Gina is described as wearing "a long black dress," which is very formal, as well as "a serious expression." These circumstances indicate a distinct lack of playfulness. "Somber" means serious and lacking in humor. It fits the context of the sentence well, and is therefore the correct answer.

Here, the sentence describes a princess who is pampered and is able to do as she pleases. "Leisure" refers to the ability to do whatever one wants with one's time, so a "life of leisure" would be one where one has no commitments such as a job. So, "leisure" is the answer choice that best fits the sentence's context.

Classes usually focus on ideas or "concepts." This differs from "ambitions" (goals or things people want to achieve); "procedures," (systematic ways of doing things); "objects" (aims of plans or things); and "plans" (definite, often multi-step ideas about how to deal with or accomplish something).

“Content” is the correct answer because it means satisfied with the way things are.

Given that ignoring a lack of educational opportunities is a negative quality, the blank should be filled with a negative word. The two negative words are "criticized" and "bothered." ("Questioned" may seem like a potentially correct answer too, but people would question the mayor "about" something, not "for" something.) It is more likely that the mayor would be criticized (critiqued) for his practices, as opposed to bothered (annoyed). Therefore, "criticized" is the best answer.

Because we know that the squirrel "moved from the ground to a branch in a few seconds," we can infer that we need to pick out a word for the blank that describes movement, and more specifically, speedy movement. While "ambled," "walked," "meandered," and "scurried" all describe movement, only "scurried," which means "moved hurriedly with short quick steps" and is used of a person or a small animal, refers to quick movement. So, "scurried" is the correct answer because it best fits the sentence's context.

From context it is clear that the answer choice must mean something similar to "careless." Whatever the correct answer is it is some behavior that the mother wants to stop her son from doing. This should lead you to the correct answer "reckless." If you are "reckless" you are not careful. To provide further help, "studious" means studying hard; "industrious" means hard working; "considerate" means kind and thoughtful; "affable" means friendly. 

You are told that the subject of the sentence was able to make a lot of money in a short space of time. This suggests that he made good and wise investments. The correct answer is therefore "shrewd" because "shrewd" means wise, crafty, smart. To provide further help, "mobile" means moving, can be moved; "vocal" means loud, outspoken. 

Because the subjects of this sentence were late you can reasonably assume that they would want to rush to get to work. The correct answer is therefore "brisk" because "brisk" means quick, rapid. The subjects were late so they wanted to get to work at a "quick" pace. To provide further help, all four incorrect answer choices are synonyms - they all mean slow. 

Bill owes his friend some money, but does not pay him. From this information you can determine that this would likely lead to an argument or a fight. The correct answer is therefore "dispute" which means argument, a disagreement over something. To provide further help, "frequent" means happening often; "accord" means agreement; "vague" means unclear; a "demonstration" is a protest, a showing of some thing or some feeling.