English

The phrase "Far from being" sets up a contrast with "actively steered the conversation." Therefore, the blanks must be filled with words meaning inactive or submissive. "Passive" and "compliant" both fit this requirement perfectly.

Because the claim "fundamentally violated" established scientific laws, the community would not believe it. "Derision" and "ridicule" both mean mocking or scornful contempt, which fits the severe rejection of an impossible scientific claim.

The phrase "designed to incite anger" perfectly points to words that mean to stir up conflict or passion. "Inflammatory" and "incendiary" both refer to speech or action that provokes strong, volatile emotions or unrest.

The context clue "leaving readers completely unsure" and the contrast between "praising" and "condemning" indicate mixed feelings. "Ambivalent" and "equivocal" both describe having contradictory ideas or being intentionally vague and non-committal.

"Apocryphal" describes a story or statement of doubtful authenticity, although it is widely circulated as being true. The clue "no primary source evidence to support it" confirms the story is doubtful.

"Capricious" means given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior. The context clue "based on a fleeting whim" and the rapidly shifting behavior exactly describe capriciousness.

"Quotidian" refers to daily, everyday, or ordinary occurrences. The phrase "details of domestic life" and the direct contrast with "elevating the ordinary" strongly support this choice.

A "pedant" is a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning. The clue "obsessively correcting minor grammatical errors" points directly to this word.

"Obfuscate" means to make obscure, unclear, or unintelligible. The context clues "evasive rhetoric" and "fueled further speculation" suggest the CEO was deliberately trying to hide or confuse the truth about the revenue figures.

The sentence contrasts the idea of kingdoms becoming constitutional republics overnight with the actual process, which was gradual, making 'gradual' the best fit. 'Rapid' and 'unexpected' contradict the idea of a slow change, and 'None of these' is not appropriate.

The correct phrase is 'On receiving the complaint, the president constituted an inquiry.' 'Complaint' is the correct noun for a formal accusation, and 'inquiry' refers to an official investigation. 'Complain' is a verb and thus incorrect here.

The sentence 'We must write to him' is correctly transformed into the passive voice as 'He must be written to.' This maintains the original meaning and grammatical correctness, unlike the other options.

The word 'Acclaim' means to praise or applaud, which is the opposite of 'Offend', meaning to cause hurt or upset. Therefore, 'Acclaim' is the correct antonym among the options provided.

The phrase 'majority of the speakers' refers to a plural subject, so the verb must agree in plural form. Therefore, 'are' is correct, making option B the right choice.

Option B correctly converts the direct speech 'I shall be here' into indirect speech by changing 'I' to 'he' and 'shall be here' to 'will be there', which is the standard transformation in reported speech.

The sentence 'He made us work' is correctly transformed into the passive voice as 'We were made to work.' This maintains the past tense and the causative meaning of 'made.' Option C is the correct passive transformation.

The verb 'sifting' means to examine carefully to separate what is useful or valuable from what is not, which fits the context of going through accumulated junk. 'Sulking' means to be silently moody or upset, and 'screening' generally means to show or test, which do not fit the context as well.

The verb 'divulge' means to reveal or disclose information, which fits the context of not revealing further information to avoid jeopardizing the investigation. The other options do not convey the same meaning appropriately.

The word 'investigate' means to examine or scrutinize something carefully. 'Elucidate' means to make something clear or explain, which is not a synonym of 'investigate'. Therefore, option C is the correct answer.

The verb 'deliberated' means to carefully consider or discuss something, which fits the context of jury members deciding a verdict. 'Deferred' means to postpone, and 'adjourned' means to suspend proceedings, neither of which fit the sentence meaning. Therefore, 'deliberated' is the correct choice.

The correct plural form of 'hypothesis' is 'hypotheses,' and the correct plural of 'basis' is 'bases.' The phrase should be 'His hypotheses were rejected on the evidence and witnesses.' None of the provided options correctly combine these words grammatically.

Option A correctly maintains the past perfect tense consistent with the first clause 'He had heard' and uses proper grammar with 'he thought his eyes would water.' The other options either mix tenses incorrectly or have grammatical errors.

The phrase 'pulled through' means she survived a dangerous situation, so the correct word to complete the sentence is 'death' (A), indicating she almost died but survived. 'Dead' (B) is an adjective and does not fit grammatically here.

The sentence is a negative statement ('you don't go home...'), so the tag question must be positive. 'Do you?' is the correct positive tag to match the negative statement, making option A correct.

The word 'dilapidated' correctly describes a building or structure that is in a state of disrepair or ruin, which fits the context of the factory needing restoration. 'Inundated' means flooded, and 'depreciated' refers to loss of value, neither of which appropriately describe the factory's condition here.