1. The religious head had no option but to ostracize the _______ immediately after he married a woman of another sect and decided to embrace her faith.   pedant   paragon   recluse   proselyte   malingerer   Hint Hint       2. The biologist described how vultures _______ portions of carcasses and play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance as _______.   depend on..parasites   hunt..carnivores   devour..scavengers   gobble..xenophobes   seize..predators   Hint       3. Having definite information about drugs being smuggled in, the customs officials decided to switch from a _______ examination of the passenger baggage to a rigorous inspection.   meticulous   cursory   inchoate   mellifluous   specious   Hint       4. Although David was severely critical of his wife, he did not dare treat her with _______.   contempt   superciliousness   sarcasm   mendacity   insularity   Hint       5. She is certain to alienate her colleagues in a short period of time because of her overall _______ attitude.   amicable   gregarious   amiable   munificent   truculent   Hint       6. The members of the parliamentary committee had such strongly _______ views that even after several meetings they could not reach a _______.   eclectic..consonance   radical..conundrum   conciliatory..concord   divergent..consensus   convoluted..resolution   Hint       7. People have limited patience when browsing the internet; as a result, the individual's interest _______ if the web page does not appear on the screen within a few seconds.   flays   entails   incubates   flags   infiltrates   Hint