1. first 意為“先”“首先”，主要用來說明順序，暗示接下去還有其他的動作或事件要發(fā)生，因此其后往往接有或暗示有 then, next, last 之類的詞。如：
First think and then speak. 先想后說。
First, I must apologize to you. 首先，我要向你們表示歉意。
2. at first 意為“起初”“開始”，它主要強調(diào)前后對照，暗示接下去的動作與前面的動詞不同甚至相反，因此其后通常有but, afterwards, soon, at last 等詞語相呼應(yīng)。如：
The work was hard at first, but I got used to it. 起初這活兒很累，不過后來我習(xí)慣了。
At first they were very happy, but then things started going wrong. 起初他們生活得很幸福，但后來就開始出問題了。
注意上，at first與at last不是一對反義詞組，后者的意思是“終于”“最終”。如：
She has at last got everything ready. 她最后把一切準(zhǔn)備好了。
At last the bus came. I had been waiting for half an hour. 最后公共汽車來了，我已等了半小時。
