The second clause in the sentence describes how Stephen could not help from sharing his thoughts out loud; therefore you know the correct answer must describe some talkative quality of Stephen. This means that the correct answer is “garrulous” which means chatty or talkative. Serendipitous refers to the accidental discovery of some good fortune; terse means brief; loopy means crazy or absurd.

The use of the conjunction “however” tells you that the second clause is different in meaning to the first clause. The second clause describes how some people can still hear dog whistles “loud and clear” so you know that the first blank must describe the inability to hear. The correct answer is therefore inaudible (which means impossible to hear).

From the context of the question you know that the description of Derek has to be positive and related to kindness. Of the possible answer choices only amiable closely resembles the required meaning of the blank. "Amiable" means friendly and pleasant company. "Distant" means aloof; "robust" means strong; "succulent" means delicious; "fortuitous" means lucky.

From the context of the sentence you know that whatever Carrie was called by her friends she must have proved it right when she stormed out of the room. Storming out of a room is a dramatic response so the blank word must closely resemble a dramatic action. Jubilant means joyous; courageous means brave; haughty means condescending or proud; negligible means insignificant. Those answer choices are all incorrect. The correct answer is histrionic which means overdramatic or theatrical.

The second clause of this sentence emphasizes how the economic and social situation of the South was changed by the invention of the cotton gin. Therefore it would appear to be foolish to describe its invention as insignificant. Of the five answer choices negligible is by far the best match. Negligible means insignificant; indulgent means tolerant; apoplectic means overcome with anger; wondrous means inspirational; comely describes something cute.

From the context of this sentence you know that Rasputin must be perceived as something otherworldly, magical or unnatural. Of the five answer choices preternaturally is by far the best answer. It means exceeding what is common in nature or supernatural. Sardonically means sarcastically; wistfully refers to looking back with sorrowful appreciation to the past; magnanimously refers to a noble-spirited, generous individual.

The second clause in the sentence describes Winston Churchill as knowledgeable and pleasant to be around. From this information you can infer that the blank word must describe some amiable or positive quality about Churchill. Of the five answer choices only convivial describes fits comfortable. Convivial means enjoyable company or pleasant. Meticulous refers to someone who is precise and extremely careful; mercenary means doing something for money; cautious means careful; endangered means threatened.

The context described in the sentence indicates that the blank word must relate to some physical appearance brought on by starvation. This rules out corpulent and portly which both mean big or fat. It also rules out pulchritudinous which means beautiful and comely which means cute. The remaining, correct, answer is “emaciated” which means very thin to the point of wasting away.

The context of this question suggests that Bert is forced to add salt and pepper to his grandmother’s cooking in order to make it taste better. This indicates that the correct answer is “palatable” which means pleasant tasting. Voracious describes someone with a big appetite; unsettling means worrying; bombastic means verbose or pretentious; auriferous describes a mineral that contains gold.

The correct answer is "presumptuous," meaning assuming too much or arrogant. "Illogical" could also describe someone's request, but "presumptuous" is the better choice because it more specifically describes the situation of someone expecting too much.