university entrance examination
half and half; fifty-fifty
to wring (towel, rag); to squeeze; to squeeze (fruit to extract juice); to press; to rack (one's brains); to strain (one's voice); to extort
results; record; grades; marks
far and away the best; the very best; cream of the crop; crème de la crème; decisive lead; commanding lead
first place; first rank; unit's position; Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata)
new student; freshman; first-year student
great popularity; sensation; good reputation
disrespect; irreverence; impiety; blasphemy; profanity
(as for (that)) thing; (given (that)) thing; matter; (it is a ...) thing; matter; fact
what; what sort of thing; everything; anything; what (on earth)?; what's the meaning of this ...?
freezing; turning into ice; freezing; locking up; freezing (in one's tracks); frieze (part of an entablature between the architrave and the cornice)
to bring up a subject; to touch on a matter
brother-in-law (spouse's younger brother or younger sister's husband); younger stepbrother
privacy; secrecy; confidentiality
to govern; to manage; to subdue
dramatic decrease; sharp drop; sudden fall
chance; opportunity; machine; aircraft; counter for aircraft; counter for (remaining) lives
natural disaster; cataclysm
divine messenger; messenger of a god (esp. an animal messenger)
to thin out (plants, seedlings, crops, etc.); to cull; to run on a curtailed schedule; to cut down; to kill a newborn child (due to financial difficulties)
before one knows it; before one realises; without one's knowledge; without noticing
(poor) treatment; (bad) behavior; behaviour; action; act
artificial; unnatural; human-caused (e.g. mistake, error, disaster); man-made
to eat up and spoil (e.g. crops); to eat away; to eat a bit of everything; to encroach upon; to take over
unthinkable; unimaginable; terrible; awful; (arch.) very
know-it-all airs; I-know-how-it-is look
emergency; accident; rare possibility; unexpected occurrence
reason; cause; circumstances
to lay aside; to set aside
to trap (into a difficult situation); to put (in a fix); to capture (a castle, fortress, etc.); to take; to drop (something) into
commerce; trade; business
envoy; diplomat below the rank of ambassador (e.g. deputy chief of mission, charge d'affaires); minister (of legation)
reform; reformation; reorganization