The key thing to pay attention to in this sentence is the fact that Thomas uses his employees' "feelings of guilt to his advantage." Therefore, it is not most correct to say that he berates or is nasty to them. Instead, he is controlling them in an unfair way, trying to secretly get more work out of them by using their feelings of guilt. Thus, it is best to say that he is manipulating them, not "berating" nor "castigating" them.

Because the scientist is trying to disprove the existence of the monster it means he is trying to disprove or "debunk" the myth. The word "debunk" is used to describe a situation where someone is trying to prove something is false. To "enhance" and "augment" both mean to make bigger and better; "supplant" means replace; "fortify" means protect against. 

It is clear from context that the correct answer must mean something like to leave in a will, to give to someone after you have died. The correct answer is therefore "bequeath." To provide further help, "prostrate" means lying flat on the ground; "reverberate" means echo; "extricate" means free from; "stupefy" means confuse and amaze. 

The context of this sentence tells you that the correct answer must mean something like to preach, to try to convert. The correct answer is therefore "proselytize." To provide further help, "demonize" means characterize as wicked; "postulate" means guess at, suggest a theory; "prattle" means talk aimlessly; "embezzle" means steal money from within an organization. 

In spring plants tend to grow. Based on the context of this sentence you know that the answer you are looking for must mean something like to grow, to sprout. The correct answer is therefore "germinate." To "germinate" means to grow, to sprout upwards and is used to describe the growth of plants. To provide further help, "inundate" means flood, overwhelm; "abate" means stop or pause; "allocate" means assign to; "inoculate" means vaccinate, provide medicine to prevent the outbreak of a disease. 

In this sentence you are told that something was done to items (like food or clothing) during the war so as to ensure that everyone had enough of what they needed. To "ration" is to permit each person to have only a fixed amount of something so as to ensure everyone has enough of what they need. To provide further help, "shirked" means avoided, dodged responsibility; "agitated" means disturbed or annoyed; "flouted" means ignored, particularly with regard to ignoring rules; "imbued" means filled with. 

In this sentence you are told that the speaker's dog was put somewhere to ensure that he was not bringing diseases into the country. To "quarantine" means to imprison or impose restrictions on someone or something to prevent the spread of diseases. To provide further help, "entreated" means urged, begged and encouraged; "garbled" means mixed up (and is also an adjective, not a verb as is required by the sentence); "juxtaposed" means compared; "harangued" means scolded, yelled at. 

To solve this problem you need to determine which of these words can best be used to describe a flower that is being made weak from heat and lack of water. The correct answer is therefore "wilting." To "wilt" means to become weak from the heat. Although "yielding" (which means surrendering, giving way to) might be a somewhat accurate answer, it is not as strong as "wilting." To provide further help, "embarking" means going on a journey, getting on a ship; "smitten" means in love with; "scampering" means darting, rushing, running about. 

The fact that the woman was "able" to convince the man using logic suggests she was able to persuade the man of the fanciful nature of his wishful thinking. To "disabuse" means to persuade or convince someone that his or her way of thinking is mistaken or wishful. To provide further help, "reconcile" means bring back together, make peace; "abet" means aid, help; "impute" means attribute to; "transpire" means happen, take place, occur. 

You are told that the wall is in poor condition ("a state of disrepair") so it makes sense that the engineers would be brought in to reinforce, support it. The correct answer then is "buttress," which means strengthen, support, reinforce. Additionally, "bequeath" means to leave to someone (like in a will); "tantalize" means tease; "enervate" means weaken; "extol" means praise.