Since the captain thought the team could not do any worse than they had already done, he believed that they had reached their lowest point. The "nadir" is just that—the point of worst performance for an individual or a group. Do not confuse this with "zenith," which is actually the exact opposite, meaning highest point.

In this sentence, you must not answer with any greater specificity than what is merited by the context clues. We are told only about the changes in safety and family life. Therefore, we cannot be sure if these matters were a result of industrialization or commercialization. (Realistically, these kinds of developments would likely be bad for family life, creating new dangers in the city.) Thus, while we are not sure of the specific kind of progress or development that was made, we do know that it is progress. Thus, the simple word "progress" is actually the best option!

The key thing to note in this sentence is that Mildred was "afraid of hurting Oswald's feelings." This means that she was unlikely to express her thoughts about his daughter in a harsh manner. A "euphemism" expresses something in an indirect manner in order to attempt to be polite or at least less severe. For example, someone who is fat might be called "big boned." This expression would be a euphemism. Likely, Mildred used such an expression to tell Oswald what she thought.

If you were to fill in this sentence on your own, you would likely say that "the cave" was the only "exit" from "the canyon." Now, don't be tempted by the options "walkway," "valley," and "rivulet," all of which have something to do with physical features that might be found in a canyon. Instead, the word "egress" is by far the best option. It roughly means, exit or the act of exiting. It comes from Latin roots similar to those found in "progress." Progress indicates movement forward—"pro+gress." An "egress," on the contrary, indicates movement outward: "ex+gress" or "e+gress".

Never attempt to be too specific with a sentence completion question. For this question, you do not know exactly what is being stressed beyond the basic kinds of procedures that would be used in experiments. Such procedures are also called "methods" or "methodologies." Hence, this is the best option among those provided. The others are either far too general ("complexities") or too specific ("titrations," "calculations," and "statistics").

We really cannot be sure how foul the soap smell was, even though it was being used to keep the deer away from the crops. The point is that the soap was being used to discourage the deer from coming around. (They may just hate the smell of the soap, even if it is very fresh smelling.) When something is a "deterrent," it does just this—it discourages. This option is far better than "stench" or "reek." Likewise, the soap smell is discouraging them from being around, but it is not, however, being said to kill them (as is implied by "poison" and "toxin").

This sentence does NOT tell us that the young man was lacking in social knowledge or in financial resources. What it means to say is that he did not have the same upbringing as the others who were raised amid greater wealth and culture. The sentence implies that this gives him a standing in society that is somewhat beneath those other people. He is keenly aware of this status—hence, the best choice is "status," which actually comes from the same Latin roots as "standing." 

Clearly, the sentence is speaking of those who have "come before" the youth in question. Now, "descendants," "progeny," and "successors" all pertain to generations that come after a given generation. Thus, they would apply to the children and grandchildren of the current youth, not to the generations coming before the youth. Since the sentence speaks of generations of striving, it is better to choose "ancestors" than "parents." Strictly speaking, the word "parents" does not express the idea of many generations of ancestry.

Note carefully that the sentence speaks of "so great an amount of public indebtedness." If any of the options describe a large amount, said option will be the best among those offered. For this reason, the options "state," "amount," and "quantity" are far too generic (and do not indicate the large amount of indebtedness). "Paucity" means "scarcity" or "lack"—the exact opposite of what is needed! The best option is "magnitude," which means "great or large amount." It is from the Latin "magnus," meaning large or great. This same root is found in words like "magnify" and "magnificent."

To solve this sentence completion problem you have to determine which of these answer choices describes a movement related to "the right to vote." The correct answer is "suffrage." "Suffrage" as a noun means the right to vote. To provide further help, "deferential" means respectful, allowing someone else to be in control; a "sycophant" is a flatterer; "exemplary" means very well done, done so well as to be used as a model for others; "extenuating" means excusing circumstances.