This; these. 1. Pronoun referring to a person, thing, or situation nearby or just mentioned. 2. Determiner used before a classifier or noun to specify a nearby person or thing.

a situation; a state of affairs; a condition, often a difficult one; also used as a bound form in 地步 dì​bù

a wretched situation or difficult state of affairs; the extent or point things have reached (usually referring to a negative situation)