From the words used in the second clause of the sentence you know that the blank must describe a brief relationship. Of the five answer choices dalliance most closely matches this meaning. Dalliance refers to an affair or flirtatious episode or frivolous experience. Discernment describes good judgment; arrogance means cockiness; fright refers to fear; cruelty describes the deliberate causing of pain or anguish.

The sentence contrasts Shawn’s usual outgoing personality with his surprising timidity and some other quality. As that other quality is similar to timidity and opposite to outgoing the correct answer is “aloofness” which relates to the quality of being distant or reserved. Jubilation describes extreme happiness; gregarious is a synonym for outgoing; energy obviously could not be correct; brevity describes something short-lived or brief.

The correct answer is "anecdote," meaning a short, often amusing story. Speeches, essays, and persuasive pieces often include anecdotes. While "repartee" is also amusing speech, it refers to back-and-forth conversation between people, not a singular person's address.

The sentence implies an intensification from “so different” to “the very . . .” The sense is that Larry believes Justin to be “the very example of difference” or “the very opposite” of him. The word “antithesis” means “the direct opposite.” To help memorize the word, think of it in terms of being the “anti-thesis”—the opposite of the “thesis” proposed by another’s character. Although this will help you memorize it, do remember that the word “antithesis” can be applied to anything that directly opposes another thing. As a vocabulary note, “antithetical” is the adjective form meaning “being directly opposed.”

The key phrase to note is “able to heal a countless number of ailments.” A “panacea” is something that is believed to be able to cure every sort of ailment. It is derived from the prefix “pan-” meaning “all” and the Greek “akos,” meaning “remedy.” The former is found in English words like “pantomime” and “pantheist.” 

“Diction” involves both the choice of words and, particularly in its normal usage, the style of speaking and forming words. It is derived from the Latin dicere meaning “to say or speak,” a word with forms that have in which the “c” becomes a “ct” (“dict-“). In this latter form we find most of our related English words such as “dictation,” “dictator,” “edict,” “addiction,” “predict,” and many others.

Since the nation is said to have avoided the reform, it can be said not to have had enough force behind the idea of such an undertaking. We are not told anything about the crisis’ effects on the psyche of the nation, so it is not fair to say that it provided the necessary “panic” (and so forth). Insofar as the crisis encouraged the nation to undertake the reform, it can be said to have provided an “impetus,” that is, the force to start it. The word literally means “to seek toward something.” The “seek” portion is derived from the Latin “peto,” which is reflected in the “-petus” portion of the word. It is found in many English words like “petition,” “repetition,” and even “appetite.”

“Avarice” is extreme greediness for material wealth. Since the second half of the sentence indicates both eagerness for such increase and comparison to the “greediest,” it is implied that this is not a matter of mere desire but instead something stronger like “avarice.” Also, all of the other “monetary words” among the possible answers are related to certain acts or strategies to be undertaken by those wishing to increase gain.

We know that the sentence is discussing the moment at which the emperor was most powerful, so we should pick out an answer choice that means something like "height." While "middle" might look like a potentially good answer choice, especially because it is surrounded by "beginning" and "end," "zenith" is the better answer choice. While "zenith" specifically means "the highest point reached by a celestial or other object" or "the point in the sky or celestial sphere directly above an observer," it also means "the time at which something is most powerful or successful." Because "zenith" is closer in meaning to "height" than is "middle," "zenith" is the correct answer.

Since the second clause speaks of “uncertainties,” anything matching this would be the best choice. Anger and indignation are too strong and specifically refer to something more than mere uncertainty, though uncertainty can often lead people to anger. Do not be tempted to think of immaturity or adolescence, though these are often marked by or related to uncertainty. The best word is “angst” which means “dread” and is often related to one’s realization of the difficulties of life. The word is related to words like “anxious” and “anxiety.”