A “raconteur” is a narrator or storyteller.

From the context of the sentence it is apparent that Plato’s work changed the direction of Western thought; therefore the answer we select must reinforce this meaning. Virulence and maliciousness both relate to the bitterness or immorality of an action, as the sentence makes no mention of these concepts we can eliminate these answer choices. Debacle means disaster, which neither fits grammatically nor matches the meaning of the sentence. Perdition means everlasting punishment or hell, which likewise fails in both respects. Only profundity which means intellectual complexity or insight supports the framework of the sentence.

An orator is someone who is talented at speaking to audiences. It stands to reason that the ability to make oneself best understood would be of critical importance to an orator. Articulation, which refers to the coherent expression of thoughts, ideas and narrative, is the best fit for this sentence. Overabundance means to have too much of something. Experiments would be of more useful study to a scientist than an orator. Advancements likewise might be useful for an orator, but far less important than speaking ability. Implementation means to carry out an idea.

From the language of the second clause you know that the blank in the first clause must relate to the oratorical skills of Henry Clay and his ability to argue with great clarity. Orator, if you do not know what it means, is someone who is good at public speaking. Of the five answer choices only rhetoric could be correct. Rhetoric means persuasive speech that communicates a point. Boorishness refers to someone who is ill-mannered; smugness means cockiness; animosity refers to hostility between two or more parties; generosity refers to kindness and selflessness.

The "penumbra" cast by an object is the outer part of its shadow. The word comes from the Latin “umbra,” which means shade or even ghost, as well as from the verb “umbrare,” meaning, to cast a shadow on or to shade. Related words in English are not only “umbrella” and “umbrage” but also “somber” and “sombrero” (really as a Spanish import, of course).

In order to be trusted by a firm, one would have to show great devotion to the firm—particularly in the case of such a worker that is perhaps not the most efficient. Such devotion could be termed “fidelity,” a word derived from the Latin "fides" (and related words), meaning trust or (particularly later) faith. A related English word is "fideism" (the religious belief that knowledge relies solely on faith), and the motto of the U.S. Marines, “semper fidelis,” comes directly from the Latin for always faithful.

Although a number of options might be tempting, the emphasis of the sentence is merely on the fact that the children will repeat the actions of their parents. It does not necessarily say anything about multiple trials or the mode by which the learning occurs. In general, “mimesis” means imitation. It is derived from Greek roots that are likewise reflected in words like “mime” and “mimic.”

Both the event, falling down stairs, and the result of it, wanting not to go to school, indicate the boy was extremely embarrassed. The correct answer choice, therefore, will have a meaning of shame or embarrassment, which is the definition of "abasement." "Indifference" and "ambivalence" both have a sense of a lack of caring, while "pride" and "celebration" are both too positive.

The contextual clues tell us that the feelings of the away fans are going to be the opposite of the home fans, and the home fans "adore" the team. "Contempt" is synonymous with hatred, so it is the best choice.

The definition of "benefactor" is someone who gives a gift, often a sum of money. This is what happened to the orphan in this sentence, so "benefactor" is the correct answer.