1PHRASAL VERB 起初是… If someone or something starts out as a particular thing, they are that thing at the beginning although they change later. 起初是… [Also VP n as n]
Daly was a fast-talking Irish-American who had started out as a salesman. [VERBPREP. + as]
达利是个花言巧语的爱尔兰裔美国人,最初是干推销员的。
What started out as fun quickly became hard work. [VERBPREP. + as]
起初好玩的事很快就变成了艰苦的工作。
2PHRASAL VERB 从…开始;从…着手 If you start out by doing something, you do it at the beginning of an activity. 从…开始;从…着手
We started out by looking at ways in which big projects such as railways could be financed by the private sector. [VP + by]
我们先研究了让私营企业投资铁路等大型项目的方式。
The child'll start out by making relatively few distinctions in the language. [VPby -ing]