advantageous; favourable; better; profitable; lucrative; gainful
to make oneself known to the public; to become popular; to gain influence
pursuit of knowledge; studying; learning; training; completing a course
unintentionally; unconsciously; by mistake; heedlessly; against one's better judgement (judgment)
excuse me; pardon me; I'm sorry; thank you
decline; degeneration; decay; waning; ebbing
anti-; antithesis; fanqie; traditional Chinese spelling system in which two characters are used: the first one for the onset, the second one for rhyme and tone
society; public; community; social studies
influence; power; might; strength; potency; force
activity (of a person, organization, animal, volcano, etc.); action; movie (esp. during the silent movie period)
to have something on someone; to catch someone out; to trip someone up; (lit.) to grab by the tail
secret information; intelligence
staff; member (club, society, etc.)
underground; below the ground; world of the dead; the grave; underground (activities, movement, etc.); secret
sweet-smelling; fragrant; aromatic; good (reputation, condition, results, etc.); favorable
not quite (right); not very good; somewhat (lacking)
underling; person of low standing; grunt; petty (work, official, etc.); minor; lowly
head; chief; boss; leader
management; (executive) staff; leaders; leadership; top brass; upper echelons
to compile; to bring together; to weave; to put together; to bring to a conclusion; to wrap up
to the end; to the bitter end; to the last; after all; it must be remembered; only
if that is the case; if it becomes so; when it becomes so
genuine; real; full-scale; full-blown; full-fledged; professional
exposing; unmasking; laying bare
to set out; to set sail; to embark on (a new venture); to set out (to achieve something); to begin to ride; to lean forward
collecting; collection; collation; gathering; arrangement; coordination
in; at; on; as for; regarding; with regards to
to have (someone) by the short hairs; to have something on (someone)
to disclose; to divulge; to expose; to open (a grave); to dig out
internal conditions; true state of affairs
best one could ask for; just what one wants; welcome (news); heaven-sent
what is it (that); the meaning of something; what something is about
to measure; to weigh; to survey; to conjecture; to infer; to surmise
straight; quickly; quietly; gently; to feel refreshed; to feel satisfied
to scrutinize; to scrutinise
record; minutes; record (e.g. in sports); results; to record; to document
investigation; inspection; examination; tune; note; melody