Gd12 Flashcards
(500 cards)
1
Q
At least for museum curators, ancient Israel was a cultural backwater. Nothing from it is comparable to the tombs and temples of Egypt, the libraries and ziggurats of Babylon, or the glazed tiles and palaces of Persepolis
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2
Q
A China crush in the making?
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3
Q
Mainland banks faced a liquidity crunch, with interbank lending rate soaring to record highs
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4
Q
Body covered in blankets lay next to the overturned carriages as smoke billowed? from the wreckage
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5
Q
Firefighters clambered over the twisted metal
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6
Q
Spain is struggling to emerge from a long-running recession marked by government-driven austerity to bring its finances into order
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7
Q
Hospital staff worked overtime to tend the injured
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8
Q
Tottenham boss lashes out at condition of the rain-ravaged stadium pitch as Sunderland surge to victory
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9
Q
The defeat was the least of his worries
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10
Q
The pitch has been turned into a quagmire by a torrential downpour
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11
Q
He have sprained ligaments in his ankle
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12
Q
The rain abated before kick-off
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13
Q
An underwhelming first half
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14
Q
The manager fielded four of the eight signings he made this summer as he seeks to reshape his squad
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15
Q
He had lined his pocket with office and campaign fund
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16
Q
An endless covert, see-saw negotiation
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17
Q
He had been convicted of murder in a brief, carefully orchestrated trial
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18
Q
It bore no relation to crime
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19
Q
The press has been awash with rumours
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20
Q
A truncated and regimented “public” trial
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21
Q
A feisty person doesn’t follow a script
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22
Q
Forge a consensus
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23
Q
In terms of (or in – terms)
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24
Q
His image was everywhere reverently displayed
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25
He spent his time reading omnivorously
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26
The child was stillborn
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27
The remaining ten years of his life were less eventful
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28
There was some financial scandal involving one of the ministers, but it was all hushed up
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29
He made a last-ditch effort yesterday to extricate himself from the row over ...
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30
A non-binding motion
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31
In an apparent coincidence,
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32
The soldier was decorated a number of times for his courage
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33
Hong Kong people have been beating the odds
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34
Being blind and hearing-impaired and having to read Braille with her lips
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35
It means give-and-take; it cannot be winner-takes-all
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36
Crochet garments are in vogue this season
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37
Though commonsensical and at first attractive, ...
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38
Line-to-take
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39
Intermittent rain
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40
It was in August of 1978 that Bolton Brothers hatched their plot to kill their parents
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41
No discord, no concord
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42
It was a close call for us
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43
Horse around
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44
Crouching tiger and hidden dragon
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45
Let's give her a good send-off
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46
Go with your gut!
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47
In no time!
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48
Sway the flies
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49
If I ask you out on a date, what would you say?
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50
Spend so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence
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51
Perceptions often trump realty
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52
Retract his words/ allegations
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53
I put a cash wager on sth
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54
You are going to eat my dust
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55
I thought you are a bunch of nothing
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56
It is good to be (out) in the open after being cooped up in an office all day
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57
We are fraternity brothers
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58
There's no rest for the wicked
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59
Don't make friend of the wrong sort
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60
His desire for political power knows no bounds
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61
It is beyond/ outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour
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The newspaper coverage of the murder went beyond the reasonable bounds
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63
Be out of bounds = if an area is out of bounds, people are not allowed to go there
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64
He is bewitched by his beauty
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65
He ended up ensnared by the complexity of the legal system
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66
On my whistle!
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67
Don't make a fool of yourself
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68
Pea-brain!
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69
Sheer dumb luck
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70
Don't dwell on dreams
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71
A late-night page-turner
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72
Got to have your wits about you
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73
This complicates things a bit
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74
I didn't have the nerve to tell him what I really thought of his suggestion
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75
Excelsior
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76
I am not buying the invitation
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77
Life is hard enough as it is
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78
Old Kinderhook = OK
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79
Don't get into my study
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80
Will you please pipe down? I am trying to read
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81
A restraining order
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82
I am already on thin ice with my friends
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83
I took it too far
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84
Don't make fun
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85
Stop your mood swing
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86
It is electric between us
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87
A illegal bookmaker
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88
I hope I can be of service
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89
You are not a stand-up guy
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90
Bread crumbs
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91
His estranged wife
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92
The prince was reported to be elated at/by the birth of his daughter
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93
He was lauded for his performance
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His comedic edge has never been sharper
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95
Don't lump she and me together
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96
It was quite a moving speech - it almost brought a lump to my throat
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97
You are going to be in harness and jump
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98
I thought the decorations were way over the top
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You are still in the running towards the Top Model
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100
Martial law
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101
Students have been sitting in on and off this week
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102
Sporadic violence was reported nationwide
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103
The warning did not appear to have thinned the ranks at the demonstration
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104
Urged relevant parties to abandon the use of force to avoid further bloodshed
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105
He led the coup that ousted Mursi
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106
As a gesture of appreciation
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107
The film has a positive critical reception and a successful run in Hong Kong
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108
The animated movie was denied a spot amongst the 34 places available for foreign films in the Chinese box office
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109
This seems to have done little good
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110
A bootleg copy
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111
Fans braved the sweltering heat to ...
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112
The impunity of the sand
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113
The bus plunged into a ravine
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114
A stash of drug
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115
Hidden compartments in a suitcase
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116
Clip sb's wing = limit sb's freedom
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117
Bite the bullet!
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118
He posed a counter-question, rather than an answer
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119
They were forced to backtrack on their statement
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120
The sand contains foreign objects
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121
To draw a line in the sand = a metaphorical point beyond which no further advance will be accepted or made
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122
What we call 'life' is just a necessary fiction. Without a huge admixture of fantasy, reality would grind to a halt
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123
The callow cult of 'choice' or 'options' of our own day
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124
Extrude/squeeze the tube of toothpaste
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125
Run the stall
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126
My stomach keeps calling
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127
Become sworn siblings
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128
His accountant has aided and abetted him in the fraud
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129
Nipped one's dream in the bud
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130
The band was belting out all the old favourite
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131
Steal the limelight
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132
Be better by a mile
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133
I'm at my wit's end
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134
Just stay put!
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135
To bunk up with you
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136
Are you going to sit on the share?
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137
Do you get any Tencent holding?
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138
The attitude of the airport guard was symptomatic of a system falling apart at the seams
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139
10,000 soldiers were killed or maimed
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140
Fine words butter no parsnips = nothing is achieved by empty promises or flattery
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141
Fine feathers make fine birds
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142
One's finest hour = the time of one's greatest success
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143
Tragedy is the one that confronts the meaning-of-life question most searchingly and unswervingly
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144
Find a foothold in this unstable terrain
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145
Isabel stood as if turned to stone
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146
The elevator dropped like a stone
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147
The new job is not a promotion as such, but it brings good prospects for the future
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148
Because we live by signs, which bring along with them the capacity for abstraction, we can distance ourselves from our immediate contexts, free ourselves from the imprisonment of our bodily senses, and speculate on the human situation as such
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149
Like fire, however, the power of abstraction is an ambiguous gift, at once creative and destructive
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150
A tunnel was hollowed out in a mountain range
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151
Even in our most ecstatic moments, we are dimly aware that the ground is marshy underfoot - that there is no unimpeachable foundation to what we are and what we do
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152
Mammals have, by and large, bigger brains than reptiles = on the whole; everything considered
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153
Would not muster many votes
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154
Things are just baldly themselves, rather than enigmatic signs of something else
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155
They made plain their aversion to the use of force
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Launched on a grand scale
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You brood from time to time on whether it needs tinkering with or transforming
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158
A high wire act across an abyss
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159
She was subservient to her parents
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160
Linguists explore the nuances of language
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161
Home is where the heart is
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162
A pact with the Devil
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163
They are just hoping against hope that she's still alive
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164
We were so outclassed - we did not have a hope in hell of winning
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165
The old man's will has been tampered with
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Some of the China's more restive regions
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A high-flier
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168
Chek Lap Kok came out tops in efficiency from 2008 to 2011
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169
Nowhere to escape
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170
A traumatized worker
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171
The chopper hacked at the heads and shoulders of the passengers
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172
The attack stopped only when other passengers overpowered the suspect
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173
He sat cross-legged
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174
He came under investigation
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175
A snap judgement
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176
Daily devotionals
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Two-timer
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178
What prompted you to introspect?
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179
The door squeaked as it swung back and forth on its rusty hinges
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180
"Life is not worth living," she declared melodramatically
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181
You are not the studious type
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182
He is grinning from ear to ear
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183
Don't take the quack too seriously
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184
Why did you go through my things?
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185
Partners in crime
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186
Don't turn us in
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187
Don't horse around
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188
He won the title emphatically
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189
Self-proclaimed qigong master
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190
Conjure live snakes out of an empty pot
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191
He swindled believers with false claims about his supernatural healing powers and pocketed a fortune
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192
Vanish from his hometown and materialize in Hong Kong
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193
A big red board with glided characters bears the word "The Wang Mansion"
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194
A barrage of investigative media coverage
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195
He was jailed for sabotaging Communist Party
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196
He was often roughed up by other prisoners, leaving him "with bruises all over his face"
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His flamboyant and boastful ways
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198
The halos of these masters are fading
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199
Analysts take Li Ka-shing's silence on results in their stride
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200
Spark a frenzy of speculation among journalists
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201
Shun the television cameras
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202
He tactfully avoided the sensitive questions
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203
Try to be witty in his encounters with the press
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204
The rich's right-hand man comes across as a manager with an iron fist
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205
He was spouting liberal platitudes
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206
Hold one's breath = in a state of suspense or anticipation
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207
She snuggled her head into his shoulder
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208
The logo is plastered all over the curvaceous box
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209
Recently the rumour mill went into ...
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210
A budget iphone
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211
Charity covers a multitude of sins
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212
Do we arrive the world blank slates?
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213
Blow/ bomb/ wipe sth off the map
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214
Never mind. Chalk it up to experience
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215
Today's victory is the fifth that the team has chalked up this year
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216
The company is trying to spin off part of its business
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217
We go back and forth on it, but can't decide
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218
She seemed to be very meek and mild
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219
Be back in a bit
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220
I have no time to run errands for you
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221
What a bummer!
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222
I just ran into a glass door
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223
The company is saddled with debt
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224
Silver bows and gaudy ribbons
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225
Back in 1960s, he sported bell-bottom trousers, platform heels, and hair down past his shoulders
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226
Just give me the bottom line upfront
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227
The gentle breeze wafted the scent of roses
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228
I was entranced - and determined to have one
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229
A lofty habitat
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230
The light went out and the house was shrouded in darkness
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A social butterfly
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232
Butterflies in the stomach
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233
As light as a butterfly
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As gaudy as a butterfly
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235
Break a butterfly on the wheel
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236
Our bungalow rang hollow
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237
I spent most of my time outdoors, ranging through the bamboo
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238
Keep a wary eye out for
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In the dense heat
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240
The cicadas buzzed
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241
I traipsed home disconsolately
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242
I caught a flash of brilliant white out of the corner of my eye
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243
I began to raise my net, little by little, my heart pounding, the sweat trickling down my brow
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244
There at last was the coveted prize, beating furiously in the fine mesh of my trap
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245
On an impulse, I tossed my long-sought prize into the clear, bright air
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246
With every intention of nudging it into the killing jar
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247
She looked dowdy and plain
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248
I need a cut-and-dried decision by the end of this week
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249
Students account for the vast majority of our customers
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250
We pigged out on all the lovely cakes and pastries
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251
It was all hushed up
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252
Your record is against you
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253
You mark my word, there will be killing every day!
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254
Dozed off
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255
Someone blabbed to the press
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256
I' ve never smoked - it's a filthy habit
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257
Nothing but that could call Fawkes to you
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258
A meddlesome person
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259
You lost you my servant!
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260
I can't believe he's marrying that
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261
bridezilla, he must be a saint
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262
We will be all at the party! Be there or be square
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263
He is a reserved, taciturn person
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264
Smoko
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265
Stylishly tousled haircuts
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266
A droll, ironic way
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267
An endearingly playful manner
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268
A sharp, deadpan wit
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269
A point of contention
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270
They banter back and forth happily
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271
Marriages are buffeted by many things
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272
Newlyweds
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273
My head began to swim
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274
She suddenly blurted out, "I can't do it."
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275
I wonder if they will hit the seven-year wall
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276
Uncouth tourists from China
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277
Shouting abuse at officers escalates into political row
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278
Scuffles broke out between supporters and detractors of her
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279
Erupt into chaos
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280
Storm the stage
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281
An all-out effort
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282
The cited legal concerns may be a pretext for some regulators to try to retain their grip on the financial sector
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283
Resuscitate the site
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284
A first-rate swimmer and medal winner
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285
That left the organ on the verge of failure
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286
The machine was not up to take the load off the heart
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287
A blood clot
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288
The story proves, though, that when the chips are down, humanity is not in short supply here
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289
Favours were called in
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290
Athletes with a range of physical and intellectual disabilities as well as able-bodied participants
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291
His record speaks volumes for his determination
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292
We must all pitch in and do our part
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293
He has to walk in crutches
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294
Don't put things off, go out there and do it today
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295
It contains a wealth of very telling information
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296
See laundry neatly stacked in a hamper
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297
We knew she must be in pain, despite her stoic attitude
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298
The telling traces of emotion that flit across one person's face
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299
The hint of stress picked up in the sweat glands of the palm
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300
A subtle tone that creeps into an exchange
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301
He comes at the issue sideways
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302
He comes at it head-on
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303
Crabs walk sideways
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304
Very brief snippets of conversation
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305
Shoddy medical care
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306
The tumour metastasized
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307
The delayed diagnosis
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308
It can tell us an awful lot
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309
A sliver of cheese
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310
In 1983, Hanks was then a virtual unknown
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311
He has a curious ringing in his ears
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312
The sultry late summer weather had brought swarms of insects
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313
On a brisk spring evening
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314
Edward had only a smattering of Welsh
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315
Her golden tresses tumbled about her face
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316
Her lustrous brunette tresses
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317
Speed dating is the distillation of dating to a simple snap judgement
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318
He is just a wham-bam kind of jerk
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319
The relative merits of arranged marriages and love marriages
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320
A wry sense of humour
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321
It just dawned on me
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322
He stumped back into the house
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323
The president stumped for Republican candidates
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324
The police are too busy soaking up the adulation from their supporters to do their job
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325
China can't keep its claws off Hong Kong
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326
Goons and thugs
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327
Tell people one side if the coin and try to scratch out the other side
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328
Distract attention from the real issue by raising the spectre of foul language
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329
He kept on butting in with silly comments
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330
He will be caught in the middle
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331
They caught me by surprise
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332
Denial by governments is hypocrisy at best and evil at worst
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333
The negation of one of the terms implies the assertion of the other
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334
Work in tandem
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335
HSBC shares set to fall in Hong Kong after profits miss forecasts
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336
Botulism scare prompts baby formula recall
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337
The government was alarmed by an outbreak of unrest
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338
A floor mop
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339
A viral video has incensed political rivals and stoked social tensions
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340
As the Chinese saying goes, a single spark can start a prairie fire
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341
The half-day standoff degenerated into a brawl at one point
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342
Social tensions are running so high that ...
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343
Lost her temper and shouted abuse at police
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344
She trespassed onto a cordoned-off police area, jabbed her finger at a policewoman and shouted abusive language at her
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345
Falun Gong is outlawed on the mainland but tolerated in Hong Kong
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346
Now the saga has taken on a new dimension, turning into a confrontation between pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps
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347
They were cooking with lard instead of the much healthier olive oil
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348
A whopping 41 percent of their calories came from fat
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349
Police combed the area for the murder weapon
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350
Present long rows of data arrayed in complex charts
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351
Please fair as slightly amended
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352
Canadian hockey is a meritocracy
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353
Joseph rose to become the pharaoh's right-hand man
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354
She plucked a blade of grass
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355
Brambles plucked at her jeans
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356
Recruits are selected on merit, not through political patronage
A
357
No rabbit chewed through its bark as a sapling, and no lumberjack cut it down before it matured
A
358
What he was seeing was not chance occurrence but an iron law of sth
A
359
He lunged at me with a knife
A
360
He was knocked down by the onrush of water
A
361
He now has almost a year as minister under his belt
A
362
The differences have evened out
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363
The deck is stacked against you
A
364
We miss opportunities to lift others onto the top rung
A
365
The would level the playing field
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366
He had a knack for scoring goals at an early age
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367
Dear John letter
A
368
Big supermarkets can undercut all rivals, especially small high-street shops
A
369
The whole affair smacks of mismanagement and incompetence
A
370
I bought the cutest baby clothes to take to Mary's baby shower
A
371
Queen bee
A
372
Eye candy
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373
It is just another episode in an ongoing saga of marriage problems
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374
Take roundabout routes to avoid detection
A
375
A feeling of d?j? vu
A
376
Stop phubbing = phone + snub
A
377
Meager arms
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378
He could not support his family on his meager salary
A
379
This will knock London off its perch as Europe's leading financial centre
A
380
She was sentenced to two years in jail for committing perjury (= telling lies in a law court)
A
381
Emancipation of a slave
A
382
The use of onomatopoeia for literary effect, e.g. cuckoo, sizzle, bang, clank, tinkle, miaow, splash, cuckoo, peewit, curlew, whoosh, thud, crack, ring, wheeze, howl, rumble
A
383
Postural and proxemic signs
A
384
Point the soles of my feet at the PM
A
385
A slimy mess of squashed fruit
A
386
He popped his clogs last week
A
387
He fell hook, line, and sinker for this year's April Fool joke
A
388
This book is not intended to propound a body of theory
A
389
There is a bias towards descriptive coverage at the expense of theoretical rigour
A
390
They do not by any means form watertight compartments
A
391
The drunk man slurred his words
A
392
Suspended prison sentences
A
393
He walked out the court house a free man
A
394
Soccer heavyweight
A
395
Esprit de corps
A
396
I found the book so gripping that I couldn't put it down
A
397
Coaster
A
398
What set her apart from other candidates for the job was that she has a lot of original ideas
A
399
Bring/ take sb down a peg
A
400
Chase the skirt
A
401
Defuse a bomb
A
402
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
A
403
Head over heels
A
404
She's got a body like a coke bottle
A
405
She is a real knockout!
A
406
Every Jack has a Jill
A
407
He is nobody, you know
A
408
I agree with you - I agree to your proposal
A
409
As meek as a lamb
A
410
Speak badly of sb
A
411
As you please
A
412
Give me a hand here if you are at a loose end
A
413
Someone you want to grow old with
A
414
I've decided to quit the bachelor's club
A
415
You are made for each other
A
416
May peace, health, happiness and bright future attend you forever
A
417
Standing in front of the mirror she tweaked a strand of hair into place
A
418
Fast roping from a helicopter
A
419
Counterinsurgency cops
A
420
The floodgates have opened
A
421
Vertigo, tinnitus, occasionally blistering and flaking of the skin
A
422
Use some bricks to weigh it down
A
423
It is possible to improve facial contour by augmenting the cheekbones, the chin, the jaw-line or any other area that lacks definition
A
424
It is a catch-all term
A
425
A statement that defies argument
A
426
He reaps the expected applause
A
427
His book is just a ragbag of unsupported opinions
A
428
The two cultures were so utterly disparate that she found it hard to adapt from one to the other
A
429
The carpenter slanted the roof to allow water to run off
A
430
A perforated wall
A
431
He held his audience spellbound
A
432
With the deepest sympathies allow me to inform you of the sad demise of sb
A
433
Become a beacon of business education
A
434
With the passing of Lee, Hong Kong has lost one of its most exemplary citizens
A
435
Return the favour!
A
436
They were all frisked at the airport
A
437
She's been having a fling with her boss
A
438
I tried to mollify her by giving her flowers
A
439
I don't mean to pry into your relationship
A
440
Still up?
A
441
She loves to have some small talk with her neighbour
A
442
The government continues to fudge the issue by refusing to give exact figures
A
443
I started to feel queasy as soon as the boat left the harbour
A
444
A big barn
A
445
If I eat it, my stomach bloats up
A
446
He managed to eke out a living one summer by selling drinks on a beach
A
447
Bite the hand that feeds you
A
448
All bark and no bite
A
449
Fall head over heels for sb
A
450
He gave a radiant smile when he heard her news
A
451
Fray around/at the edges
A
452
Hong Kong's politicians are unlikely to jump into the fray, unless they are themselves clean and monogamous
A
453
Spark a media furore
A
454
Marital deceit was rife
A
455
Conning tower
A
456
Smash and grab burglars snatched watches from TST shop
A
457
Smash their way into
A
458
Security guards were alerted to their presence
A
459
The fat-finger error at the brokerage is the cause of a mysterious spike in the stock market
A
460
Some large-cap Chinese stocks rocketed, stoking speculation of a trading glitch
A
461
That sent the stock plunging more than 8%
A
462
I'm afraid we can't meet till Wednesday - I'm tied up on Monday and Tuesday
A
463
He is tied up in a meeting at the moment
A
464
He's spiced up his speech with a few rude jokes
A
465
Corny jokes
A
466
Femme fatale
A
467
I can't help but notice ...
A
468
Passing hour
A
469
A moonless pitch-black night
A
470
The players displayed a swashbuckling confidence
A
471
She was nearly demented with worry when her son didn't come home
A
472
To your heart's content
A
473
I have wracked my mind and heart for
A
474
Not an ennobling experience
A
475
I had failed on an epic scale
A
476
Inflict evils on humankind
A
477
Monolithic state-run organizations
A
478
Fight close quarter with bears
A
479
The constant whine of the machinery jangled his nerves
A
480
It is quite heart-thumping to ...
A
481
When you rush things, you make mistakes
A
482
Do not let go the rope
A
483
This is the best method known to man
A
484
Give it a rinse
A
485
Several large tree overhang the path
A
486
A lumpy bed
A
487
You sound husky - do you have a cold?
A
488
Local princeling
A
489
I've got a huge backlog of work to do
A
490
The fever receded
A
491
The lesion has become scab
A
492
Shall I take the liberty to make a request?
A
493
No need to see us off
A
494
Bestow a marriage
A
495
I will judge you anew
A
496
Keep your chin up
A
497
Burn you off
A
498
Stop making wild guesses
A
499
I will make amends
A
500
Seeing is believing
A
