The key is to note that the astronaut is glad to return to terrestrial (or “earth-bound”) affairs. The answer will be the contrast between these and our word. Do not be tempted by “astrological,” which deals with predicting the future through the stars (as through horoscopes). This is tempting because it has the same “astr-” prefix as is found in “astronomical,” which means dealing with the laws (from Greek nomos—reflected in "nomical") of the stars (from the Greek aster).

 Our answer, “celestial,” is equally well derived, however.  It comes from the Latin caelum (and related words such as caelestis), which means “heaven” or “sky.”  This works better (not having the occult connections of the astrologers).

The reversal here concerns the aging man having to come back to a world that lives and works during the daytime; therefore, the best choice is “diurnal.” The word is like a “reversal” of “nocturnal,” and it means pertaining to the night time.

Both words have Latin bases. They key difference is “noct-,” which comes from the Latin for night as opposed to “di-,” which comes from the Latin for day.

The key here is to note that the king wishes to verify that he can drink the water. The word “potable” means “drinkable.” It is derived from the Latin potare, which means “to drink.”

The man’s disposition leads him to assault his relatives. Hence, he is warlike. The best word is therefore, “belligerent,” which is derived from the Latin bellum, meaning war. A related English word would be “bellicose.” Many also know the expression “ante bellum.” While some students think this just means southern, because it is used often in American history to describe the “antebellum South,” what it really means is the South before the Civil War.

The key is to note that the affections of the woman are not merely surface level (superficial) but that they are passing and changing; therefore, the best answer is “ephemeral.” It is derived from Greek meaning lasting a short time.

The key here is that John’s attitude is not merely “upbeat” but is even “overly” so—“overly optimistic.” The best word is therefore “Pollyanna,” which is derived from the name of a young character in an early-twentieth-century novel by the same name. Pollyanna made it her goal to give a positive interpretation to every situation. The term has taken on this connotation in an almost negative manner.

The question arising here is why all the senses are not based upon contact, which is the case with the sense of touch. The word “tactile” means “perceptible to touch.” It is derived from the Latin tangere, which has a form in which the “g” becomes a “t”—tactus; therefore, “tactile” is related not only to words like “contact” and “intact” but also “tangible” and “tangent.”

Since Mark was sentenced, we can presume that he was found guilty. A person who is guilty is “culpable” for an offense.

The word is derived from the Latin culpa, meaning “fault.” Related words are “culprit” and “exculpatory.” (The latter is a combination of ex—meaning, out / out of, as in “exit”—and the base from culpa. Exculpatory evidence is evidence that proves (at least in part) the innocence of a party in a court case. It “gets one out of (ex-) guilt (culpa).”

The man’s face is apparently “shining”, though in a metaphorical sense. Do not be tempted by “solar” (which really is a metaphorical stretch) or “enlightened,” which really is not appropriate. The best choice is “refulgent,” which is derived from the Latin fulgere, meaning to shine or flash.

Here, if we can find a word that matches the “humorous” response of the older members. The word that fulfills this need is “risible,” which means “able to provoke laugher” or—more broadly—“amusing.”

It is derived from the Latin ridere, which means “to laugh.” The “d” becomes an “s” in certain forms, thus giving us “ris-” in English; however, related English words likewise retain the “d,” such as “deride,” “ridicule,” and “ridiculous.”