例句-1:Before the new century began, there was a lot of discussion of Y2K. That's the name of the software problem that was feared when the clocks rolled over into the year 2000. But despite terrible predictions, the world didn't grind to a halt. Most computers continued to work just fine.
就在上周末,我去参加外甥的毕业典礼。他们这届学生特别多,所以决定在室外举行。出席毕业典礼的学生、家长和老师大约有1000人。可就在嘉宾讲话的时候,忽然阴云密布,瓢泼大雨劈头盖脸地下了起来。不用说,The program ground to a halt. 毕业典礼告一段落。
我们只好开车回家,但是因为路上能见度太差,The traffic started to grind to a halt. 路上的车流开始陷入停顿。
去年,美国好莱坞的剧作家协会罢工,给娱乐业带来了巨大的困扰。让我们一起来听听下面这个记者的报导。
例句-2:Last season's strike by writers in Hollywood had a significant impact. Without scripts, production on most television series and movies grind to a halt. It took months of negotiations before a settlement was reached and filming started again.
值得一提的是,grind to a halt,这个习惯用语还有另外一种说法,是come to a grinding halt,意思完全一样。所以我们可以说,Work would have come to a grinding halt without air conditioning,假如没有空调,工作恐怕就得停下来了。The world didn't come to a grinding halt because of Y2K,世界没有因为 Y2K 而陷入停顿。
或是Hollywood productions came to a grinding halt,好莱坞剧目的制作陷入了停顿。