1. I had to call the repairman because the washing machine was off ________—it began making terrible sounds and failed to clean the clothes thoroughly.

2. The chemistry professor believed her students could do better on their exams by searching for their own answers, and encouraged the class to apply the ________ method to prepare.

3. The candidate’s inappropriately sexist remark was met with a ________ of denunciations from the angry crowd.

4. I was bored with the ________ conversation of my roommates and longed for some intellectual stimulation.

5. The ________ espionage plot was so sophisticated it was impossible to believe it was the work of teenage computer hackers.

6. Ronaldo celebrated the gathering of his ________ on Thanksgiving Day and spoke with relatives he had not seen in a long time.

7. Since his parents had little money, Peter was ________ to his uncle for paying for his college education.

8. During the time of the plague in the little village, the forlorn ________ of the church bells was an almost daily sound.

9. The mock graduation ceremony—with a trained skunk posing as the college president—was a complete ________ that offended many college officials.

10. The film was completed on schedule despite the ________ circumstances regarding the location and extreme weather conditions.