Question

based on the context of each excerpt from f. scott fitzgeralds \winter dreams,\ choose the definition that most closely matches the denotation of the bolded word. inauspicious, threatening, foreboding a gloomy, depressed state of mind to misuse or treat with irreverence at these times the country gave him a feeling of profound melancholy - it offended him that the links should lie in enforced fallowness, haunted by ragged sparrows for the long season. it was dreary, too, that on the tees where the gay colors fluttered in summer there were now only the desolate sand - boxes knee - deep in crusted ice. when he crossed the hills the wind blew cold as misery, and if the sun was out he tramped with his eyes squinted up against the hard dimensionless glare she was watching him closely and the silence was embarrassing, yet in this crisis he could find no casual word with which to profane the hour

Explanation:

For the first excerpt, the description of the country being dreary, with enforced fallowness, desolate sand - boxes, and a cold wind creates a gloomy atmosphere. The word "melancholy" in this context is related to a gloomy, depressed state of mind.
For the second excerpt, the speaker is in a situation where the silence is embarrassing and he feels he cannot use a casual word to "profane" the hour. The idea of using a word in an irreverent way (since the hour seems to have a certain sanctity due to the awkward silence) matches the definition "to misuse or treat with irreverence".

Answer:

1. a gloomy, depressed state of mind
2. to misuse or treat with irreverence