assailed : attacked
bastion : fortified area
honed : sharpened
3.Unlike his calmer,more easygoing colleagues ,the senator was---,
ready to quarrel at the slightest provocation.[B]
a)whimsical b)irascible c)gregarious
d)ineffectual e)benign
Explanation:
If the senator was unlike “his calmer, more easygoing colleagues”
and “ready to quarrel at the slightest provocation “ its fair to
infer that the senator was short tempered or extremely irritable.
The best choice is [b] irritable.
Irascible : easily angered
whimsical : unpredictable
gregarious : sociable
ineffectual : unproductive
benign : harmless