我星期二晚上在家烤蛋糕，参加女儿学校的义卖活动，结果材料都准备好了，电动搅拌机没用一分钟，却突然罢了工。没办法，只好改电动为手动，累得我胳膊都快折了。不过，这也让我想起一个习惯用语可以跟大家分享，那就是：stop cold。
stop cold的意思是“突然停止”。我烤蛋糕的时候电动搅拌机突然坏了，就可以说it stopped cold。再比如，孩子跳舞表演，我兴致勃勃地拿着录像机，打算全程录下来，谁知道：
- The camcorder stopped cold five minutes into the program.
表演刚开始五分钟，摄像机就不工作了。
原来是没电了。
在下面这个例子里，一个公司经理被困在了电梯里。
- I've rarely thought about the possibility of getting stuck in an elevator. Yet, as I was heading up to my office on the tenth floor, the elevator stopped cold. There I was trapped with no way to get out. Finally, after about half an hour, it started moving again. Maybe it was a sign that I should take the stairs and get some exercise!
我几乎从没想到自己会被困在电梯里。可刚才，我上十楼去办公室，电梯中途突然停了。我被困在了电梯里面。差不多半个小时后，电梯才又恢复工作。也许这是在暗示我，应该去爬楼梯，多锻炼锻炼。
我侄子现在正处于青少年开始对异性产生朦胧意识的阶段，他跟男同学在一起有说有笑，可是只要一有女孩子加入进来，他立刻就哑巴了。
- Girls just stop him cold.
我这个人虽然不是追星族，但如果真有个大明星突然出现在我眼前呢？有一次，我正在做采访，电影明星乔治•克鲁尼突然走进了演播室。我当时就晕了。
- His presence stopped you cold.
下面例子中这只球队整个赛季过关斩将。我们看看队员是怎么说的：
- Many of the teams we've faced off against expected to advance to the finals. But they haven't been able to beat us. We've got some excellent players this season. That's why we've been stopping our opponents cold. If we keep it up, we'll make it to the finals!
跟我们交手的很多球队都是想进决赛的强队，但谁也打败不了我们。这个赛季我们有很多优秀队员。这就是为什么对手都过不了我们这一关。照这样下去，我们一定能进决赛。
Stop cold这个习惯用语是十九世纪末出现的，因为cold除了寒冷以外，也有突然和彻底的意思。现在，大家知道这个习惯用语的意思了，下次如果有人用到这个词，你一定不会感到陌生和意外：
- It won't stop you cold next time you hear it.
