recently; lately; these days
to be astonished to hear; to be incredulous about; to express disbelief; who do you think you're kidding by saying (that); what a laugh!
reliability; trustworthiness; dependability
unsung hero; person who does a thankless task
Wood Snake (42nd year of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1905, 1965, 2025)
double suicide; lovers' suicide
to the best of one's meager ability; the little help one can be; though my help might not be worth much
to join forces; to cooperate
(sound of an) explosion or detonation; roar (of a machine)
basic mistake; careless mistake
four times; four colour process printing (color); CMYK printing
very bad condition; (in) terrible form; serious slump
famous; well-known; renowned; your name
It's a piece of cake; It's a simple task; It's a cinch
prototype model; experimental machine
all pain, no gain; doing no good and a lot of harm; having no redeeming features; being a complete disadvantage; (lit.) a hundred harms and not a single gain
to improve upon; to make improvements to; to refine
anyway; anyhow; at any rate; in any case
in good health; alive and well; going strong
mechanism; mechanics; machines; mechanic
unveiling; debut; introduction
shout (of encouragement, etc.); yell (used to time or encourage activity, e.g. "Heave ho!")
to take one's place; to take one's position; to go into position; to line up
imperial lands; lands blessed by the emperor's reign
microminiature; ultraminiature; ultra-small
with a whoosh; with a swish; with a whirl; whizzing by
scene of an accident; crash site; accident scene
to have a bad time; to go through a bitter experience; to get into trouble; to get hurt; to suffer
common people; ordinary people; masses
to cause casualties; to result in deaths
perplexity; difficult question; difficult problem
inheritance; bequest; legacy; heritage