Since we know that the person mentioned in the sentence is standing in front of a crowd delivering a speech, we know that the first blank should contain a noun that means something like "speaker." Two answer choices could possibly work for this: the one beginning with "orator" (a person who delivers a speech), or the one beginning with "demagogue" (a leader appealing to emotions rather than reason). The two other possible words for the first blank do not work: "auditor" means a listener or an accountant, and "actuary" means a registrar, clerk, or insurance person. Based on the two answers we know could work in the first blank, we can now examine the words available to fill in the second blank. We know that the speaker gives a "long speech" that "lost the audience's attention." The best choice is "verbose," which means wordy or talkative. The other choice, "bombastic," means pretentious.

By reading the sentence, we can tell that the description of Jane's grandmother's decor and house is positive, since it makes Jane feel better. Focusing on the first blank, we are looking for an adjective like "nice." The word "florid" means flowery or ornate, so this must be the right answer. The other words do not fit: "feral" means wild or savage; "pallid" means lacking color; and "reverent" means respectful. Moving on to the second blank, we are looking for a noun that describes both "environment" and the "feeling" or "mood" of Jane's grandmother's house. The word "ambience" is correct because it means atmosphere and feeling. The other words do not fit: "acumen" is a noun meaning cleverness; a "conflagration" is a fire; and a "conglomeration" is a collection or an accumulation.

The clues for the two blanks are "zeal" and "convincing" respectively. At most, what we can say is that Romanus was a "zealous" or passionate speaker. When someone is "ardent," he or she is passionate. The word actually comes from "burning"—being "ardent" is like being "on fire with passion" for something. "Eloquence" is persuasiveness in speech or expression.

The best keys to this sentence are "calm" and "stable." The first independent clause implies that the society has gone from being calm to being not calm. The best description for such a state of affairs would be "chaotic," meaning confused or full of turmoil. The second sentence contrasts the seeming stability of the nation with apparent instability. While there are no answer choices that directly mean "instability," a "fragile" nation would be one that is easily broken down (like fragile glass) and, hence, one that is unstable.

The subordinate clause, "ever fearful" provides the key hint regarding John's temperament. Since he is very fearful of breaking the law, he is likely overly concerned about its details. This latter point is expressed in the words "even the smallest," which indicate that he does not want to break even the smallest aspect or—more appropriate given our answers—detail of the law. Such a person is "legalistic," meaning that he or she is very concerned with all of the legal details, generally in a way that is overly concerned and fearful.

For the first blank, we know that Jaime did not know about his mismatched socks because "he didn't notice until someone pointed [them] out . . . at lunchtime." So, we should pick out an adjective that reflects this. Either "oblivious to" or "unaware of" could be correct, as "oblivious" and "unaware" each can mean not aware. For the second blank, we know that Jaime's socks were mismatched, so they were different. We should pick out an answer choice that is a noun that means something like difference. Either "disparity" (a large difference) or "difference" could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "oblivious to" and "disparity" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "oblivious to . . . disparity."

The intern in this sentence is juxtaposed against the "seasoned" (or experienced) attorney, so we know that we are looking for words that highlight the lack of the intern's experience and the newness of the courtroom setting. "Neophyte" comes from the Greek language and literally means "new plant," though the English word is usually applied outside of the horticultural realm to mean any beginner or novice. The word "novelty" (do you see a common root with "novice"?) also incorporates a root meaning "new," and means simply the quality of being new, or inNOVative.

All of the first words are accurate descriptions of the Angels Landing hike in Zion National Park. We are left with the second-blank words to lead us to the correct answer. Sections of the hike are quite "serene" (peaceful), but this would not test the scout's "fortitude" (courage or bravery). Parts of the hike could reveal a hiker's "timidity," but we wouldn't say that those parts were a test of timidity. "Ineptitude" (lack of skill, incompetence) doesn't make much sense here. "Mettle" is pronounced like the word "metal," and is actually a variant of the word; but whereas "metal" names a physical substance, "mettle" describes a figurative quality that has a metal-like strength. Synonyms include determination, courage, and valor.

Because the author uses the word “nonetheless,” it can be inferred that the subject of this sentence is some type of person that one would not expect to be nervous when speaking to a crowd. This likely means either “orator” (a talented public speaker) or “lecturer” (someone who gives lessons to a large group). From there it is a matter of determining whether a “vast” or “gregarious” audience would be more likely to make someone nervous. “Vast” means very large and “gregarious” means friendly and sociable, so the correct answer must be “orator . . . vast.” To provide further help, a “miser” is someone who is not very generous with money; “substitute,” when used as a noun, means replacement; “jovial” means happy and jolly; a “specimen” is something meant to serve as a sample of something; and “apathetic” means nonchalant or not caring.

We can infer that because the adventurer "never show[ed] the slightest hint of fear" when confronted with dangers that explorers typically faced, we need to pick out an adjective that means something like "brave" to describe the adventurer in the first blank. Either "intrepid" ("fearless; adventurous (often used for rhetorical or humorous effect)") or "undaunted" ("not intimidated or discouraged by difficulty, danger, or disappointment") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out a word that means something like "fear of," because we know that the explorer "always carried a flashlight on him" and his exploring party " lots of extra batteries, lanterns, and torches," which would suggest that he does not like being alone in the dark at all. Either "aversion to" ("having a strong dislike or disinclination towards") or "phobia of" ("having an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something") could be potentially correct. Of the potentially correct answers we've identified, only "undaunted" and "phobia of" appear in a single answer choice, so "undaunted . . . phobia of" is the correct answer.