By the time 250,000 were on the bridge, engineers noticed something terrible: the roadway was flattening under what turned out to be the heaviest load it had ever been asked to carry.
当25万人在桥上时，工程师们注意到一件可怕的事情：路面被有史以来最沉重的负荷压扁了。
2
A more realistic scenario — given signs Beijing remains determined to cool the market — is of on-year prices flatteningout and even falling as 2010 progresses.
鉴于北京决心给房地产市场降温的迹象，更现实的推测是2010年房价同比持平，甚至下跌。
3
The worry is not that yields are flatteningout in farmers’ fields, where agronomic practices or the weather or any number of things may be responsible.