Mar 4, 2009 Volume 5 -- Daily Life in China, #12(39)

lintelleUID: 2297267

1. The court was the centre of constant ____ and ______ in which, frequently enough, members of the imperial family, expresses, and eunuchs of the harem were involved.
2. ______ were formed which sometimes expressed a conflict of political opinions.
3. Its modernism and its complexity are astonishing when one considers the ______ forms of administration in the countries of Europe at this period.
4. Upon retiring, officials received from the Emperor a _____ in money or in cloth.

A) plots
B) cliques
C) intrigues
D) rudimentary
E) gratuity

answer
C) intrigues
A) plots
B) cliques
D) rudimentary
E) gratuity

plot:
noun
1 a plan made in secret by a group of people to do something illegal or harmful
2 the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.
3 a small piece of ground marked out for a purpose such as building or gardening
4 a graph showing the relation between two variables.
a diagram, chart, or map.

verb ( plotted |plɑdəd|, plotting |plɑdɪŋ|) [ trans. ]
1 secretly make plans to carry out (an illegal or harmful action)
2 devise the sequence of events in (a play, novel, movie, or similar work).
3 mark (a route or position) on a chart
• mark out or allocate (points) on a graph.
• make (a curve) by marking out a number of such points.
illustrate by use of a graph

clique:
a small group of people, with shared interests or other features in common, who spend time together and do not readily allow others to join them.

intrigue:
verb
1 [ trans. ] arouse the curiosity or interest of; fascinate
2 [ intrans. ] make secret plans to do something illicit or detrimental to someone

noun
1 the secret planning of something illicit or detrimental to someone
• a secret love affair.
2 a mysterious or fascinating quality

rudimentary:
involving or limited to basic principles
• of or relating to an immature, undeveloped, or basic form

gratuity:
money given in return for some service or favor, in particular
• formal a tip given to a waiter, taxicab driver, etc.