OFFICIAL EXPLANATION


Obsequious.


"Plaudits" are praise (note the similarity to "applause"), which matches the idea of praise being "heaped upon him" on a "prolonged and elaborate farewell tour." Additionally, the negative certainty of "no one thought the plaudits heaped upon him were $\qquad$ " matches in degree the positive certainty of "admired by all." If he was admired by all, then no one would think that the praise was undeserved or inappropriate. Thus, "deserved" represents a reversal trap. "Obsequious," meaning attentive to an excessive degree, puts a negative spin on the praise, which is what "no one" would think; this is the answer. "Derivative" as an adjective has several meanings, depending on what it is describing: it is typically applied to people or the works of art they produce (imitative) or can apply to a financial product (having a value based on some asset). Here, "derivative" describes "plaudits," so it most likely means originating from or based on something. Because the blank is not getting at whether the praise is original, but rather whether it is appropriate, this choice is incorrect. Both "vestigial," residual or leftover, and "antiquated," old-fashioned or outdated, introduce additional meaning not indicated by the sentence.