"Decree" is an official government order or a mandate, so "mandate" is the correct answer. None of the other answer choices are as close to "degree" in meaning as is "mandate": "legislation" means rules and regulations; a "recluse" is a hermit or a person who wishes to remain alone; "etiquette" is the rules of proper social behavior; and an "omen" is something that predicts a future event.

An "excursion" is a noun that means an outing or a journey, so the answer choice closest in meaning to "excursion" is "trip," which when used as a noun means a journey or a voyage. Considering the other answer choices, none are close in meaning to "excursion": "file," when used as a noun, means a collection of records or a digital document; "pantry" is a noun meaning a storage closet; and "exercise" is a series of physical activities done in order to maintain one's health.

A “premonition” is a hunch that something bad is about to happen; this is most similar in meaning to “foreboding.” To provide further help, a “concern” is a worry about something; “passion” is strong feelings about something; “territory” is land owned by someone or something; and “germination” is growth from a seed into a plant.

An “insignia” is an official symbol or mark that identifies a group, and as such it is most similar in meaning to “emblem.” As for the other answer choices, "signal" means gesture or sign with a specific meaning in a given context; "signature" means one's formally written name as used to validate documents; "insignificance" means unimportance, and "scroll" means a long, rolled piece of paper with writing on it.

"Impediment" is a noun that means "a hindrance or obstruction in doing something," so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "obstruction." "Tool" cannot be the correct answer, then, because while one might use a tool to remove an obstruction, "tool" does not mean the same thing as "obstruction," so it cannot be the correct answer. "Obstacle," however, is an adjective that means "a thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress," and because it is the answer choice that is closest in meaning to "impediment," "obstacle" is the correct answer.

"Pandemonium" is a noun meaning "wild and noisy disorder or confusion; uproar," so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "wild disorder." "Pandemic" may sound like a potentially correct answer because like "pandemonium," it also begins with the "pan-" prefix (which means "including or relating to all the places or people in a particular group"). However, "pandemic" means "an outbreak of a disease prevalent over a whole country or the world." Because "pandemic" does not mean the same thing as "pandemonium," it cannot be the correct answer. "Mayhem," however, means "violent or damaging disorder; chaos," and is the correct answer because it is the answer choice closest in meaning to "pandemonium."

"Upheaval" is a noun meaning "a violent or sudden change or disruption to something," so we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "disruption." While "occurrence" may seem like a good answer choice because it means "an incident or event," "disturbance" is actually the better answer because it means "the interruption of a settled and peaceful condition." Because both "upheaval" and "disturbance" involve interruptions, but "occurrence" does not, "disturbance" is the correct answer.

The term "disparity" refers to a difference or gap with respect to some quality. For example, if one room contains a large group of third-graders and a neighboring room contains several elderly adults, an age disparity exists between the rooms. "Difference" is the correct choice. "Similarity" is an antonym of the given word, "victory" refers to an event of winning and is therefore unrelated, and "congeniality" means pleasant or friendly agreement.

"Genre" is a noun that means "a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter." While books and songs may be categorized as belonging to different genres of literature or music, neither "book" nor "song" is a synonym of "genre," so neither of those answers can be correct. "Category" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "genre," so it is the correct answer.

A paradox is "a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory." So, neither "agreement" nor "consistency" can be a synonym of "paradox" becauase both "agreement" and "consistency" refer to things that go together well or make sense together, unlike paradoxes. "Allusion" refers to "an indirect or passing reference," so it has nothing to do with "paradox" and isn't the correct answer. "Confusion" might look like the best answer, but "contradiction" is actually the closest synonym to "paradox" because "contradiction" is defined as "a combination of statements, ideas, or features of a situation that are opposed to one another" or "a difference or disagreement between two things which means that both cannot be true." Because "contradiction" is the answer choice closest in meaning to "paradox," "contradiction" is the correct answer.