The key expression here is “insignificant matters.” Therefore, she found John’s critiques to be rather small or insignificant. The best word to describe such things would be “petty,” which means “small” or “trivial.” It is related to the French “petit,” meaning small, and which is often used in English in the same sense.

The idea here is that Caesar never wasted words, so that should mean his dispatches were short. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like short. "Effusive" is the opposite of short; it means overflowing, unreserved, and exuberant.  "Dreary" means boring or uninteresting—it doesn't fit with our expectation of being short.  Neither does "noble," which means upstanding or righteous, nor does "bellicose," which means warlike. The best answer choice is "laconic," which means terse, concise, or using few words.

The best word here is “auspicious,” thought “felicitous” is a very tempting trap word. The latter indicates that something is pleasing or very appropriate for the given circumstances. When something is “auspicious” it is not merely a “happy chance” but moreover indicates (or at least forecasts) future success, something for which Zachary was hoping, as indicated by the interpretation of these signs as hopefully indicating “a positive turn of events.” The word “auspice” literally means a token of prophecy, coming from the Latin word for one who looks at birds to discover the will of the gods. When one says that something was “done under the auspices of X,” he or she means that X supported the given undertaking.

When something fluctuates, its changes in an irregular manner, making it hard to predict that which is fluctuating. That this is the case in our sentence is hinted by the fact that the “volatility was too great” for any kind of forecasting. The word is derived from the Latin verb for “to flow,” and has related English words like “flux” and “influx” as well as “influence” and “fluid.”

The implication in this sentence is that the house was in more disrepair than even many other deteriorating houses in town. The best word to match this sense is “dilapidated,” which means “falling apart due to age or lack of care.” It is derived from the prefix “di-” meaning “apart or down from” and the Latin word for stone, “lapis.” The stone lapis lazuli is so named because it is the stone (lapis) from the place in Persia (now Iran) that was Latinized as Lazulus.

The sense of the sentence is that Luca had many formidable difficulties in his life. If something is particularly difficult in this manner, it is called “redoubtable.” The word does not mean “to doubt again.” Instead, the “re-” prefix here is an intensifier, meaning that the word literally means something like “really doubtable” (because it is so difficult).

The key is that these persons often perform actions with both hands, which is precisely what being “ambidextrous” means. Literally, it means, both (are) right or both hands are as good as right hands.

Since the children confuse the lamplight with that of a ghost, it is best described as being “spectral.” Other options like “eerie,” “devilish,” and “wicked” are not as directly related to the “ghostly” appearance. The word is related to a number of other words related to the Latin for look, such as “speculate” and “spectator,” though here the word explicitly means to have a ghostly appearance.

Since Regina is said to be looking for someone to fill the role of a mother in her life, we can say most assuredly that she is looking for a replacement mother. Whether or not she desires one who is friendly, we cannot say, and while likely she wants a devoted mother, still the sentence most directly is talking about this need for a replacement. A “surrogate” is a substitute for some position or role. It comes from the Latin word meaning to replace or depute, more distantly being derived from the combination of “super,” meaning over and “rogare,” meaning to ask. The latter is related to English words like “interrogate” and “derogatory.”

When a person has a deep psychological reliance on another person, it can often be called codependence. This is particularly the case when the other partner needs such a relationship as well, perhaps for other reasons. For instance, one person might need a mother figure and rely on some woman in his or her life, while that maternal figure might likewise have some need for someone to support her (e.g.) alcoholism. If the other person is a drinking partner, this relationship could be considered particularly codependent.