Since we know the advisor was nice to the princes in order to gain power, we're looking for an adjective that means something like "fawning." While "obsequious" and "ostentatious" sound quite similar, they have very different meanings: "ostentatious" means "characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice," while "obsequious" means "obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree," and is the correct answer.

The opposition implied here is that the college president has living quarters that are very simple in comparison with his office and reception area. When something is “austere,” it is severe, often used in the sense of meaning that something is severely limited or not abundant and comfortable. It is in this latter sense that we often use the word “austerity.”

Since fall is transitory in New England, the best answer choice is ephemeral or short in length.

The only thing implied by this sentence is that the priest needs help doing the “bookkeeping,” which generally is taken to mean the activity of tracking the financial accounting of an organization; therefore, the best choice to describe his lack of experience is that of being short in “fiscal” matters (whatever else might be said). The word fiscal comes from the Latin root for “basket,” which can be extended to mean something for storing goods or money. It is related to the English “confiscate,” which means not merely “to take” but also often conveys the sense of a government taking the property for the public use or financial benefit.

The words “bumbled” and “incomprehensible” both indicate that Peter could not communicate in a clear way. One could likely say that he was “incoherent.” In contrast to this, his brother could be called “articulate,” meaning that he can express himself in a coherent manner. The word is derived from the Latin word for “joint.” An “article” is like the small joint that makes up a larger body of knowledge. When someone is “articulate,” that person is said to “cut the matter at its joints”—that is, he or she breaks the topic into its appropriate parts (or articles).

Since Peter expected no surprises, it is safe to assume that he believed his list to be absolutely complete. The word “exhaustive” literally means “to drain out completely” in the sense of “examining every aspect.” When someone is “exhausted,” all of his or her energy has been trained. We likewise say that (for example) all options are exhausted when there are no more remaining.

The implication of the sentence is that the version of the text being assigned is a shortened version, “containing only the essential passages of the story.” An abridgment of a story is a shortened version of it, often claimed to contain the “essential passages.” The word “abridge” is related to other “shortening” words like “abbreviate,” “brief,” and “brevity.”

Since Justine was said to develop her abilities, the implication in the opposition-indicating “although” clause is that she did not have these naturally. An “innate” ability is literally one that is “inborn” or natural. It comes from the Latin word for “to be born,” which is found in English words like “nativity” and “natal.”

Since Ronald’s lump was the result of a chance, external event, it was not a trait that he had naturally. The sentence clearly implies that the word needed must be opposed to the accidental manner by which he received the lump. Therefore, it is best said that people believed that it was an inborn characteristic.

The opposition being implied here is between an orderly, systematic approach and one that gathers things somewhat haphazardly. We cannot say that Mary’s approach is necessarily flippant or frivolous; however, it is fair to say that such a non-systematic approach is “eclectic,” which means “gathering from a broad number of sources,” often implying that this gathering is done without a single unifying principle (except perhaps in the tastes of the one gathering).