Modest and decent have overlapping semantic ranges. They can mean the same thing, but do not always. To further confuse things, they might get used in the same situation to highlight slightly different aspects of a thing.
Modest can mean behaving in a way that does not draw attention to oneself, of which clothed in such a way that it conforms with sexual norms is a specific case. It can also mean simple because simple things do not draw attention to themselves. From simple, the related meaning of not wealthy or not opulent emerges.
Decent can mean meeting expectations without having the connotation of exceeding them. It can also mean a morally good person, though not necessarily a heroic or saintly person.
Here we have the area where the two meanings overlap: they both imply good in a way that does not attract too much attention. But they are not always interchangeable.
So as to your sentences, I believe the average American reader would consider the sentences about the house to be more or less equivalent. The average American, though, would sense a slight difference in the sentences about the woman, because "decent" is a broader category than "modest". A woman might dress modestly, but lie, cheat, and gossip, none of her acquaintances would call her "decent".
General is the opposite of specific, whereas generic refers to something which has no unique features.
To use the book example, a general geography book would be one without a particular focus on one area, while a generic geography book would be the same as every other book out there.
Sometimes they can be used interchangeably, but not always.
General
adjective
- of or pertaining to all persons or things belonging to a group or category: a general meeting of the employees.
- of, pertaining to, or true of such persons or things in the main, with possible exceptions; common to most; prevalent; usual: the
general mood of the people.
- not limited to one class, field, product, service, etc.; miscellaneous: the general public; general science.
- considering or dealing with overall characteristics, universal aspects, or important elements, especially without considering all
details or specific aspects: general instructions; a general
description; a general resemblance one to another.
- not specific or definite: I could give them only a general idea of what was going on.
Generic
adjective Also, ge·ner·i·cal.
- of, applicable to, or referring to all the members of a genus, class, group, or kind; general.
- of, pertaining to, or noting a genus, especially in biology.
- (of a word) applicable or referring to both men and women: a generic pronoun.
- not protected by trademark registration: “Cola” and “shuttle” are generic terms.
Best Answer
Macmillan Dictionary defines quick ("able to move fast or do something fast") and fast ("able to move quickly") in terms of each other, so there's not much to choose between them.
Either is a desirable trait in a striking art like karate; force equals mass times acceleration, after all.
On the other hand, Macmillan defines rapid as "happening, moving, or acting quickly," rather than being quick or fast.