"Intransigent" means refusing to compromise, while "intractable" means difficult to manage or unmanageable. Refusing to compromise on his demands, the terrorist made the stand-off unmanageable for the authorities, taking away their options.

This sentence provides several clues to help you identify the correct answer. Firstly, you know that the first blank must match the attitude of the word healthy and the second black must match the attitude of the word slovenly. Secondly, the second blank must be different (most likely opposite) in meaning to either healthy or the first blank. Erratic means inconsistent and regressive means reverting to a less developed condition. The second blank could perhaps fit, but the first blank does not match with what we know about the sentence. Likewise, for boorish, which means ill-mannered, and tempered, which means a measured response. If those two blanks were the other way around the sentence might work. Neglectful (failing to care for something) and meticulous (showing extreme care and precision) could also work if the blanks were the other way around. Disdainful (disrespectful) and wasteful are not opposites. That leaves regal and corpulent as the only possible answer. Regal refers to the condition of royalty and fits comfortable with a description of a healthy King Henry VIII; corpulent describes someone who is fat and works well with the changing nature of King Henry’s health.

"Fecund" means fruitful and fertile, while "bountiful" means generous, plentiful, copious. A farmer who surveyed a fertile plot of land would certainly expect it to deliver a generous crop.

The use of the word “however” to begin the second clause suggests that the meaning of the second part of the sentence is different from and most likely opposite to the meaning of the first sentence. Additionally, you know that the first blank must refer to a common feeling at a funeral, and the second blank must closely resemble the meaning of the word “distastefully.” The best match for the first blank is "somber," which means having a serious and melancholy atmosphere, and the word that most closely matches with "distastefully" is "sardonically," which means in the manner of sarcastic commentary. These answers best fit with the context of the sentence. As for the other answer choices, "terse" means short and concise and "succinctly" means expressed with brevity; "concise" means expressing meaning using few words and "quiescently" means in a manner that is at rest; "audible" means able to be heard, and "wistfully" refers to doing something in the manner of looking back with sadness to a better past; and "notorious" means famous for bad deeds.

For the first blank, we are looking for a word that has to do with getting angry because this person was “fuming.” For the second, we can infer that the directions were not very good because this person got lost. The answer choice with "irascible . . . nebulous" is the only that fits because irascible means easily angered, while "nebulous" means vague.

The key point to note is that the brush communicates the artistic skill that is not in the brush itself. It is “traversed” by a force greater than it could create on its own. (It would be rather boring on its own—though it might be quite well crafted); therefore, it is “traversed.”

Although the Latin root “-vers” often means something like to turn, there is also a Latin root, versari, which means to move about or dwell. The prefix “tra-“ is really an abbreviation of “trans-,” which means across (as in a word like “transatlantic” or “transfer”—the latter meaning to carry across); therefore, “traverse” means to move across—like the skill of the artist across the brush.

The word “utilization” means the use made of something and is related to a number of “use” words. In the earlier Latin as well as other English usages, the “t” often becomes an “s” because of the similarity of these sounds, depending on the context in given words.  

In this sentence you are told that a certain condition having to do with the number of laborers caused wages to fall and the government to respond with new policies. Logical reasoning should help dictate that a scarcity (a state of having little or not enough of something) of laborers would cause wages to rise, and at any rate, the government would not respond by "beautifying" (making beautiful) new policies. A "debacle" (disaster) of laborers does not make sense. Neither does "incoherence" (difficulty understanding). Of the remaining options, the best answer is that an "overabundance" (a state of having more of something that is needed) of laborers would cause the government to "embrace" (adopt) a series of new policies.

Every one of the wrong answers has an acceptable word provided for the second blank. There really is no indication whether Thomas found many aspects suitable for critique or for praise / approval. (The word "approbation" means "prase"). Indeed, he might merely find the other sections calling for further discussion or reflection. The key, then, is the first blank, and the phrase to note is "to one section of the talk." The implication is that Thomas wishes to focus on merely one section of the talk instead of being concerned with the whole thing; therefore, the best option for the first blank is "restrict," which means "to limit." (As a vocabulary help, a "restriction" is a limitation. "Travel restrictions" are "limits placed on travel").

For the first blank, we know that the king was worried that his people would starve despite something about the size of the fall harvest, so we can infer from the use of "despite" that the harvest was quite large. We need to pick out an answer choice that means something like largeness. Either "bounty" (plenty) or "abundance (a large amount of something) could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we need a verb that described what happened to the king's fears when he learned that his people had stored away the majority of their harvest. We can infer that this would calm his fears, so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like calm. Either "quelled" (calm something, like worries) or "assuaged" (soothed an unpleasant feeling) could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "bounty" and "quelled" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "bounty . . . quelled."

For the first blank, we know that we need to pick out a word that means something like "questioning" because later in the sentence, the officers are mentioned that the prisoner "had to be questioned in regards to each [crime]." Either "interrogation" ("to ask someone questions in a thorough and often forceful way") or "questioning" could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out a word that means something like "lengthened," because while the police officers "had initially expected to be done questioning him before lunch," they "didn't finish up until late that evening." Either "protracted" (" prolonged") or "extended" ("caused to last longer") could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "interrogation" and "protracted" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "interrogation . . . protracted."