Fill in the Blanks

 Squander means to spend money without dicretion and this would fit in with the sentence where the sentence is suggesting they would waste a year's salary on a two week vacation.

 Courting is the correct answer as this is similar to a boy courting a girl for a relationship. Here the relationship is that drinking and driving will lead to disaster.

'Whet' means 'to increase or enhance (the appetite, desire, etc); stimulate'.

Propitiate means to appease or gain favor from a deity through offerings or sacrifices, which precisely matches the ancient practice of animal sacrifice to calm an angry God. Promulgate means to proclaim, suppress means to hold back, and resist means to oppose.

Flaunt means to display something ostentatiously or show it off, which fits the context of Anna prominently displaying her tan against the contrast of a white dress. The other words are nonsensical: afflutering is not a standard word, communicating doesn't fit the visual display context, and lynching means illegal killing.

Twirl means to rotate or spin something around, which is the classic gesture associated with moustaches when expressing pride or satisfaction. Ruffled applies to feathers or hair, while tottered and staggered mean unsteady movement.

 Case of collocation. These words often go together in usage. So, 'falling at your feet' is the correct answer.

 The sentence indicates that the negotiations need to be made favourable to the speaker. So, negotiations need to be turned in favour of the speaker. Handling, dealing or finessing do not go with 'our way'.

Amiable means friendly, pleasant, and good-natured in disposition, which directly explains why someone would be well-loved in their community. The other options are negative traits that would prevent popularity: harsh means cruel, hostile means unfriendly, and haughty means arrogantly superior.

Pretensions refers to claims or aspirations to distinction or excellence that may not be justified, which perfectly captures the idea of a book that doesn't falsely claim to be great literature. Apprehensions means fears or anxieties, airs refers to affected behavior, and posing doesn't grammatically fit.

Contiguous means sharing a common border or being physically adjacent to something, which is the precise geographic term for territories that physically touch a border. Continuous means unbroken, close merely means nearby, and connected means linked but not necessarily sharing a border.

Captured in this context means to strongly engage or hold someone's attention or imagination, and captured their imaginations is the standard and natural collocation. While captivated is similar, it's more commonly used directly with people rather than with their imaginations specifically.

Ceremoniously means performed with ceremony, formal ritual, or pomp, which appropriately describes being introduced to a high-ranking official like a Governor in a formal setting. Ceremonially is similar but less common, affectionately implies emotional warmth inappropriate for official introductions, and perfectly is too vague.

Flagrant means glaringly obvious, conspicuous, or notorious, which is the standard term paired with violation to describe a serious and overt breach of rights or laws. Flippant means treating something too casually, veiled means hidden the opposite, and fragrant means having a pleasant smell.

'For disposal' means to get rid of or sell off items, typically ones that are damaged or unsellable at regular prices. Shop-soiled articles are goods that have been handled or displayed, so merchants want to sell them quickly. 'Disposition' refers to someone's inherent qualities or temperament; 'dumping' implies illegal or irresponsible disposal; 'retention' means keeping, which is the opposite of selling.