"Luminous" means brightly shining, while "ethereal" means otherworldly or angelic. An actress standing in a spotlight would be extremely well-lit and would appear to be like an angel.

“Torrid” means passionate when describing relationships and excessively hot when describing climates or temperatures, and “kindle” means start a fire or stir up. A movie about a passionate love affair caused a romantic spark to stir between Mary and Mark. Although “ardent” means passionate, “squelched” means extinguished, which doesn't make sense in the context of the sentence.

A prestigious school is well thought of and thus has difficult admissions barriers. Thus, both answers must reflect positively on the school; therefore "eminent . . . malleable" and "preeminent . . . insidious" can be removed on the basis of their negative and unstable admissions requirements. Assuming that admission is difficult because the prestigious school is of high caliber, the school could not be "abysmal." The last incorrect choice does not relate to positive or negative qualities of a university at all, in that "empirical" relates to data.

The correct answer refers to the dangerous nature of the virus ("virulent") as well as how the cities were adversely affected by it as a result ("depopulated"). The wrong answers only address one of these two; they either claim that the virus is helpful ("salutary") or not overly harmful ("benign") or that the cities were aided ("expanding" and "growing") by the virus.

The correct answer points to the complex nature of the writing that the author usually uses in his academic writing ("highfalutin") and how it made it overly difficult for an average person to understand ("arcane"). The incorrect answers fail to work in both categories; either they assert that the writing is not highbrow ("prosaic" and "unadorned") or that the audience believes that the book is too simple ("unembellished" and "facile").

The use of the word “but” indicates that the meaning of the second word must be opposite, or at least different, to the meaning of the first word. You also know that the first blank must be a description of a stunning quality attributed to the famous supermodel, and that the second blank must be similar in meaning to cute. The word "pulchritudinous" refers to great beauty, and "comely" is a synonym for cute. "Corpulent" means fat, and "prompt" means on time; "inscrutable" means mysterious; "nefarious" refers to doing evil, and "lavish" means fancy or expensive; "redoubled" means to increase, and "solicitous" means to be concerned.

"Canny" means shrewd and careful, while "impeccable" means flawless and exemplary. An investor with an always profitable portfolio would certainly be very shrewd.

The best way to approach this sentence is to consider the options for the second word. The option “devastating, marital” might seem acceptable if you happen to let your eyes glide over the second word too quickly. The word “marital” is not “martial,” which would seem to be acceptable (meaning “pertaining to war”). Even if it were that word, it would still be unacceptable, but “devastating” does match well for the first blank, thus making it a tempting option. Do not be deceived! The best option is “extensive, invincible,” particularly given that the army apparently can no longer think that they cannot be defeated. Therefore, they cannot think themselves to be “invincible.”

"Intransigent" means refusing to compromise, while "intractable" means difficult to manage or unmanageable. Refusing to compromise on his demands, the terrorist made the stand-off unmanageable for the authorities, taking away their options.

This sentence provides several clues to help you identify the correct answer. Firstly, you know that the first blank must match the attitude of the word healthy and the second black must match the attitude of the word slovenly. Secondly, the second blank must be different (most likely opposite) in meaning to either healthy or the first blank. Erratic means inconsistent and regressive means reverting to a less developed condition. The second blank could perhaps fit, but the first blank does not match with what we know about the sentence. Likewise, for boorish, which means ill-mannered, and tempered, which means a measured response. If those two blanks were the other way around the sentence might work. Neglectful (failing to care for something) and meticulous (showing extreme care and precision) could also work if the blanks were the other way around. Disdainful (disrespectful) and wasteful are not opposites. That leaves regal and corpulent as the only possible answer. Regal refers to the condition of royalty and fits comfortable with a description of a healthy King Henry VIII; corpulent describes someone who is fat and works well with the changing nature of King Henry’s health.