If his lifestyle is not conducive to physical activities, it means that he leads a sedentary or inactive life.

The key to this sentence is noting that the ointment prevents infection and therefore it must be sterile or aseptic.

In order for someone to trace a drawing, the tracing paper needs to be transparent or diaphanous.

Since her mind was a blank slate, it means that Heather's gaze was presumably without thought or vacuous in nature.

The living arrangement between the two roommates is favorable and thus, they have a symbiotic living arrangement.

Although several options, like “importance” and perhaps even “gravity” are tempting here, the best option is “momentous.” A “momentous” event is one that is important, especially in having implications for the future. Because of the last subordinate clause, this is the best option.

The key thing to note in this sentence is that Ryan did not show respect for others. This does not necessarily mean that he was judgmental or censorious with regard to them. The word “callous” best fits the need in this sentence, for it means that one is insensitive to others or disregards them. It is related to the physical notion of “callus,” in the sense of a hardened piece of skin (like that which one gets from playing the guitar).

The implication in this sentence is that quite a few people at least have abilities in subjects to a decent degree, even if not one that is superlative. When someone has “competency” in something, he or she is said to have an adequate amount of skill, at least enough to be able to do the task. It is indirectly related to words like “compete,” “competitor,” and “petition.” All of these words come from Latin roots meaning “to seek,” (implied by the “-pet-” portion of the word).

The sentence implies that the writing was the best of such work. To be “superlative,” literally means “to be carried over” or (more properly in English usage) “the highest degree (of something).” In grammar, the superlative is the “-est” form of a word (e.g. hottest, nicest, heaviest), meaning “the most . . .” The word itself comes from the prefix “super-”, meaning “over,” and the base “-lat-”, which comes from the Latin for “to carry.” The word “translate,” has this same base, literally meaning “to carry over from one place to another.”

The implication in our sentence is that Paco had become “not cheerful.” While that might lead one to be introverted, or perhaps even reflective, it is most directly opposed by a “dour” temperament. A dour person is strictly speaking stern or severe, though often the word is used to imply a certain gloominess as well. It is in this last sense that it is being used here.