Faced with extinction, these firms tried to change the very rules under which they had thrived for so long.

面对绝境，一些公司试图改变极端性规则，这些规则曾使他们长久兴旺。

youdao

We tried several different styles of sippy cups but the rigid sippers were uncomfortable or the soft sippers weren't long enough for our baby so he refused them.

我们曾经试过很多不同款式的吸管杯，可是，不是硬硬的吸管用起来不舒服，就是软管长度不够让我的宝宝不爱使用。

youdao

He said in his opinion, the president has the same immunity as the members of parliament, so it is not possible for President Gul to be tried as long as he is president.

VOA: standard.2009.05.20

It wasn't just self-congratulatory laughter at a high-brow joke. (OK, maybe a little.) I also had a laugh at myself: I've tried for so long to understand Philip Glass, and all it took was a one-act parody?

WSJ: Parsing a Playwright's Universal Language

Since those what-if scenarios were never considered, and especially since it took so long for BP to identify a way to stop the leak, the green reputation BP tried to build over the years cracked and sunk along with the rig.

FORBES: A Tale Of Two CEOs, BP vs. Massey: Part I, BP