gentle; mild; meek; tender
poor; meagre; meager; feeble; scanty; shabby
to look stupid; to have a critical lack
confluence (of rivers); merge (of traffic); conflux; union (e.g. of forces); linking up; merging
latest; newest; late-breaking (news)
following blindly; following suit without reflection
ordinary; common; mediocre
to change into; to convert into; to transform; to be reduced; to influence; to improve (someone)
overserious; deeply sincere; very earnest
in the twinkling of an eye; in a flash
anywhere; here and there; common; run-of-the-mill; ordinary
weakly; helplessly; weak; flimsy; easy to bend
to study (in depth); to learn; to take lessons in
large crowd; large herd; large flock; large school; large shoal; swarm
person living with a family; lodger; housemate; flatmate; roommate
in fact; as a matter of fact; actually; in reality; to tell the truth
Darwin (Australia); Darwin (Charles)
to be main; to be principal; to be important; to be conspicuous; to be prominent
hearsay; learning by hearsay
confused; disordered; faltered; incoherent; inconsistent
apt to (do); liable to; predominantly; mostly; ... reaps the rewards; ... takes the prize
publicity; advertisement; advertising; propaganda
communism; Communist Party
lover; sweetheart; boyfriend; girlfriend
connivance; tacit consent; toleration; acquiescence
advantage; benefit; profit; interest
large amount of money; great cost
quite capable of ...; could happen; not unlikely to
powerlessness; helplessness; incompetent
unprecedented; never happened before; first time in history
ticktock; chinking (e.g. of a hammer against rock); knocking; dry and hard; (frozen) stiff; hidebound
to pass from one's lips; to escape one's lips