adventure; venture; venture which is unlikely to succeed; risky attempt; danger
one by one; one each; one at a time
to chip (off); to shave off; to sharpen; to dampen (one's enthusiasm, interest, etc.); to reduce
to fall; to drop; to set (of the sun or moon); to sink; to decrease (of popularity, quality, speed, sales, etc.); to fall; to be inferior (to)
growth; development; growing up; growth (of a company, the economy, etc.)
to cry; to shed tears; to suffer (from); to be troubled (by); to accept (an unreasonable request, loss, etc.); to do reluctantly
expressing emotion; drawing facial expressions
somewhere; in some respects; in some way
cavity; hollow; void; hollow (voice, smile, etc.); blank (eyes, look, etc.); vacant (expression, stare, etc.)
serious; earnest; real sword (as opposed to a wooden practice weapon)
argument; discussion; dispute; controversy
place; spot; field; discipline; occasion; situation; scene (of a play, movie, etc.)
enjoyable; fun; pleasant; happy; delightful
or; either ... or; maybe; perhaps; some ... and others ...; sometimes ... and at other times ...
openly; squarely; directly; to a person's face
to fight (with); to cross swords; to compete (with); to argue (with); to have an argument; to have a dispute
one or two; a couple; a few; first and second (place); the top two
rate; ratio; one tenth; ten percent; (comparative) profit; gain; assignment
wrong; groundless; different; separate; unexpected; surprising
ordinary person; run-of-the-mill people; John Doe; Jane Doe
turning away from; shift away from; being far removed from; being very different from; becoming independent of
fierce battle; hard-fought battle; hot contest; severe fight
reason; circumstances; grounds; because of; due to; as a result of
result; consequence; consequently; as a result; as a result of; following
as is; as it is; as things are; like this; this way; at this rate
year; age; years; past one's prime; old age
lump; mass; group; crowd; embodiment (of an idea, quality, feeling etc.); personification
interest (in something); curiosity (about something); zest (for)
to hold in one's arms (e.g. a baby); to embrace; to hug; to have (a thought or feeling); to hold; to harbour (suspicion, doubt, etc.)
to end; to come to an end; to finish; to complete; to finish doing; to be past its (one's) prime
dear me!; good gracious!; well; let me see; now
actually; in fact; as a matter of fact
from afar; over a great distance; all the way
of all people; a person of ...'s standing
to mistake (for something or someone else); to misread; to misjudge
slack; slackening; sagginess; dullness; letdown; depression
closing (properly); shutting; firmness; tightness; carefulness (with money); economy
the dead; ghost; person who is obsessed (with money, power, etc.); person with a blind lust (for)
to go away; to become more distant; to fade away; to be estranged
not to mention ...; needless to say ...; not to speak of ...; (arch.) negligent; (arch.) neglectful; (arch.) careless
another person; other people; unrelated person (i.e. not related by blood); outsider; stranger
blue; azure; green; pale (facial color); gray; unripe
cloth; fabric; material; bujian (spade-shaped bronze coin of ancient China)
to wind; to coil; to envelope; to shroud; to outflank; to skirt
probably; (most) likely; in all likelihood; I suspect; I dare say; I'm afraid
wound; injury; chip; crack; flaw; defect