11.   Such a bout is particularly significant because the sport had come to a near standstill for lack of compelling matchups the past few years.

12.   That has stabilized currencies, but it has also choked off credit and brought commercial activity to a near standstill.

13.   The baskets kept the Spurs from starting the game in a near standstill.

14.   The blockade, meant to keep streets clear for emergency and rescue workers, brought commerce in the rough triangle of lower Manhattan to a near standstill.

15.   The politically shrewd chairman, in turn, announced his support for a tax cut, explaining that economic growth is at a near standstill.

16.   The result of all this volatility has been to bring the issuance of many types of bonds and convertible debt to a near standstill.

17.   There is no public debate to stir up the opposition that has brought the development of genetically modified crops to a near standstill in India.

18.   U.S. Senate Republicans and Democrats today resolved an impasse over campaign financing legislation that had the chamber in a near standstill for weeks.

19.   A public utility strike last Thursday brought the country to a near standstill.

20.   Agriculture has come to a near standstill in many places because of insecurity and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.