"slide into chaos" 直译为“滑入混乱”,实际表示(事物、局势、系统等)逐渐、悄无声息地陷入混乱状态。
其中:
slide 强调“渐进性”(像滑动一样缓慢、持续),而非突然崩溃;
chaos 指“完全无序、失控的状态”(可用于描述社会、经济、组织、事件等)。
该短语是不及物动词短语,通常以表示“局势/系统/组织”的名词作主语,描述其从“有序”向“无序”的逐渐恶化过程。
以下是不同语境下的常用例子,帮助理解用法:
描述国家、地区因动荡逐渐失控:
After the military coup, the country slid into chaos as protests erupted and basic services collapsed.
(军事政变后,该国因抗议爆发和基础服务瘫痪,逐渐陷入混乱。)
Without a legitimate government, the region is sliding into chaos.
(没有合法政府,该地区正逐渐陷入混乱。)
描述经济体系因危机逐步崩溃:
The economy slid into chaos following the sudden devaluation of the currency.
(货币突然贬值后,经济逐渐陷入混乱。)
Poor fiscal policies caused the once-prosperous nation to slide into financial chaos.
(糟糕的财政政策导致这个曾经繁荣的国家逐渐陷入金融混乱。)
描述团队、项目因管理不善逐渐失控:
The project slid into chaos when the lead manager quit and no one took over.
(项目经理辞职且无人接任后,项目逐渐陷入混乱。)
Without clear rules, the club slowly slid into chaos—meetings were unstructured, and members lost interest.
(没有明确规则,俱乐部慢慢陷入混乱——会议无组织,成员失去兴趣。)
描述小范围事件(如聚会、家庭)逐渐失控:
The birthday party slid into chaos when the kids started running around with cake and the music system broke.
(孩子们拿着蛋糕乱跑、音响坏了后,生日派对逐渐乱成一团。)
Our family dinners used to be peaceful, but lately they’ve slid into chaos with constant arguments.
(我们家的晚餐以前很平静,但最近因不断争吵逐渐变得混乱。)
强调渐进性:"slide" 比 "fall"(坠落)更突出“缓慢、不易察觉”的恶化——比如“fall into chaos”更偏向“突然崩溃”,而“slide into chaos”是“慢慢滑向混乱”。
常见搭配:可加副词修饰“slide”的速度,如 slowly/gradually slide into chaos(缓慢/逐渐陷入混乱),但“slide”本身已含“渐进”,有时可省略副词。
简言之,"slide into chaos" 是描述“有序状态逐渐恶化至无序”的高频短语,核心是“渐进性”,适用于各类需要强调“慢慢失控”的场景。