We can infer that we need to pick out a word that means something like "place side-by-side" and has something to do with creating contrast. "Separating" cannot be the correct answer because the sentence refers to "the shapes' side-by-side placement." However, "juxtaposing" is a verb that means "place or deal with close together for contrasting effect," so it is the correct answer because it best fits the sentence's context.

The best option here is “rouse,” for it has the direct meaning of “waking from sleep.” While the other options might apply to a degree (except perhaps berate, which is too strong), none of them apply quite as directly as does “rouse.”

Since tea parties and graduation ceremonies are said to have planned actions, one could say that they are “choreographed.” When something is choreographed, it is given a planned set of steps that are to be performed or executed. The word comes from the combination of the Greek words for “dance” and “to write,” thus having the sense of “writing down (the steps) of a dance.”

Since Luca is said to train himself in the virtue of patience, it can be inferred that he was not born with such a disposition; therefore, the best option would be “disposed,” which means “inclined toward something.” When we say that someone has a “cheerful disposition,” he or she is thus said to show an inclination to a cheerful attitude.

The key descriptive clue is found in the expression “as though he were struck by the blade of a guillotine.” A guillotine is the device (often associated in the popular imagination with post-Revolution France) used to cut off the heads of criminals. Therefore, the best answer is “decapitating,” which means “taking off the head.” The “de-” prefix means “down from” or “away from.” The “-capit-” portion comes from the Latin (and Greek) for “head,” which is found in words like “capital” (head city of a nation) and “per capita” (literally meaning “per head” or “as applies, perhaps on average, to each person in a group”).

The sentence implies that the theme was repeated multiple times. Although one might think that “resume” is acceptable, one cannot say that the theme “stopped” and then was “started again.” Likewise, “recited” really has more to do with repeating memorized words than anything with music. The word “recapitulation” can be used in music to refer to a section in which various themes are repeated. Here, the sentence expresses that the theme was repeated or “recapitulated.” The word literally means bringing the heading (i.e. theme) back. The “heading” portion comes from the Latin for head, which is found in words like “capital” (head city of a nation) and “per capita” (literally meaning “per head” or “as applies, perhaps on average, to each person in a group”).

Since the sentence is concerned with a ceremony on behalf of the ship, the verb that is needed will best describe the action of a ceremony that makes something usable for official service. Although we might often think of “christen” in a religious sense, it more generally means to dedicate something (for some end or set of ends) in an official, public, and ceremonial manner.

The sense of this sentence is a bit difficult, for you must choose the least bad answer. Since the teacher had to promise never to make such a remark again, it is more likely that she was asked to “take back” the remark than merely to “commentate” or “clarify.” The word “recant” means “to take back” or “to declare that one does not believe what one has held or proclaimed in the past.” The word comes from the combination of “re-”, here used as meaning “going back” (as in “return”), and “-cant,” which comes from the Latin for “to sing” (as found in English words like “chant” and “cantor”). The English word reflects the Latin development of these two parts taken together, for in latter language, the word “recantare” meant “to revoke”—a meaning quite close to ours.

Since the sentence states that Edward reprimanded his daughter sternly, it can be implied that he was angered by the news of her cheating. The best option is “incensed,” which means “having been made very angry.” It is derived from Latin words concerned with fire and is related to English words like “incense” and “incendiary.”

We can infer that because the construction company "left a completely empty lot where the older building had once stood," they completely tore down the old building before putting up the new one. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "completely tear down." "Restored" cannot be the correct answer choice because it means the opposite of the word we are looking for, and while "grounded" may look like a potentially correct answer choice because the construction company left only bare ground after they were done tearing down the old building, "razed" is the best answer because it is a verb that means "completely destroy a building, town, or other site."