be conscience-stricken(One's better nature asserts itself.)

Eagerly crane and retract one's neck

a rare chance(an affinity given by Heaven)

pick and choose

pretend to be ignorant of something(pretend to be deaf and dumb)

intolerable justice(God forbid!)

pots and pans(hollow ware)

consider every possible angle(take a comprehensive view of the situation as a whole)

farmers and village elders

boiling moat and iron city

pick and choose

expose one's chest and back

have an apricot face with rosy cheeks

the picture and its accompanying essay are both excellent

decided

natural disasters like giant earthquakes and landslides

it produces silk and traps itself

in days of old(be of the remote past)

sangfroid(have a cool head; be calm and collected; sober-minded;clear-minded)

talk cheerfully and humorously(talk with great animation)