v. 开始( begin的过去式 )；着手；创始；创办
1. begin to do sth 开始做某事。如：
Soon it began to rain. 不久天就开始下雨了。
He sat down at the desk and began to write. 他在桌子前坐下就开始写了起来。
2. began doing sth 开始做某事。如：
He began doing this job last year. 他去年开始做这工作。
He began teaching English at the age of 18. 他18岁开始教英语。
注：以上两类结构有时可互换，而意思不变。如：
Then he began telling [to tell] us a story. 然后他开始给我们讲故事。
两类结构能互换的场合主要限于那些有意志的动词，而对于那些无意志的动词(如那些表示感觉或心理活动的动词以及主语是无生命的东西时)，通常用不定式，很少用动名词。如：
The ice began to melt. 冰开始融化。
I began to understand this situation. 我开始了解情况。
另外若 begin 本身为 -ing 形式，其后通常也接不定式。如：
I’m beginning to feel better， thank you. 我渐渐感到好些了，谢谢你。
不过，若主语是指天气的 it， 其后可接不定式或动名词。如：
It began raining [to rain]. 开始下雨了。
3. begin with sth [by doing sth] 以做某事开始。如：
Knowledge begins with practice. 知识始于实践。
He began by telling us a story. 他先给我讲了个故事。
注：有时 begin 后可以有宾语。如：
He began his talk with an apology. 他开始讲话时先作了一番道歉。
4. to begin with 首先，在开始。如：
We can’t go. To begin with， it’s too cold. Besides， we’ve no money. 我们不去了，首先是太冷了， 另外我们又没有钱。
The factory was quite a small one to begin with. 这家工厂开始是一家很小的厂。
1. The augmentation of the army began along traditional lines.
军队扩编是沿着传统路线开始的。
2. "Please understand this," she began, a tremble in her voice.
“请理解这一点，”她开始说道，声音有些发颤。
3. With a low-pitched rumbling noise, the propeller began to rotate.
伴随着隆隆的低沉噪声，螺旋桨开始旋转起来。
4. She stopped drinking but began obsessing about her weight.
她戒了酒，但又开始执著于体重问题。
5. I even began to exploit him in subtle ways.
我甚至开始巧妙地利用他。
6. He stepped out of the shower and began towelling himself down.
他走出淋浴间，开始用毛巾把身子擦干。