to degenerate; to lapse into
the nail that sticks out gets hammered down; people that stick out too much get punished; tall trees catch much wind; people that excel at something become disliked
stake; post; pile; (arch.) stump
indulging in every possible luxury
to do nothing but; to spend all one's time doing
unfeeling; heartless; cold-hearted; cruel
I can say now (what I couldn't before); now (that things have changed) I don't mind telling you; I couldn't tell you until now; I couldn't have told you this back then
to go with the flow; to go with the times
limited; restricted; constrained
right away; without delay; as soon as possible; very soon
thorn; spine; splinter (esp. lodged in one's flesh); hard sharp item (esp. lodged in one's throat, e.g. fish bone); biting words
no objection; nothing to criticize; nothing to criticise
sickle; leading question; trick question; sickle-and-chain (weapon); spear with curved cross-blades; gooseneck tenon and mortise joint; (arch.) noisiness
heavenly beings shown flying around the main image in a temple; Feitian (2008 Chinese space suit)
(gymnastical) giant swing; all-out effort; frenzied activity
careless; sloppy; faulty; using unreliable sources (in a piece of writing); piece of writing with unreliable sources or many errors
lotus flower; Chinese milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus); china spoon; lotus-shaped pedestal for a gravestone
zero degrees (Celsius); freezing point; zero (on a scale)
moonless sky (poetic usage)
to lie on top of each other; to overlap; to pile up
main course (of a river); mainstream; main current (e.g. of thought)
shock; tremor; impact; vibration
inevitable; inescapable; unavoidable
to rot away; to crumble to dust; to decay completely; to die in obscurity
to gulp down; to swallow deeply; to understand; to take in; to engulf; to swallow up
to have one's horizons broadened
dazzling; glaring; dazzlingly beautiful
(for the) first time; something used (worn, etc.) for the first time; new item; first of the season (crop, fruit, etc.)
to meet (someone of higher status); (arch.) to be recognized (esp. by someone of higher status); (arch.) to be visible; (arch.) to be seen
hard-to-forgive; intolerable; inexcusable; unpardonable
devotion to one's family; fondness for one's family
one's own army; one's own team
firing; shooting; fire; gunshot; marksmanship
agreement; affirmative; aye; yes; OK