- pros and cons; advantages and disadvantages; gains and losses
- to supervise; to oversee; to inspect
- to grasp; to hold; to operate; to manage; to control; to steer; to exercise; to drill (practice); to play; to speak (a language)
- at the helm of state; political power; regime
- peninsula
- to sink into; to get caught up in; to land in (a predicament)
- passive
- to submit; to give in
- tip (of pencil, spear etc); sharp point; cutting edge; spearhead; vanguard
- inadvertent; accidental; to have no intention of (doing sth)
- sea and land
- nonentity; a nobody
- high level; high grade; advanced; high-ranking
- to do one's utmost; with all one's might; at all costs; (to work or fight) as if one's life depends on it
- upper layer
- to rapidly go up in the world; meteoric rise (of a career, social position etc)
- to worry about
- to plan matters; to look for a job
- to be in contact (with sb); to associate; to interact; to get along (well, poorly)
- reluctant to part (idiom); broken-hearted at having to leave
- to become sworn brothers or sisters; sworn (brothers)
- to be embarrassingly short of money
- intimate friend; close friend
- to recollect; to recall (past times); to look back
- friendship; camaraderie
- to help; to lend a hand; to do a favor; to do a good turn
- to part company; to split up; to break up
- metropolitan examination (imperial civil service examination)
- to prepare for an exam; (of an appendix, note etc) for reference
- to engage; to hire (a lawyer etc)
- family education; upbringing; to bring sb up; private tutor
- to accept a job offer; to apply for an advertised position
- 世故 shì gù: 世故 shi4 gu4: the ways of the world世故 shì gu: 世故 shi4 gu5: sophisticated; worldly-wise
- to speak of; to refer to
- disciple; follower; hanger-on (at an aristocrat's home)
- separated for a long time
- recent developments; current situation
- urgent; pressing
- under sb's name