “laudable” means admirable and praiseworthy; “serviceable” means operational; “colossal” means very large; and “compatible” means able to work well or get along well with someone or something else.

A storm would naturally be very worrying to sailors who would risk drowning in the huge waves. Therefore, the sight of storm clouds would be considered “menacing” by sailors. “Menacing” means threatening or suggesting danger. As for the other answer choices, “edifying” means improving the moral character of someone; “relieving” means causing pain or worry to lessen; "hopeful" means optimistic; and “circumstantial” means owed to chance and not proving anything.

Because the author tells you that the extra sleep helps, the correct answer must be “beneficial.” This means helpful. As for the other answer choices, "inadvisable" means not recommended, “haughty” means arrogant; "risky" means taking chances that could easily result in bad consequences; and "unavoidable" means inevitable.

The promises discussed were the opposite of "definite," and this suggests the correct answer is “vague,” which means unclear or uncertain. As for the other answer choices, “slanderous” means false and said to damage someone’s reputation; “accusatory” means speaking in a way that expresses you think someone did something wrong; “zany” means crazy or wacky; and "covert" means hidden or secretive.

The context of the sentence suggests that the answer choice must describe some quality of music that makes it good or enjoyable to listen to, the correct answer is therefore “harmonious.” "Harmonious” means in harmony and not clashing with one another aurally; “discordant” means in disagreement, not in harmony; “bellicose” means aggressive, hostile, or war-like; “haughty” means arrogant; and "shocking" means greatly surprising.