The "text's meaning" is difficult to understand, even with some effort, as represented in the second blank. "Obscure," meaning difficult to understand, and "exegesis," meaning a lengthy analysis and interpretation, form the correct answer.

Antipathy—a natural, basic or habitual repugnance, aversion.

Antithetical—directly opposed and contrasted, opposite.

Claire hates the cold, but loves the heat. 

The sense of the first term is that the girl is to be described as stubborn or disobedient (as is clear from the rest of the sentence). The second blank appears to indicate some sort of suggestions or (better) commands given her by her elders. To this end, "refractory . . . injunctions" fits best. Probably the most tempting answers are "unflinching . . . sagacity" and "willful . . . insights." The latter only fits closely enough for "willful." In the case of the former, process of elimination will show that "refractory . . . injunctions" is a closer fit. Always remember the importance of eliminating answers so you can make this kind of intelligent decision.

Do not be tempted by "bombastic . . . trauma" or "fanatical . . . blow." The key thing to note is the similarity of the fighter's demeanor in and out of the ring. The word "pugnacious" comes from the Latin pugnare, "to fight." Someone who is "pugnacious" is quick to argue or has the appearance of a fighter. A related word is "pugilist," which means a boxer.

Since the reviews of the novelist's work are polarized, we should expect opposites; for the first blank, we'll need a positive noun because it "celebrates" aspects of the work, and for the second blank, we'll need a negative adjective describing the opposing critiques.

Since "complaint" and "diatribe" are negative words, we can eliminate these answers, as well as "eulogy," which is specifically a speech or writing in praise of someone who has recently died. We're left with "encomium" and "panegyric," both of which refer to written works of praise and fit in the sentence's first blank. Of the remaining choices' second words, "caustic," meaning highly critical, works in the second blank, while "deferent" does not, because it has a positive meaning of respectful. So, the correct answer is "panegyric . . . caustic."

The sentence is about Kevin's perceived spending habits. Suzy expects something about him, but discovers the opposite to be true, where the truth is "he could never be considered a spendthrift." This indicates that she expected him to be wasteful but found that expectation to be wrong, so the two words have to be opposites, with the first meaning something like wasteful, and the second meaning something like careful or thrifty. 

The only two words that mean something like wasteful are "profligate" and "prodigal." "Abstemious" is more like the opposite of wasteful; it means abstaining from vices. "Perfidious" means evil or dangerous, and "salubrious" means beneficial or fortunate, so those are out.

The second word needs to mean the opposite of spendthrift. "Piety" is the quality of being religious and says nothing about a person's spending habits, so the correct answer is "prodigal . . . frugality."

The word "although" offers a clue that the words that go in the blanks are opposing words; "calumny" (a misrepresentation meaning to harm one's reputation) and "indubitable" (too evident to be doubted) are the best fit.

For the first blank, we are looking for a noun that emphasizes how few wolves are left, so "lack" and "paucity" are both possible answers. For the second blank, we need an adjective that describes how the locals believe the wolves want "to devour everyone in town." In choosing between "fell" (ferocious and deadly) and "sordid" (morally distasteful), "fell" is the better choice, so the answer is "paucity . . . fell."

The first word has to be a synonym for "flattery." "Gaffes" are mistakes, "opprobriums" are criticisms, and "libations" are drinks; only "compliments" and "blandishments" might fit. The second word has to indicate that Jason is not responding to the flattery; his face remains unchanged. "Recondite" means obscure or arcane, while "imperturbable" means unable to be disturbed. "Blandishments . . . imperturbable" is the best answer. 

Clearly Charles is continuing to work in the house, though he is not seeing much in the way of outcomes. Note also that there is an opposition in the second sentence, triggered by the word "however." Clearly, things turned around and there must have been some positive outcome. This allows us to eliminate "nothing" immediately, and although many of the others are tempting, only "fruition" captures the sense of a positive outcome occuring. Likewise, "assiduously" works well in the first blank, for Charles continued to work as steward in a devoted manner (so it would seem), in spite of many years of little success.