"Plumage" works the best here since it means "feathers of a bird," and a peacock is a bird that would have ornate feathers.

In this sentence the word “between” provides a clue to the blank word. You know that it must be describing some form of evaluation of the differences between pre-Industrial and modern European society. Prediction, rehearsal (practice), and candor (honesty and directness of character) all fail to fit comfortably within the sentence. Regression, which means to return to a less developed situation,could potentially fit if there were some other reference to a movement backwards. As there is not, the correct answer is comparison, which means the process of examining the differences or similarities in two or more things.

The context of the sentence tells us that the word should involve agreement, as all of the coworkers concur that the sandwich shop is the best restaurant at which to eat lunch. "Consensus" means an agreement reached by a group, so "consensus" is the correct answer because it best fits the sentence's context.

The only thing implied by our sentence is that some higher “layers” of society have certain views of themselves. All of the wrong options imply too much specificity regarding such strata. The word “echelon” merely means a level in society or an organization. It comes—at several levels of remove—from the Latin word for “ladder” through later French versions of the same word. Each “echelon” is like a step on the ladder.

While several of the answer choices may have to do with appeals or “doing away with,” the correct choice, "abrogation," is the BEST answer choice, referring to the repeal of a law or formal agreement. The other potential choices reference formal codes or laws, but aren’t directly related to the repeal or dissolution of laws or agreements.

The sentence creates a contrast with the word “but,” so the correct answer choice will be an antonym “ornery.” Since the sentence already has the word “sweet” provided, the correct answer choice will be a reference to a character or personality. “Deportment” fills this meaning.

The sentence is referencing an allowed break from service, so the appropriate answer choice is “furlough.” 

Richard’s refusal to join the others means he is set apart from the group, which is the opposite meaning of "participant," "follower," "devotee," and unrelated in meaning to the word "sluggard." "Maverick" is the correct answer.

The sentence makes it clear that the chef does not like Japanese restaurants, therefore he clearly has a problem with Asian cuisine.  Of the available answer choices, only aversion gives the correct meaning.

"Vignettes" (short sketeches) is the only answer that provides an illustration (either via words or otherwise) from which students can learn. "Veneers" is entirely unrelated, as "verneers" means a surface coating or surface appearance that doesn't accurately characterize the whole; "superlatives" may be used in speech, but they do not alone illustrate potential difficulties; and "lexicons" are also related to words, but again, they do not illustrate difficulties.