Under certain circumstances you might be surprised to find a skeptic (if she were skeptical about whether a fair could be fun), a refugee (if she were fleeing from carnies), or a busybody (if her busyness was of a type that would keep her from having time to go to a fair), but the best fit here is "recluse"—someone who would rarely want to be out in public.

We can infer from the sentence that we need to pick out a word that means something like "sign," because the season is expected to arrive "when the first bird is spotted." "Concluder" cannot be the correct answer, then, because it is an antonym of the word we're looking for, which refers to something that heralds the arrival of something, not its conclusion. "Harbinger" is a noun meaning "a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another" or "a forerunner of something"; it is the correct answer because it best fits the sentence's context.

Since he was familiar with food and the sentence indicates he is an expert, the best answer choice is connoisseur.

We know that the actor missed some direction telling him to enter the scene, so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "signal." While "summons" might seem like the correct answer, "cue" fits the context of the sentence better; while "summons" means "an authoritative or urgent call to someone to be present or to do something" or "an order to appear before a judge or magistrate, or the writ containing it," "cue" means "a thing said or done that serves as a signal to an actor or other performer to enter or to begin their speech or performance." Because "cue" best fits the theatrical context of the sentence, "cue" is the correct answer.

When something is done ad hoc, it is performed for this or that purpose, not in a planned, cohesive manner. (The expression comes from Latin meaning “to this [purpose / end].”) The implication, therefore, is that the meetings were not planned but merely addressed issues as they arose. Therefore, it did not have any preplanned agenda. The word come from the Latin meaning “things to be done.” It is related to many “act” words like “agent,” “action,” “activity,” and so forth.

Although one might be tempted to choose almost any of the options, most of all “erudition” and “sophistication,” the sense of the sentence is best met by a word describing one having complete ability to communicate. When someone is “fluent” in a language, he or she is able to utilize it in speaking and / or writing in a totally natural manner. The word comes from the Latin for “to flow,” and one could think of a “fluent speaker” as one from whom words “flow readily.”

The only thing that can be said about the fifteen people in relation to Theodoric is that they were now “under” his watch or control. When someone is called a “subordinate,” he or she is in a lower position in relation to those who are “over” them. The word literally means “of an order (‘-ordinate’) below (‘sub-’)” or “ordained (i.e. placed or assigned) below another.”

When someone is “unflagging,” he or she is tireless. Someone is said to be “flagging,” when he or she is tiring, a word that is related to the “flapping” sort of hanging that one finds in the case of a cloth flag on display; therefore, the best description of Imelda (in the face of the numerous defeats) is that she continued onward in spite of the disappointments. Thus, she “persevered” or had “perseverance.”

The opposition in this sentence is between “vagueness” and “non-vagueness.” Therefore, the best choice is not merely “simplicity” or even “plainness,” but instead “precision.” When someone is precise (or shows precision), he or she does or writes “just enough” in order to communicate everything that is needed. This means that such language will not be vague or diffuse but rather is direct and plain. The word literally means “to cut short” or “to cut in advance.” It is related to “scissors” as well as “incision.”

The key expression here is “to change his opinions.” Since Oliver’s wife failed to lead him to change these, it could be said that he was stubbornly clinging on to his ways and options. When someone is “obdurate,” he or she is stubborn in refusing to change in these ways. The word comes from the Latin for “hard” found in English words like “durability” and “endurance.” The expression “to harden one’s heart” is similar in meaning to “obdurate.”