There was an unnatural silence and then a scream.

一阵反常的寂静，接着便是一声尖叫。

《牛津词典》

There was a splash, and then silence.

水花四溅，然后是一片寂静。

youdao

We all got back into our chairs, Robin with some difficulty, and there was then a long silence, like a Quaker wedding, which I came to understand was being directed at me.

我们大家都坐回到椅子上，罗宾费了很大的劲儿才坐到椅子上。接着又是一阵长时间的沉默，我逐渐开始明白，原来就像贵格会举行的婚礼在对我指手画脚。

youdao

Then there was silence. American Navy ships and planes searched the area for fifteen days.

VOA: special.2010.05.26

There was a short silence, and then the door opened slowly.

VOA: special.2010.05.15

"He read this document and then there was this moment of silence, " Maggiolo said.

CNN: Vito Maggiolo: 'I challenged the Chinese'

Then there was a silence and then suddenly there's this dazzling light that flashes at you from the base of the launch pad - and that's ignition.

BBC: World News TV

Then there was a silence, and I wondered whether I should make some trivial remark about the island or about holidays or some other almost equally trivial remark about the activities we had observed on the beach.

NEWYORKER: While the Women Are Sleeping