desktop; desk-top; tabletop; after-dinner speech
dramatic (improvement); remarkable (difference); marked; (far) better; exceptional
to make progress; to develop; to evolve (method, style, etc.)
easy; trifling; harmless; nothing of the sort; not at all
cookie; biscuit; cookie (browser-related file sent from a WWW server)
to be palatable; to suit one's taste
to gnaw; to nibble; to bite; to dabble in; to have a smattering of
to be lost in deep thought; to be deeply immersed in thought
nature; spontaneity; natural airhead
ability; performance; efficiency
interval; break; pause; spare moment
to make a slip of the tongue; to say something inadvertently; to blurt out without thinking
American Civil War (1861-1865)
Bakumatsu period; closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate; end of the Edo period
making practical; making useful; implementing
use; application; employment; utilization; utilisation
strict; severe; stringent; rigorous; rigid; firm
prohibition; inhibition; ban
favorite (to win); favourite; likely winner; one's heart's desire; first choice
capture (of enemy weapons, supplies, etc.); seizure; plunder
structure; construction; arrangement; plan; plot; contrivance
major agricultural country; agricultural power; agripower
to move; to shift; to inspire; to rouse; to change; to alter; to operate
substance; essence; real (in economics, vs. nominal, e.g. real interest rate); substantive; substantial
under control (e.g. of territory)
abundant; ample; plentiful; lustrous; glossy
possession (esp. of a territory)
southern part; the south (of a region)
to place (in position); to fix; to install; to seat (someone); to settle (upon something); to fix (e.g. one's gaze)
today and tomorrow; today or tomorrow; in a day or two; very soon
grasping; seizing; holding; commanding; having control over
some; any; in any way; of some kind; of some sort