一潭死水

tā men suǒ zài de nà ge piān pì nóng chǎng shì yī tán sǐ shuǐ yī bān de dì fang

他们所在的那个偏僻农场，是一潭死水一般的地方。

The remote farm where they lived was like a stagnant pool.

yǔ wén zuò wén jiào xué yóu rú yī tán sǐ shuǐ méi yǒu yī sī lián yī

语文作文教学犹如一潭死水，没有一丝涟漪。

This kind of teaching is just like a pool of stagnant water without any trace of ripples.