scarcely  刚，几乎不，勉强不

they could scarcely complain after such good treatment

imperative  首要的，紧急的

Improving the country’s enconomy is a political imperative for the new president

Notwithstanding  虽然 尽管

The bad weather notwithstanding,the event was a great success.

Impetus 动力

Hampered 阻碍

Our efforts were severely hampered by lack of money

Inference 推论 推理

stern  严厉的 苛刻的

the police are planning stern measures to combat crime  警察指定严厉的措施打击犯罪活动。

proficiency （名词）熟练、精通