(1) a rapid/sharp/gradual decline
(2) urban/economic decline
(3) The company reported a small decline in its profits.

(1) How do you measure the volume of a gas?
(2) jars of different volumes
(3) the sheer volume (= large amount) of business

(1) Inflation continues to accelerate.
(2) Exposure to the sun can accelerate the ageing process.
(3) The runners accelerated smoothly around the bend.

(1) a chemical/radioactive, etc. substance
(2) banned/illegal substances (= drugs)
(3) a sticky substance

(1) a political system based on the notions of equality and liberty
(2) I have to reject the notion that greed can be a good thing.
(3) She had only a vague notion of what might happen.

(1) a sense of relief
(2) We all breathed a sigh of relief when he left.
(3) She sighed with relief.

(1) Don't distress yourself (= don't worry) .
(2) It was clear that the letter had deeply distressed her.
(3) It is a rule of the sea to help another boat in distress .

(1) A molecule of water consists of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen.
(2) [只用于名词前] molecular structure/biology
(3) ...the hydrogen bonds between water molecules.

(1) slippery like a fish
(2) In places the path can be wet and slippery.
(3) His hand was slippery with sweat.

(1) to shiver with cold/excitement/pleasure, etc.
(2) Don't stand outside shivering─come inside and get warm!
(3) He shivered at the thought of the cold, dark sea.

(1) Prices did not alter significantly during 2004.
(2) He had altered so much I scarcely recognized him.
(3) It doesn't alter the way I feel.

(1) The tanker began to spill its cargo of oil.
(2) a cargo ship
(3) The boat calls at the main port to load its regular cargo of bananas.

(1) The strikes have idled nearly 4 000 workers.
(2) She left the car idling at the roadside.
(3) They idled along by the river (= walked slowly and with no particular purpose) .

(1) walking along the ridge
(2) the north-east ridge of Mount Everest
(3) The ridges on the soles of my boots stopped me from slipping.

(1) the faculty of sight
(2) She retained her mental faculties (= the ability to think and understand) until the day she died.
(3) to be in full possession of your faculties (= be able to speak, hear, see, understand, etc.)

(1) the oldest inhabitant of the village
(2) a town of 11 000 inhabitants
(3) ...the inhabitants of Glasgow.

(1) I don't want to become a burden to my children when I'm old.
(2) They have burdened themselves with a high mortgage.
(3) I don't want to burden you with my worries.

(1) In politics Britain has preferred evolution to revolution (= gradual development to sudden violent change) .
(2) the evolution of the human species
(3) Darwin's theory of evolution

(1) vivid memories
(2) He gave a vivid account of his life as a fighter pilot.
(3) vivid blue eyes

(1) There is no immediate prospect of peace.
(2) A place in the semi-finals is in prospect (= likely to happen) .
(3) There's a reasonable prospect that his debts will be paid.

(1) He described the sequence of events leading up to the robbery.
(2) The tasks had to be performed in a particular sequence.
(3) Number the pages in sequence .

(1) a calendar for 2006
(2) This is one of the biggest weeks in the racing calendar.
(3) the Islamic calendar

(1) sexual behaviour
(2) They were not having a sexual relationship at the time.
(3) Her interest in him is purely sexual.

(1) They entertain on a large scale (= they hold expensive parties with a lot of guests) .
(2) Here was corruption on a grand scale .
(3) On a global scale, 77% of energy is created from fossil fuels.

(1) I can give you a rough estimate of the amount of wood you will need.
(2) a ballpark estimate (= an approximate estimate)
(3) official government estimates of traffic growth over the next decade

(1) hollow out the cake and fill it with cream.
(2) The squirrel disappeared into a hollow at the base of the tree.
(3) She noticed the slight hollows under his cheekbones.

(1) boundary changes/disputes
(2) The fence marks the boundary between my property and hers.
(3) Scientists continue to push back the boundaries of human knowledge.

(1) The journey would be dangerous in the extreme.
(2) extremes of cold, wind or rain
(3) It's embarrassing the extremes he'll go to in order to impress his boss.

(1) One of the funniest episodes in the book occurs in Chapter 6.
(2) I'd like to try and forget the whole episode.
(3) The new drug lessens the severity of pneumonia episodes.

(1) a sincere attempt to resolve the problem
(2) sincere regret
(3) Please accept our sincere thanks.

(1) a shepherd herding his flock
(2) They were herded together into trucks and driven away.
(3) We all herded on to the bus.

(1) We finally traced him to an address in Chicago.
(2) She could trace her family tree back to the 16th century.
(3) The leak was eventually traced to a broken seal.

(1) the conservative views of his parents
(2) Her style of dress was never conservative.
(3) conservative members/supporters

(1) It took her a mere 20 minutes to win.
(2) A mere 2% of their budget has been spent on publicity.
(3) He seemed so young, a mere boy.

(1) The washing instructions are on the label.
(2) price/address labels
(3) We tested various supermarkets' own label pasta sauces (= those marked with the name of the shop/store where they are sold) .

(1) a laser beam
(2) a laser navigation device
(3) The bar codes on the products are read by lasers.

(1) He belongs to an exclusive club.
(2) an exclusive hotel
(3) exclusive designer clothes

(1) the world's largest nuclear waste facility
(2) a new health care facility
(3) She has a facility for languages.

(1) Some of the studies show positive results, whereas others do not.
(2) Pensions are linked to inflation, whereas they should be linked to the cost of living...
(3) whereas the population of working age increased by 1 million between 1981 and 1986, today it is barely growing.

(1) an extinct species
(2) to become extinct
(3) Servants are now almost extinct in modern society.