The old word "pale" (as a noun) is not used very often any more, except in some compounds and idioms. It means "a stake or picket." In the expression "beyond the pale," it simply means beyond a stake that is being used as a boundary marker; however, when you attach the prefix "im-" it becomes much more graphic, with the stake now being driven into someone. The track star here is afraid of being impaled, or of having a pointed object go through her.

Because the ship was "flooded," it is reasonable to assume that it would be sunk; therefore, the correct answer is “capsized.” “Capsized” means overturned and sank. To provide further help, “bilked” means cheated; “dismantled” means taken apart; “improved” means made better; and “edified” means instructed and improved.

Based on the second part of the sentence, which tells us that alcohol was legalized again, we can infer that it must have first been banned, or “outlawed.” To provide further help, “suspended” can mean paused; “supplanted” means replaced; “demeaned” means humiliated; and “decreed” means formally ordered.

You may have heard of the Vulgate, a version of the Bible that was translated into Latin in the fourth century when Latin was a language common to the educated classes of many different countries. Certainly you have met a few "vulgar" people, who act and speak in ways that are common and crass. In the word "divulge," we see this same root of "vulg," which means common. To divulge something is to make known commonly something that had been a secret. If someone tells you something in confidence, it's best not to divulge it.

"Behoove" is a funny word that is most often used by people who want to sound refined when scolding another person (for example, instead of saying "Slow down! You're driving like a maniac!", one might say "It would behoove you to decrease your speed."). It means to be suitable for or beneficial.

We can infer from the sentence that the text described would be placed in front of the background, so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "placed in front of." "Hidden behind," then, cannot be the correct answer because it means the opposite of the phrase we are looking for. "Superimpose," however, means "place or lay one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident," so "superimposed on" is the correct answer because it is the answer choice that best describes the relationship between the text and the background on Chelsea's website.

The key to completing this sentence is to find a word that describes Mary as doing something mean to the speaker. The only answer choice that describes a mean action is "belittles." The definition of "belittle" is put someone down and make them feel unimportant.

This sentence describes Mary needing to save money so she can afford to go on vacation. The words that best complete this sentence is "be frugal." "Frugal" means not spending money on unnecessary things and trying to get the best deal that you can on necessary things.

We can infer that because Kelly "knew that making any noise would startle [the rat]" and scare it off, "making it more difficult to remove," she did not make any noise, and so had to stifle her urge to scream. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "stifle." "Repress," a verb that means "restrain, prevent, or inhibit the expression or development of something," is the best answer choice because it best fits the sentence's context.

We know that the subject of the sentence bribed the bouncers to get into the party, so we can infer that we need to pick out a verb that means something like "conspired with." While "belied" might look like a potentially correct answer choice because it contains the word "lie," "belie" is a verb used to describe appearances that means "fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict." So, because "belie" would not make sense grammatically or contextually in the blank, it cannot be the correct answer. "Connive," however, is a verb that means "conspire to do something considered immoral, illegal, or harmful," and because "connive" best fits the sentence's context, "connive" is the correct answer.