The key word here is “formalized action.” A “ritual” is not merely a religious action but instead can apply to any kind of sequence of actions that are done according to a certain prescribed order. The word is related to other words like “rite” and “ritualistic.”

There are two key words in this sentence, “cogent” and “invalidating.” The word “cogent” means “logical” or “convincing.” When something “invalidates” an argument, it makes it no longer hold. The contrast in this sentence is between the cogency that John believes his reasoning has and the number of invalidities that it has in reality. When someone commits a fallacy, he or she makes an error in reasoning. The word is related to words like “infallible” and “false.”

"Probity" means honesty or integrity. "Philanthropy" means charity or generosity. "Guile" means slyness or cleverness. "Efficacy" means effectiveness or productiveness. "Anachronism" means error in time placement.

Under certain circumstances you might be surprised to find a skeptic (if she were skeptical about whether a fair could be fun), a refugee (if she were fleeing from carnies), or a busybody (if her busyness was of a type that would keep her from having time to go to a fair), but the best fit here is "recluse"—someone who would rarely want to be out in public.

We can infer from the sentence that we need to pick out a word that means something like "sign," because the season is expected to arrive "when the first bird is spotted." "Concluder" cannot be the correct answer, then, because it is an antonym of the word we're looking for, which refers to something that heralds the arrival of something, not its conclusion. "Harbinger" is a noun meaning "a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another" or "a forerunner of something"; it is the correct answer because it best fits the sentence's context.

Since he was familiar with food and the sentence indicates he is an expert, the best answer choice is connoisseur.

We know that the actor missed some direction telling him to enter the scene, so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "signal." While "summons" might seem like the correct answer, "cue" fits the context of the sentence better; while "summons" means "an authoritative or urgent call to someone to be present or to do something" or "an order to appear before a judge or magistrate, or the writ containing it," "cue" means "a thing said or done that serves as a signal to an actor or other performer to enter or to begin their speech or performance." Because "cue" best fits the theatrical context of the sentence, "cue" is the correct answer.

When something is done ad hoc, it is performed for this or that purpose, not in a planned, cohesive manner. (The expression comes from Latin meaning “to this [purpose / end].”) The implication, therefore, is that the meetings were not planned but merely addressed issues as they arose. Therefore, it did not have any preplanned agenda. The word come from the Latin meaning “things to be done.” It is related to many “act” words like “agent,” “action,” “activity,” and so forth.

Although one might be tempted to choose almost any of the options, most of all “erudition” and “sophistication,” the sense of the sentence is best met by a word describing one having complete ability to communicate. When someone is “fluent” in a language, he or she is able to utilize it in speaking and / or writing in a totally natural manner. The word comes from the Latin for “to flow,” and one could think of a “fluent speaker” as one from whom words “flow readily.”

The only thing that can be said about the fifteen people in relation to Theodoric is that they were now “under” his watch or control. When someone is called a “subordinate,” he or she is in a lower position in relation to those who are “over” them. The word literally means “of an order (‘-ordinate’) below (‘sub-’)” or “ordained (i.e. placed or assigned) below another.”