昨天課堂上外教 Tony 給大家講起了他來中國任教的原因，"I used to be a plumber when I was young, but ten years later, I found I was at a standstill, so I came to China."

呵呵，老Tony原來是畫面個水管工，還真是站那止沒想到呢......今天就跟大家說一下他這句話里用到的一個短語 "at a standstill" ，大家可別簡單地從字面兒上直譯為"依舊站著呆著"哈，不靜你細品一下就會發現，畫面它是站那止"停滯不前、處于停頓狀態"的不靜意思，就像我們日常生活中所碰到的畫面“交通癱瘓”、"談判停頓"等表示進程靜止或進展停滯的站那止狀態都會用到這個詞兒，所以剛才Tony是不靜在說"我年輕的時候是一個水管工，但是畫面十年之后，我發現我停滯不前了，站那止所以我來到了中國。不靜"

come to a standstill/ bring something to a standstill/ at a standstill

陷于停頓；停滯不前；處于停頓狀態；停頓著；靜止的；中止的；靜止；停頓；停滯

【En】If movement or activity comes to or is brought to a standstill, it stops completely. 運動或活動的狀態完全停止。a condition in which all movement or activity has stopped. 所有的運動或活動都停止的狀態。[for something] to slow down and finally stop; to stop completely. (Usually refers to something that is progressing, such as work, traffic, negotiations.) [指某事]減速并最終停止; 完全停止。(通常指某事有進展，如工作、交通、談判等。)

【Scenario Listening 場景聽力】

comes to a standstill 停滯不前.mp31:06

來自穿梭英語Transpeak

● At the height of rush hour, traffic comes to a standstill.

在高峰時間，交通陷入停頓。

● Because of the strike, the production of the factory has come to a standstill.

由于罷工，這家工廠的生產陷于停頓。

● Please keep your seat belt fastened until the plane has come to a standstill.

請系好安全帶，直到飛機靜止為止。

● All the other drivers came to a standstill as the police car, with its flashing lights and siren, sped by.

當那輛閃爍著警燈和警笛的警車疾馳而過時，其他所有的司機都停了下來。

● Our research came to a standstill after a sudden reduction in funding.

經費突然減少后，我們的研究也停滯了。

● The runaway bus eventually came to a standstill when it rolled into a muddy field.

失控的公共汽車滾進泥濘的田野，最終停了下來。

● We made an emergency landing, and as soon as the aircraft came to a standstill, we evacuated through the emergency doors.

我們進行了緊急著陸，當飛機停止飛行時，我們通過緊急逃生門疏散。

● Abruptly the group ahead of us came to a standstill.

突然，我們前面的那群人停了下來。

● As the strike began, the production line came to a standstill.

罷工一開始，生產線就停產了。

● It seems like the sun has come to a standstill, hours above the river and the opposite shore.

在河和對岸的上空，太陽似乎已經靜止了幾個小時。

【Scenario Example 場景示例】

● He was at a standstill for just 7.5secs and returned with his lead still intact.

他只停頓了7.5秒，回來時仍然保持著領先優勢。

● Everything is at a standstill and so many people in the underground, just sitting there with nowhere to go.

一切都靜止了，地鐵里的人太多了，他們只是坐在那里，無處可去。

● Hospitals were reduced to emergency cover, schools were closed, and much of industry was at a standstill.

醫院被縮減為應急設施，學校關閉，許多工業處于停滯狀態。

● The negotiations are basically at a standstill.

談判基本上處于停滯狀態。

● The traffic is at a standstill because of an accident.

由于出了車禍，交通癱瘓了。

● Fighting and shortages have brought normal life to a virtual standstill in the city.

戰火和物資短缺使這座城市的正常生活實際上陷于癱瘓。

● Ten hours later, however, you could hardly move for people, and the traffic was at a standstill.

然而，10個小時以后，行人擁擠，寸步難行，交通陷于停頓。

● In fact, during the years, American Society was hesitating, virtually at a standstill. There was little economic growth and not much of a rise in the standard of living.

在這幾年里，美國社會實際上處于停滯和徘徊的狀態，國家的經濟和人民的生活水平沒有得到多大的發展和提高。

出处：见配图水印