Something is said to be “endemic” if it is native to, or at least, regularly found in something. This negative usage is hinted at by the second sentence’s hint: “this most unfortunate reality.” The word ultimately comes from Greek roots meaning people (demos), a root found in English words like “democratic” and “demagogue.” The word mitigate means to lessen or to make milder. Its Latin root is mitis, which means mild.

The key here is to note the relationship between the food, the lungs, and the repercussions. The easiest “key” to this relationship is “pulmonary,” which is derived from the Latin word for "lung" and has related English words such as “pulmonologist,” which is a doctor specializing in lungs. From here, it is obvious that “aspirated” fits the bill, for it means “inhaled. It comes from the Latin spirare, which means to breathe or blow. Related words are like “inspire” (literally to breathe into, as though by (e.g.) a spiritual flow), “expire” (to breathe out), and even “perspire” (to breathe through, broadly applied to the pores and sweat).

Since the young man hopes little for success, the best word is “despondent,” which means depressed because of loss of hope. To be "buoyed" means to be cheered—as in to be lifted upward (like a buoy in the sea water).

The organization “spread abroad” the tax records, an action that could be likened to the sowing of seed.  Dissemination literally means “to spread seed abroad.”  It comes from the prefix “dis-”, which here means “abroad” and a derivative of the Latin “semen,” meaning “seed.”  The later word is clearly used not only in the word “semen,” which is like a “seed for generating children” but likewise in “insemination” as well as “seminar” (a training or “seeding” session for ideas).  Regarding the second word, “questionable” fits well, as there are no implications that the transactions were wicked, greedy, or illegal.  Being “questionable” does not necessarily imply any of those descriptors.

For this sentence, the best way to consider the options is to consider the answer words in combination. While all of the pairs other than “overwrought, cajole” might seem acceptable, “demoralized, rouse” really works best, both in meaning and in grammatical form in the sentence. The general sense of the sentence is that the team lacks enthusiasm and that they cannot bring themselves to start the season. To this end, the couplet “demoralized, rouse” captures the meaning best. Although very old usages of “demoralize” indicate corruption of one’s morals, it now is generally used to indicate a lack of hope.

The sense of the sentence is that Sandy is continuing to accumulate expenses for care that is given after the surgery. Note that we cannot say anything specific about the care except the fact that it is implied to be after the surgery. Therefore, the best option for the second blank is “subsequent,” meaning “following after.” The word comes from Latin roots for “to follow” and is found in English words like “consequence,” “sequence,” and “antecede.” When one “incurs” something, he or she is subjected to that thing as a consequence of some former action, the incurred thing generally having a negative connotation.

A number of the options provided for the first blank immediately contrast with the assertion that the old man did not intend any ill (e.g. “malevolent,” “malicious,” and “vindictive”). Likewise, there is nothing in the sentence implying that he was “dolorous,” that is, sad; therefore, the best option is “cantankerous . . . abide.” When someone is cantankerous, they might just be argumentative, not necessarily out of ill will. When one cannot “abide” something, he or she is said to be unable to tolerate its existence.

For the first blank, we need to pick out a word that means something like "stolen," because later in the sentence, we're too that Sally "immediately gave [the pencil] back, having stolen it." Either "appropriated" ("took (something) for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission") or "snatched" ("steal (something) or kidnap (someone), typically by seizing or grabbing suddenly") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out a word that means something like "accidentally," because the sentence informs us that Sally "had [taken] Sam's favorite pencil without knowing it was his." Either "unintentionally "("not done on purpose") or "unwittingly" ("not done on purpose; unintentionally") could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "appropriated" and "unintentionally" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "appropriated . . . unintentionally."

Because the sentence's subject is a fox and all of the available answer choices for the first blank are adjectives describing color, we need to pick out an adjective that describes a shade of red, because foxes typically have predominantly reddish fur. Either "red" or "russet" ("reddish brown in color") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we can infer that because the fox's tail "(verb)ed down to a delicate point" that either "tapered" ("diminished or reduced or caused to diminish or reduce in thickness toward one end") or "narrowed" could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "russet" and "tapered" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "russet . . . tapered."

We can infer that Cindy believes even unlikely claims, so for the first blank, we're looking for an adjective that means something like "unsuspecting." Either "gullible" ("easily persuaded to believe something; credulous") or "credulous" ("having or showing too great a readiness to believe things") could work. For the second blank, we know that Cindy was tricked by the seller who sold her the gold-painted pendant, so we should pick out another verb that means something like "tricked." Either "swindled" ("deceived to deprive someone of money or possessions") or "deceived" ("to cause to believe what is not true; mislead") could work. Of the potential answers we've identified as potentially correct, only "gullible" and "swindled" appear in the same answer choice, so the answer is "gullible . . . swindled."