For the first blank, we can infer that we need to pick out a word that means something like "was greater than," because we know that Harold's paper "not only" fulfilled the professor's expectations, but also "included . . . criticism that demonstrated his talent for literary analysis." So, either "exceeded" ("was better than; surpassed") or "surpassed" ("exceeded; was greater than" or "was better than") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we know that the Harold's criticism "demonstrated his talent for literary analysis," so we need to pick out an adjective that means something like "intelligent" and has a positive connotation, since Harold has "talent" for literary analysis, suggesting that the criticism was good. Either "incisive" ("of a person or mental process: intelligently analytical and clear-thinking") or "discerning" ("able to see and understand people, things, or situations clearly and intelligently") could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "exceeded" and "incisive" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "exceeded . . . incisive."

We can infer that because the hiking route is described as "full of twists and turns," we need to pick out an adjective for the first blank that means something like "twisting" or "turning" to describe it. Either "tortuous" ("full of twists and turns") or "winding" ("following a twisting or spiral course") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "search" to describe how Marty looked in his backpack for the map. Either "fumble" ("move clumsily in various directions using the hands to find one's way") or "fish" ("search, typically by groping or feeling for something concealed") could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "tortuous" and "fumble" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "tortuous . . . fumble."

For the first blank, we can infer that we need to pick out an adjective with a negative connotation that means something like “bad” or “illegal” because the politician is described as “corrupt.” Either “nefarious” (“criminal”) or “unlawful” (“not conforming to by law or rules”) could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out a verb that means something like “formally accused;” either “indicted” (“formally accused of a crime”) or “charged” (“accused”) could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we’ve identified as potentially correct for each blank, only “nefarious” and “indicted” appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is “nefarious . . . indicted.”

There are several options that do have an acceptable first word, namely "heinous," "horrific," and (perhaps) "amazing." The problems with the wrong options are their second words. The primary clue for the second word is the subordinate "never to return thereto." This describes Leonardo's state after he is condemned for his crime. When someone is punished by being sent from their homeland, that person is exiled or banished; therefore, the best option is "heinous . . . banished."  The word "heinous" means extremely bad or evil, which works well (given the modifier "so," which indicates the gravity of the matter).

The word "instead" indicates that the manager would not assign the tedious tasks to his experienced workers but would assign them to the junior team members. That is, the word "instead" triggers a parallel between the verb of the main clause and the participle "assigning" in the introductory dependent clause. To "delegate" something is to assign something to a less senior person in a group or team. The blank before "work" needs to be an adjective describing that work. Given that the tasks are called "tedious," it is best to choose "dull," which is closest in meaning to the earlier description of the work.

There are two words to notice in order to answer this question correctly. First, there is the adverb "extremely" and secondly there is the adjective "difficult." Since the punishment given to the man is difficult, we can presume that the crime is not a minor or "light" matter. It must have been extremely bad or grave. The word "heinous" means extremely wicked or bad. When the judge sentences such a criminal, it would be likely be a strong "condemnation" of this crime. Among other meanings, to "condemn" means to give a punishment sentence that is very strong.

Since the spectators completely stopped because of the scene, it is likely proper to say that their attention was completely "taken" by it. When someone is "engrossed," he or she is utterly absorbed in or by something. One could be engrossed in work, music, or—indeed—a beautiful scene. Because the spectators were so "taken in" by the scene, it is acceptable to say that they were "entranced" by it, meaning that their attention was completely absorbed in it. (Think of being in a "trance" to understand this meaning.)

We can tell from the context of the sentence that for the first blank, we're looking for an adjective that means not sunk, as it describes the boat before Sally's brother jumped off the diving board and sunk it. Of the available choices, "afloat" (floating) and "buoyant" (able to stay afloat) could work. For the second blank, we can infer that we need a word that means something like overturned, since we can picture what would happen to a paper boat in a wavy pool. Either "capsized" (overturned in water) or "sank" could work. Of the potentially correct answers we've identified, only "afloat" and "capsized" appear in a single answer choice, so "afloat . . . capsized" is the correct answer.

Let's start with the second blank. Since we know that the sprinkler system came on unexpectedly, we can guess that the cat got wet, so we should pick out an adjective that means something like soaked. Either "doused" (drenched) or "drenched" could work. For the first blank, we can guess that a wet cat wouldn't be too happy, so either "woeful" (sorrowful) or "miserable" (sad or uncomfortable) could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "woeful" and "doused" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "woeful . . . doused."

For the first blank, we need to pick out an word that means something like messed up, since we know that after the virus affected the file, it resulted in the message being a "confused jumble of letters." Either "garbled" (having its meaning distorted) or "scrambled" (jumbled) could be correct. For the second blank, we know that people tried to read the file but could not, so we should look for an adjective that means something like unreadable. Either "incomprehensible" (not able to be understood) or "indecipherable" (not able to be read) could be correct; while "inconsiderate" also begins with the prefix "in-," "inconsiderate" means rude, so it cannot be the correct answer. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "garbled" and "incomprehensible" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "garbled . . . incomprehensible."