(1) a critical moment in our country's history
(2) One of the victims of the fire remains in a critical condition .
(3) Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking instead of accepting opinions without questioning them.

(1) a debate on abortion
(2) The minister opened the debate (= was the first to speak) .
(3) The motion under debate (= being discussed) was put to a vote.

(1) a car mechanic
(2) the school's car maintenance department where students learn basic mechanics
(3) The exact mechanics of how payment will be made will be decided later.

(1) the upper lip
(2) the upper deck
(3) the upper arm

(1) an electric drill
(2) a pneumatic drill
(3) a hand drill

(1) Give me a dozen, please.
(2) two dozen eggs
(3) three dozen red roses

(1) motor vehicles (= cars, buses, lorries/trucks, etc.)
(2) Are you the driver of this vehicle?
(3) rows of parked vehicles

(1) You can obtain the product from all good chemists.
(2) Take this prescription to the chemist's.
(3) I'll get it at the chemist's.

(1) Wear clothes that provide adequate protection against the wind and rain.
(2) He asked to be put under police protection .
(3) the conservation and protection of the environment

(1) He was humming a familiar tune.
(2) I don't know the title but I recognize the tune.
(3) It was a catchy tune (= song) .

(1) an error in translation
(2) He specializes in translation from Danish into English.
(3) The book loses something in translation .

(1) Using the dynamical reflexion theory, the selective reflection characters of cholesteric liquid crystals are analyzed.
(2) The difference among different cultural trades is virtually the centralized reflexion of their characteristics.
(3) FS reflexion works with a seismic vibration system.

(1) A little later I left that place and never set foot in Texas again.
(2) I asked the driver to put his foot down for Nagchukha.
(3) Our chairman has really put his foot in it, poor man, though he doesn't know it.

(1) They've gone on an excursion to York.
(2) After a brief excursion into drama, he concentrated on his main interest, which was poetry.
(3) In Bermuda, Sam's father took him on an excursion to a coral barrier.

(1) We looked out over the city from the heights of Edinburgh Castle.
(2) a fear of heights
(3) He doesn't have a head for heights (= is afraid of high places) .

(1) Check the tyre pressure on the dial.
(2) He dialled the number and waited.
(3) dial 0033 for France.

(1) His singing can't hold a candle to Pavarotti's.
(2) The bedroom was lit by a single candle.
(3) Girls today can't hold a candle to the beauties of the Fifties.

(1) a remote beach
(2) one of the remotest areas of the world
(3) The farmhouse is remote from any other buildings.

(1) strict rules/regulations/discipline
(2) She left strict instructions that she was not to be disturbed.
(3) He told me in the strictest confidence (= on the understanding that I would tell nobody else) .

(1) She was awarded the Nobel Peace prize.
(2) He won first prize in the woodwind section.
(3) There are no prizes for guessing (= it is very easy to guess) who she was with.

(1) vitamin/dietary supplements (= vitamins and other foods eaten in addition to what you usually eat)
(2) Industrial sponsorship is a supplement to government funding.
(3) the Sunday colour supplements

(1) We meet regularly to discuss the progress of the project.
(2) I go there quite regularly.
(3) The plants were spaced regularly, about 50 cm apart.

(1) It was a joy to see. It really made my day.
(2) Chantal kept a fire burning night and day...
(3) He would have a nurse in constant attendance day and night.

(1) to gain/get/derive satisfaction from sth
(2) a look/smile of satisfaction
(3) She looked back on her career with great satisfaction .

(1) the Arctic/tropical/desert, etc. regions
(2) one of the most densely populated regions of North America
(3) the Basque region of Spain

(1) capital and labour
(2) Use block capitals (= separate capital letters) .
(3) Please write in capitals/in capital letters .

(1) His financial affairs were in complete disorder .
(2) The room was in a state of disorder.
(3) an outbreak of rioting and public disorder

(1) The project is in its final stages.
(2) I'd like to return to the final point you made.
(3) the final product

(1) His flight to Amsterdam connects with an afternoon flight to New York.
(2) I was surprised to hear them mentioned together: I had never connected them before.
(3) There was nothing to connect him with the crime.

(1) In the 1990s the area became a magnet for new investment.
(2) fridge magnets of your favourite cartoon characters
(3) Prospect Park, with its vast lake, is a magnet for all health freaks...

(1) a logical thing to do in the circumstances
(2) It was a logical conclusion from the child's point of view.
(3) a logical argument

(1) a grey, cloudy day
(2) ...a windy, cloudy day.
(3) ...an absurdly cloudy political debate...

(1) He stopped in the doorway, too timid to go in.
(2) They've been rather timid in the changes they've made (= they've been afraid to make any big changes) .
(3) a timid voice

(1) roast goose
(2) Unregulated tourism can kill the goose that laid their golden egg.
(3) He said that what they were up to would cook Krasky's goose.

(1) a broken/bruised/cracked rib
(2) Stop poking me in the ribs !
(3) a rib cotton sweater

(1) (informal)a decent meal/job/place to live
(2) I need a decent night's sleep.
(3) ordinary, decent, hard-working people

(1) Churchill telegraphed an urgent message to Wavell...
(2) 'Please,' he telegraphed, 'just leave it alone.'...
(3) The commission telegraphed its decision earlier this month by telling an official to prepare the order.

(1) Every time a train went past the walls vibrated.
(2) The atmosphere seemed to vibrate with tension.
(3) The ground shook and the cliffs seemed to vibrate...

(1) (a) fear of the dark/spiders/flying, etc.
(2) Her eyes showed no fear.
(3) The child was shaking with fear .

(1) He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example...
(2) He was the ideal of manly beauty.
(3) For his shrunk shank and his big manly voice.