reasons; circumstances; significance; hindrance; obstruction; interference
uncomfortable; ill at ease; not feel at home
to recollect; to remember; to reminisce; to imagine; to guess; to infer
politics; political manoeuvre; political maneuver
technique; art; skill; move
privacy; secrecy; confidentiality
indeed; really; absolutely; truly; actually; very
compassionate; merciful; benevolent; charitable; humane
good-looking; fair; beautiful
vague; ambiguous; shady; disreputable; fuzzy
hard struggle; strenuous effort
defeat; lost battle; losing a war
to leave (to someone, esp. after one's death); to bequeath
to bloom; to blossom; to become lively (esp. of conversation); to become animated; to experience a golden age
to wither (of a plant); to be blasted; to die; to mature (of one's personality, abilities, etc.)
knee; lap; knee and thigh (while sitting)
reading partway; leaving half-read
suspicious-looking; fishy
to sit down; to take a seat
to order; to send away for; to have (something) sent to one; to pull (something) closer
superiority; predominance
now advancing and now retreating; ebb and flow; seesawing; taking alternately favorable and unfavorable turns
famine; crop failure; chronic shortage (e.g. of water)
fighting with one's back to the wall; having burnt one's bridges; last stand; from strategy of general Han Xin in the Battle of Jingxing
(not) well; (not) properly; (not) enough; (not) sufficiently; (not) satisfactorily; (not) decently
weakness; debility; breakdown; prostration
accidental; incidental; occasional; casual
pressure; urgency; tension; imminence; acuteness
steady; honest; sober; straightforward
poverty; penury; need; shortage; lack; want
starvation; famine; hunger
to arise; to break out; to well up; to burst