Vocabulary

to stomp out (of a room, etc.); to storm out

positive thinking; optimism

rhythm method (method of birth control); calendar method

Sirs; Mesdames

to be astonished to hear; to be incredulous about; to express disbelief

only; just

Xia dynasty (of China; ca. 2070-1600 BCE; possibly mythological); Hsia dynasty

Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (mythological rulers of ancient China)

Western Zhou dynasty (of China; ca. 1046-771 BCE); Western Chou dynasty

Eastern Zhou dynasty (of China; 771-256 BCE); Eastern Chou dynasty

Eastern Han dynasty (of China; 25-220 CE); Later Han dynasty

Northern Song dynasty (of China; 960-1127)

Song dynasty (of China; 960-1279); Sung dynasty

fourth degree (of the Japanese and Chinese pentatonic scale)

Former Han dynasty (of China; 206 BCE-9 CE); Western Han dynasty

Western Han dynasty (of China; 206 BCE-9 CE); Former Han dynasty

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (of China; 907-979)

fifth degree (of the Japanese and Chinese pentatonic scale)

off topic

peanut allergy

nut allergy

chest; coffer

thin twilled silk fabric

Hollywood movie

tic-tac-toe; noughts and crosses

happy birthday!

live band

bawling; crying

violent; cruel; fiendish

present perfect tense

dining hall (at a temple)

past perfect form; past perfect tense

advanced standing (in school or college); credit for prior studies

limply

to collapse; to fall down (in a heap)

participial construction

subordinating conjunction; subordinator

coordinating conjunction; coordinator

the five basic sentence structures of English (SV, SVC, SVO, SVOO, SVOC)

to finish; to complete