French language Q&A Forum

In the sentence, ”But the ceremony lasted too long and the sketches were boring at times”, I translates "at times" by "parfois", which was not accepted.   Should it be?

I get that plusieurs represents a greater quantity than quelqu'un, but I'm struggling with the exercises because I can't keep track of whether they expect a few to represent a greater quantity than several or vice versa.

At least in the English I speak, the difference between these two words is subtle and comes down to feeling more than quantity. 

Is there some other way to structure the exercises that doesn't rely on making novel (or at least regional) distinctions in English?

The correct answer is 'I love him although he is a bit lazy', and not 'I like the fact that he is a bit lazy' but how would the latter answer differ from the example in French?