sermon; preaching; homily; remonstration; scolding; lecturing
chat; desultory conversation
to hold (a ceremony); to perform
deeply religious; devout; godly; faithful
faint; dim; weak; poor; wretched; meagre
to catch (someone's words); to make out; to follow; to ask about (a situation, circumstances, etc.); to inquire
slowly and quietly; stealthily
noise (usu. unpleasant); interference (e.g. radio); static; gossip; irresponsible criticism
mixed with; mingled with; interspersed with; dashed with; sprinkled with
trembling from fear; trembling all over
no sooner than; as soon as; immediately after; at the thought of; when I think about
to catch one's attention; to catch one's ear; to be annoying to one's ear
to tear off; to pluck off; to take forcibly
every time; whenever; as; whether; in (either case)
piece of paper; slip of paper; strip of paper; scrap of paper
scattered; disperse; loose; disconnected; in pieces; in drops
gold (metal); gold (color); gold (medal); first place (prize); something of great value; something golden (e.g. silence); money
embezzlement; misappropriation; usurpation
surface; face (i.e. the visible side of an object); front (of a building, etc.); obverse side (i.e. "head") of a coin; outside; exterior; appearance
pool for soaking seed rice before planting
trudging (along); plodding; slowly and with heavy steps
to gather; to (pick up and) collect; to glean (information)
commemoration; celebration; remembrance; memento; souvenir; keepsake
place bet (in horse racing, etc.); show bet; bet that predicts a top 2 or top 3 finish (depending on number of horses, etc. in race)
betting ticket; betting slip
tremendous; immense; enormous; colossal; stupendous; huge
to wager; to bet; to risk; to stake; to gamble
exceedingly; extremely; very many; indeed
check (pattern); plaid; check; inspection; check (mark); tick; checking (something) out
yen (currency of Japan); circle
to begin (doing); to start; to set about; to get down to
to incline one's head to the side (in doubt); to tilt one's head to the side (in confusion); to be puzzled
how long; how far; how much
the whole nation; everyone in the country
private funds; own funds; private property
smoothly; swimmingly; forthrightly; without hesitation
to move off (into the distance); to become distant; to recede; to drift away (from a person, activity, etc.); to distance oneself (from); to become less frequent (e.g. of visits)