to play a central role; to take a leading part
town; city; municipal; urban
as (i.e. in the role of); for (i.e. from the viewpoint of); apart from ... (used to change the topic); even (e.g. "not even a single person"); thinking that ...; trying to ...
to prosper; to flourish; to thrive
person; someone; human beings; mankind; human (Homo sapiens); (other) people; others
coming and going; traffic; road; street; association; socializing
ratio; proportion; match; equal; compared with ...; relative to ...
many; numerous; large amount of; large quantity of; frequent; common
gold (metal); gold (color); gold (medal); first place (prize); something of great value; something golden (e.g. silence); money
to gather; to collect; to assemble
defeat; loss; reverse; setback
to pile up; to heap up; to stack up; to repeat many times over; to go through repeatedly; to accumulate
the number of people; many people; a large number of people
to decrease (in size or number); to diminish; to abate
framework (of a building); foundation; mainstay; support; supporter
to support; to prop; to sustain; to hold at bay; to stem; to check
direction; district; area; field (e.g. of study); sphere; quarter
essentially nonexistent; virtually nil
economy; economics; finance; (one's) finances; being economical; economy
light; bright; bright (colour); cheerful; bright; bright (future, prospects, etc.); rosy
same; identical; equal; anyway; in any case; if one must ...
refusal; rejection; denial; veto
previous time; last time; previous installment; previous instalment; previous session
cannot be compared (with); being no match (for)
weight; weight (e.g. of someone's words); burden; importance; significance
to recommend; to endorse (e.g. a candidate); to infer (from); to deduce; to think (something) through; to ponder deeply
point; tip; head (of a line); front; first; before; (the way) ahead
order; command; decree; (software) instruction; statement
street; road; traffic; coming and going; flow (of water, air, etc.); passage; transmission (of sound)
as is; as it is; as things are; like this; this way; at this rate
to leave (a matter, decision, etc. to someone); to entrust (to someone); to leave (to chance, one's imagination, etc.); to let (take its own course); to use (money, strength, spare time, etc.) to the full; to use freely
annihilation; extermination; (total) destruction; wiping out
severe; harsh; stringent; rigorous; strict; unfair
approximately; about; to (about) the extent that; (almost) enough that; as ... as ...; like
understanding; comprehension; appreciation; sympathy
it cannot be helped; there's nothing for it; it's no use fighting back; it's hopeless; there is no way out of it
isn't it?; let's ...; why don't we ...; how about we ...
to be at wits' end; to be greatly perplexed; to be troubled
being lost for words; becoming speechless; jueju (Chinese quatrain with lines of either five or seven syllables)
infancy; childhood; tender age
(approximate) time; around; suitable time (or condition); time of year; season
(place) near by; (place) close by; (place) right next to; as soon as; right after