Kàn zhe jīhuì cóng yǎnqián liūzǒu, tā zhǐnéng gāndèngyǎn.
Watching the opportunity slip past, all he could do was stare helplessly.
Tips
memory
Literally 'dry-stare-eye': you stare so hard your eyes go dry, but you still can't change the situation. The 干 here means 'futile, in vain' (same usage as in 干着急, 'fret in vain').
culture
Also the name of a fast-paced shedding card game popular in northern China - players race to empty their hand and the loser literally sits there 'staring helplessly'.
