The logic of this sentence requires a word that means “to scatter” or “to disperse” for the first blank; therefore, we can eliminate choices "gathered . . . noisy" and "shouted . . . tranquil." The second clause of this sentence is joined to the first clause by the conjunction “and.” Therefore the meaning of the two clauses should be aligned. Since the crowds were dispersed in the first clause, it follows that the streets were deserted in the second clause.

It is important to remember who is doing these actions—the critics would be completing the action so the verb must relate to the process of critiquing a restaurant—thus only "acclaimed . . . sublime" or "lauded . . . discomfiting" are relevant. The sentence suggests that the conflict in the reviews were between the food and the ambiance, and thus "acclaimed . . . sublime" would not fit, leaving only "lauded . . . discomfiting."

"Camaraderie" means brotherhood or jovial unity, while "cavort" means leap about or behave boisterously. The young boys demonstrated their jovial unity by sharing the privilege of behaving boisterously with the team’s trophy, so "camaraderie . . . cavorting" is the correct answer.

The best prediction for the first word should be famous or well known. The second word choice describes "artifacts," and what we're told in the sentence is that they are "many thousands of years old." We should predict that the word describing the artifacts means something like old, ancient, or aged.

Let's eliminate the pairs that obviously don't match these predictions. "Endured" means put up with (usually something unpleasant) or bore with patience. "Explored" means looked over closely or scrutinized. Neither of these fit the sense of the sentence. "Revered," meaning held in high or sacred esteem or highly prized, might work, but the second word in that pair doesn't: "concurrent" means occurring at the same time. "Notorious" means widely and unfavorably known; that would suggest that the museum was hated. Our best choice is "acclaimed," which means enthusiastically welcomed or received, and "archaic," which means ancient or old-fashioned.

If the author's inspiration died after only a few pages, it didn't last long. We should predict that it proved short or fleeting. Since the novel is waiting to be completed, we should look for a word that means incomplete or unfinished.

Eliminating the obviously incorrect choices, we can hone in on "enduring," which means lasting or permanent—the opposite of what happened to the author's inspiration. "Absurd," meaning ridiculous or foolish, doesn't fit, either. "Decrepit" might make sense—it means falling apart or decaying, but the second word in the pair, "irksome," doesn't fit. It means annoying or irritating. Likewise, "volatile" means changeable and fleeting, but "obsolete" means outdated or useless. Not the best fit. "Ephemeral" means lasting only a short time, and "inchoate" means unformed or unfinished. That will work!

The key here is that book was too long; we should expect that the editor shortened the book by turning the first half into just one chapter, and that she did so by removing or getting rid of the rambling explanations and drawings.

Let's see what we can eliminate. "Expanded" means to have increased in bulk or size—that doesn't work! "Bemoaned" means lamented over or complained about, which makes no sense in the context of the sentence. "Shortened," meaning reduced or decreased, works, but the second word in that pair, "protracted," doesn't; it means drew out or lengthened. You can't shorten a book by protracting its contents! Likewise, "abbreviated" means made brief or short, but "bolstered" means supported—not the right choice. "Condensed" means reduced in volume or size, and "truncated" means shortened by cutting something off. That's the best fit!

The hero is "fearful," and the monster is "outraged," so our prediction for the first word should be that the hero is trying to calm the monster down, or to make it peaceful. Since we can predict that the monster's rage came about from the antics of the adventurers ("mischievous" certainly doesn't mean that they were well behaved!), the second word should mean caused, excited, or inflamed.

Let's look for words that might fit our first prediction. "Taunt," meaning provoke, won't work; if you're fearful for your life, you won't want to provoke an angry monster. "Administer" doesn't make sense, either—it means give, manage, or direct. "Assassinate" might work—to kill suddenly or secretly—but the second word, "pacified," means to make peaceful. If the monster was "pacified," there would be no need to "assassinate" him. "Remedy," when used as a verb, means to treat or cure something, but the monster isn't sick or injured, so that doesn't really work. Our best pair choice is "mollify," which means to soften or reduce someone's temper, and "exacerbated," which means to increase in severity or bitterness or to exasperate.

The first blank word choice is in front of "building," which means the word is describing the building. All we know about the building is that it has "enormous bulk," so we should predict that the building is large, huge, vast, or big. For the second word, if the bulk has become "minute" (meaning small) "fragments" because of an explosion, we should predict shattered, smashed, or destroyed.

As always with these sorts of questions, eliminate answers that cannot be true. "Minuscule" means tiny, "sedulous" means diligent or persistent, and "magnanimous" means generous and forgiving. "Angular" doesn't quite work, either: it means relating to an angle, or bony, lean, and gaunt. Likewise, "sorted" means arranged or categorized—not exactly how we'd describe the aftermath of an explosion, as rubble certainly isn't sorted—it's blown all over the place! The best choice is "colossal," which means enormous or huge, and "pulverized," which means violently smashed into bits.

If no one likes the old man's parties (described as "miserly," note!) because they go home hungry, the best prediction for describing his menu would be scarce, small, or tiny. Since the old man's neighbor is unlike the old man, we should predict that his parties are the opposite and that he offers lots of food. The word we want there should be similar to lots, large, huge, or generous.

First, eliminate as many wrong pairs as you can. "Munificent" means extremely generous or giving—completely opposite of the word for which we are looking! No miser is "munificent"! Likewise, "abundant" means overflowing or richly supplied. That won't work. "Superior" means of higher quality or quantity than others. Our best options are "sparse," which means scanty or thin, and "parsimonious," which means miserly or stingy. So, to choose between them, let's look at the second word. "Sparing" means limited or scanty, and "copious" means abundant and plentiful. The best choice is "sparse . . . copious."

Let's look for clues in the sentence. The first blank is followed by "hadn't attended school in three months," so we want a word that means being absent, not attending, or gone. "Paragon" doesn't work. That means a great example of some idea or someone we admire or look up to. "Traitor" is a little too extreme; that means someone who commits treason or betrays a cause. We are left with "transient," which when used as a noun, means someone who is present only for a short time;"vagabond," which means wanderer; and "truant," which means someone who stays away from school when they are required to attend. "Truant" is the best fit for the sentence between those three remaining answer choices. Let's check the second word, "ludicrous." Our sentence clue is that it describes everyone's response to Roger's claim that he had been kidnapped by aliens. Most likely, everyone would think his excuse was silly or unbelievable, and "ludicrous" means ridiculous or absurd. This word pair fits.