Fill in the blank:

1. Although my brother complained about the shortage of summer jobs, he had made only _____ attempts to find one

2. Despite the loss of her life's work in a fire, the artist remained _____ in spirit.

Word bank;
Assail
Desultory
Exult
Resilient
Salient
Convalesce
Avail
Prevalent
Valor
Evolve
Voluble

Please explain how you got it