While the committee was still debating the wording of the final paragraph, one of the observers quietly ---- the room and never returned.

When the committee finally ---- the funding proposal, the researchers immediately began recruiting participants for the longitudinal study.

Until the theory of plate tectonics gained acceptance in the 1960s, most geologists ---- that the continents had always occupied their present positions.

As the delegates were making their way into the conference hall, a power failure ---- the entire building into darkness for almost twenty minutes.

As soon as the preliminary results of the trial were announced, the share price of the biotechnology firm ---- sharply, surprising even the most cautious analysts on the exchange.

---- the ferry was approaching the harbour, a dense fog ---- so quickly that the captain had to drop anchor offshore and wait until dawn.

The photograph captures a single instant in the summer of 1962: children ---- in the square, vendors were shouting their prices, and a tram was crawling past the fountain.

The technicians ---- the last set of cables when the generator ---- without warning; the job was left half-finished and had to be resumed the following morning.

At the exact moment when the tsunami warning finally ---- the coastal resorts, hundreds of tourists ---- on beaches that would be under water within the hour.