Florence Nightingale was a pioneer in the development of modern medicine. She was an innovator who initiated such practices as sanitization of hospital wards and isolation of actively infected patients. She was not a collaborator who rejected these practices, nor was she a maverick who protested them. She was an individual who saw the need for these practices and worked to implement them. The other choices are incorrect. A collaborator is someone who works with others. Nightingale did not work with others to reject these practices. A maverick is someone who goes against the established order. Nightingale did not go against the established order by protesting these practices. A pioneer is someone who is the first to do something. Nightingale was not the first person to suggest these practices, but she was the first person to successfully implement them. An individualist is someone who does things their own way. Nightingale did not do things her own way by standardizing these practices. She worked with others to standardize them.

The sentence is comparing the difficulty of writing about two different things. The first part of the sentence sets up the contrast by stating that it is more difficult to write about something "surprisingly enough" than something else. The key to understanding the correct answer is to recognize the contrast between the two words in each pair. "Commonplace" refers to things that are ordinary, everyday, or familiar. These are things that are not particularly interesting or unusual. "Exotic" refers to things that are foreign, unusual, or unique. These are things that are out of the ordinary and intriguing because of their distinctiveness. Given this contrast, it makes sense that it would be more difficult to write about something commonplace (which lacks inherent interest or novelty) compared to something exotic (which has a built-in level of intrigue and uniqueness). Therefore, option C is the correct answer because it correctly captures this contrast in difficulty.

In this sentence, a "speedy" response is described as one made with "alacrity," which means briskness, eagerness, or willingness to respond quickly and with enthusiasm. This choice of words creates a logical and coherent sentence.

In this sentence, a "norm" is described as a "standard." This pairing of words makes sense and creates a coherent sentence. Norms often refer to accepted standards or behaviors within a group or society.

In this context, "billow" means to produce large quantities of smoke and dust, which could have the described catastrophic effects on the environment.

In this context, "declined" fits with the idea that people are eating less red meat, and "controversial" suggests that there is debate or disagreement about its health implications, particularly related to its fat content

This choice of words creates a coherent sentence where "contaminated" refers to the rumors about the water supply being polluted, and "unsubstantiated" means that there was no concrete evidence to support these rumors