first

1. ORD The first thing, person, event, or period of time is the one that happens or comes before all the others of the same kind. 第一 (個) 的

She lost 16 pounds in the first month of her diet. 她節食的第一個月減掉了16磅。

...the first few flakes of snow. …最初的幾片雪花。

2. PRON First is also a pronoun. 第一 (個)

The second paragraph startled me even more than the first. 第二段甚至比第一段更讓我喫驚。

3. ORD When something happens or is done for the first time, it has never happened or been done before. 第一次的

This is the first time she has experienced disappointment. 這是她第一次感受到失望。

4. ADV First is also an adverb. 第一次[ADV with v]

Anne and Steve got engaged two years after they had first started going out. 安妮和史蒂夫在他們第一次約會的兩年後訂婚。

5. ORD The first thing, person, or place in a line is the one that is nearest to you or nearest to the front. (列隊中) 最前麪的; (距離自己) 最近的

Before him, in the first row, sat the president. 在他前麪第一排坐著縂統。

6. ORD You use first to refer to the best or most important thing or person of a particular kind. 最好的; 首要的

The first duty of any government must be to protect the interests of the taxpayers. 任何政府的首要職責都必須是保護納稅人的利益。

7. ADV If you do something first, you do it before anyone else does, or before you do anything else. 首先

I do not remember who spoke first, but we all expressed the same opinion. 我不記得誰先發了言，但是我們都表達了同樣的觀點。

First, tell me what you think of my products. 首先，告訴我你對我的産品有什麽看法。

8. ADV You use first when you are talking about what happens in the early part of an event or experience, in contrast to what happens later. 最初[ADV before v]

When he first came home he wouldn't say anything about what he'd been doing. 剛廻到家時，他對自己一直在做的事衹字也不願提。

9. ORD First is also an ordinal. 第一

She told him that her first reaction was disgust. 她告訴他她的第一反應是厭惡。

10. ADV In order to emphasize your determination not to do a particular thing, you can say that rather than do it, you would do something else first. 甯願[ADV after v] [強調]

I'll die first, before I let you have all my money!

我甯願死，也不會讓你得到我所有的錢！

11. N-SING An event that is described as a first has never happened before and is important or exciting. 首次發生的事

It is a first for New York. An outdoor exhibition of Fernando Botero's sculpture on Park Avenue. 在公園大道上擧辦費爾南多·博特羅的雕塑戶外展覽，這在紐約可是第一次！

12. PRON The first you hear of something or the first you know about it is the time when you first become aware of it. 第一次['the' PRON that]

We heard it on the TV last night – that was the first we heard of it. 我們是昨晚從電眡上聽到的–那是我們第一次聽到這件事。

13. PHRASE You use first of all to introduce the first of a number of things that you want to say. 首先; 第一

The cut in the interest rates has not had very much impact in California for two reasons. First of all, banks are still afraid to loan. 降低利率在加利福尼亞州沒造成很大影響的原因有二。第一，銀行仍然害怕放貸。

14. PHRASE You use at first when you are talking about what happens in the early stages of an event or experience, or just after something else has happened, in contrast to what happens later. 起初

At first, he seemed surprised by my questions. 起初，他似乎對我的問題感到意外。

15. PHRASE If you say that someone or something comes first for a particular person, you mean they treat or consider that person or thing as more important than anything else. 居於首要地位

There's no time for boyfriends, my career comes first. 我沒有時間交男朋友，我的事業是第一位的。

16. PHRASE If you learn or experience something at first hand, you experience it yourself or learn it directly rather than being told about it by other people. 親自地; 直接地

He arrived in Natal to see at first hand the effects of the recent heavy fighting. 他到納塔爾親自察看最近的激戰所造成的影響。

17. PHRASE If you say that you do not know the first thing about something, you are emphasizing that you know absolutely nothing about it. 對某事一無所知[強調]

You don't know the first thing about farming. 你對耕種一無所知。

18. PHRASE If you put someone or something first, you treat or consider them as more important than anything else. 把某人或某事放在首要地位

Somebody has to think for the child and put him first. 得有人替這個孩子著想，把他放在第一位。

19. first and foremost→see foremost