Laying in a hospital bed for months will make someone much less healthy-looking. Look for the answer choice that indicates an unhealthiness or sickness. "Gaunt," meaning thin or even bony, is the only answer choice with such a meaning.

The arrested man was never directly involved, but had some connection to illegal activities. The correct answer choice will have a meaning of working with or being linked to such acts. "Compliant," meaning accomodating or involved in, is the only possible answer choice.

"Inconsistent" means lacking agreement or self-contradictory. The fact that this sentence describes two things which are supposed to not agree should lead the reader to look for a choice which expresses some degree of disharmony.

"Candid" means honest and straightforward. The fact that he was recognized as trustworthy gives a strong clue to this. "Duplicitious" is the exact opposite, meaning deliberately deceptive or dishonest.

The word "contrary" implies a contradiction or opposites in some manner. The word "actually" tips the reader off to the fact that the actor's public and private personas are different and "contrary" is the only choice which reflects that.

"Esoteric" means designed or intended for the specially initiated alone. If the band did not expect to find mainstream success, it can be reasonably assumed that their music is either poor or intended for a smaller audience. As no options are available reflecting low quality, it can be assumed that they are playing for a niche market.

The correct answer addresses the severity of Fred's error that led to the motion's defeat ("egregious"). The incorrect answers treat Fred's error as minor or minute, which does not follow in the context of the sentence.

The correct answer will note how commonplace personal computers are today ("ubiquitous") in comparison to how they were thirty years ago. The incorrect answers treat personal computers as a new, unique, or unknown phenomenon.

The correct answer indicates the unrealistic and impractical nature of Samantha's belief in her future ("quixotic"). The incorrect answers claim that Samantha's belief is realistic ("pragmatic" and "down-to-earth") or normal and unremarkable ("mundane"). "Messianic" somewhat addresses the lack of realism present, but does not work in the context of the sentence.

The correct answer refers to how Cedric has great foresight in his stock market trading ("prescient"), demonstrated when he sold his shares before they lost most of their value. The incorrect answers either refer to Cedric as lacking good judgment ("injudicious"), being unnecessarily prone to spending wastefully ("spendthrift" and "profligate"), or being unwilling to take possible risks ("frugal").