today; this day; these days; recently; nowadays
to gather; to collect; to assemble
very; greatly; immense; enormous; serious; grave
flapping; rattling (sound); noisily; commotion; kerfuffle
sound of footsteps; sense or sign that something is approaching
bustling; busy; crowded; lively (party, voices, etc.); loud; noisy
mostly; ordinarily; probably; most; almost all; ordinary
force; vigor; influence; authority; impetus; momentum
before one's eyes; in front of one; under one's nose; immediate; imminent; around the corner
to be late; to be delayed; to fall behind (in a race, one's studies, etc.); to lag behind; to be bereaved of; to be preceded by (someone) in death
nostril; nostrils; naris; nares
with a whiff; with a puff; suddenly; abruptly; without warning
tatami mat; Japanese straw floor coverings
crawling on all fours; getting on one's hands and knees; falling flat
to hold between (e.g. one's fingers, chopsticks); to grip (from both sides); to put between; to sandwich between; to catch (e.g. a finger in a door); to trap; to insert (e.g. a break into proceedings)
emphasis; highlight; stress; stressed point
to look toward; to have one's eyes drawn towards something
information; news; intelligence; information; data contained in characters, signals, code, etc.
total darkness; pitch dark; bleak future; poor prospects
to get worse; to deteriorate; to go from bad to worse; to spoil (of food); to go bad; to perish
movie theatre; movie theater; cinema
screening (a movie); showing; to screen a movie
various; varied; diverse; all sorts of
main cause; primary factor
depopulation; falling population; decrease in population; population decline
to curb; to halt; to apply brakes; to put an end to
political measures; policy
execution; enforcing; carrying out; giving alms; giving food to the poor or monks
increase; rise; growth; addition; increment
my husband; one's family; family member
quickly; calmly; intently
dark; gloomy; depressed; dispirited; dark (in colour); dull; ill-boding
darkness; the dark; bewilderment; despair; hidden place; secrecy
lovey-dovey; head-over-heels in love
close (e.g. friend); familiar; familiar (e.g. story); well-known (to one); close (relatives); closely related
recommendation; endorsement
to reach the point that; to come to be that; to turn into
decisive blow; game-winning hit (e.g. in baseball)
sacred place; holy ground; the Holy Land; real-life location used as a setting in a novel, film, anime, etc.
adds force or indicates command