to warn or scold someone severely for bad behavior
严厉警告或责骂某人不良行为 (yanli jinggao huo zemà mǒu rén bùliáng xíngwéi)
"The teacher read the students the riot act after the chaos in class."
"在课堂混乱之后，老师严厉警告了学生。" (zài kètáng hùnluàn zhīhòu, lǎoshī **yánlì jǐnggào le xuéshēng**)
to speak honestly without sugarcoating
to be in a position of control or leadership
to remain calm and confident under pressure
to be very expensive
to start over again because the previous plan failed
to start behaving more responsibly.
