昨天课堂上外教 Tony 给大家讲起了他来中国任教的原因，"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原来是个水管工，还真是没想到呢......今天就跟大家说一下他这句话里用到的一个短语 "at a standstill" ，大家可别简单地从字面儿上直译为"依旧站着呆着"哈，你细品一下就会发现，它是"停滞不前、处于停顿状态"的意思，就像我们日常生活中所碰到的“交通瘫痪”、"谈判停顿"等表示进程静止或进展停滞的状态都会用到这个词儿，所以刚才Tony是在说"我年轻的时候是一个水管工，但是十年之后，我发现我停滞不前了，所以我来到了中国。"

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

陷于停顿；停滞不前；处于停顿状态；停顿着；静止的；中止的；静止；停顿；停滞

【En】If movement or activity comes to or is brought to a standstill, it stops completely. 运动或活动的状态完全停止。a condition in which all movement or activity has stopped. 所有的运动或活动都停止的状态。[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]减速并最终停止; 完全停止。(通常指某事有进展，如工作、交通、谈判等。)

【Scenario Listening 场景听力】

comes to a standstill 停滞不前.mp31:06

来自穿梭英语Transpeak

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

在高峰时间，交通陷入停顿。

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

由于罢工，这家工厂的生产陷于停顿。

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

请系好安全带，直到飞机静止为止。

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

当那辆闪烁着警灯和警笛的警车疾驰而过时，其他所有的司机都停了下来。

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

经费突然减少后，我们的研究也停滞了。

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

失控的公共汽车滚进泥泞的田野，最终停了下来。

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

我们进行了紧急着陆，当飞机停止飞行时，我们通过紧急逃生门疏散。

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

突然，我们前面的那群人停了下来。

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

罢工一开始，生产线就停产了。

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

在河和对岸的上空，太阳似乎已经静止了几个小时。

【Scenario Example 场景示例】

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

他只停顿了7.5秒，回来时仍然保持着领先优势。

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

一切都静止了，地铁里的人太多了，他们只是坐在那里，无处可去。

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

医院被缩减为应急设施，学校关闭，许多工业处于停滞状态。

● The negotiations are basically at a standstill.

谈判基本上处于停滞状态。

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

由于出了车祸，交通瘫痪了。

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

战火和物资短缺使这座城市的正常生活实际上陷于瘫痪。

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

然而，10个小时以后，行人拥挤，寸步难行，交通陷于停顿。

● 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.

在这几年里，美国社会实际上处于停滞和徘徊的状态，国家的经济和人民的生活水平没有得到多大的发展和提高。

出处：见配图水印