1 PHRASAL VERB 动身;出发;启程 When you set off, you start a journey. 动身;出发;启程
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Nichols set off for his remote farmhouse in Connecticut. [VERB PREP. prep./adv.]
尼科尔斯动身去他在康涅狄格州的偏僻农舍了。
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The President's envoy set off on another diplomatic trip. [VERB PREP. prep./adv.]
总统的使节开始了又一次外交之旅。
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I set off, full of optimism. [VERB PREP.]
我无比乐观地出发了。
SYN leave, set out, depart, embark
2 PHRASAL VERB 引爆(炸弹);触发，拉响(警报等) If something sets off something such as an alarm or a bomb, it makes it start working so that, for example, the alarm rings or the bomb explodes. 引爆(炸弹);触发，拉响(警报等)
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Any escape, once it's detected, sets off the alarm. [VERB PREP. noun]
一旦发现有泄漏，警报就会响起来。
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Someone set off a fire extinguisher. [VERB PREP. noun (not pronoun)]
有人打开了灭火器。
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It could take months before evidence emerges on how the bomb was made, and who set it off. [VERB noun PREP.]
关于炸弹是如何制造的以及是谁引爆的，可能需要几个月时间才会有证据浮出水面。
3 PHRASAL VERB 引发;触发;激起 If something sets off an event or a series of events, it causes it to start happening. 引发;触发;激起 [Also VERB n PREPOSITION]
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The arrival of the charity van set off a minor riot as villagers scrambled for a share of the aid. [VERB PREP. noun]
救济物资车的到来引发了小小的骚乱,村民们争先恐后地想抢到一份援助物资。
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If he attended a party without his wife, it set off a storm of speculation. [VERB PREP. noun (not pronoun)]
如果他没和妻子一块儿出席宴会，便会招致各种猜测满天飞。
SYN cause, start, produce, generate
4 PHRASAL VERB 使发怒;使回忆起来;使侃侃而谈 If something sets a person off, it makes them angry, or makes them remember something and they start talking a lot. 使发怒;使回忆起来;使侃侃而谈 [Also VERB PREPOSITION n (not pron)]
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The smallest thing sets him off, and he can't stop talking about his childhood. [VERB noun PREP.]
一件微不足道的小事都能打开他的话匣子，他会滔滔不绝地讲述他的童年。
SYN upset, make angry, discompose
5 PHRASAL VERB 衬托;(通常指通过对比)使显得更漂亮 If one colour, flavour, or object sets off another, it makes it look more attractive, often by providing a contrast. 衬托;(通常指通过对比)使显得更漂亮 [Also VERB n PREPOSITION]
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Blue suits you, sets off the colour of your hair. [VERB PREP. noun (not pronoun)]
蓝色很适合你，能衬托出你的发色。
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...perfectly proportioned galleries that set off the contents to their best advantage. [VERB PREP. noun (not pronoun)]
结构匀称完美、能最有效地凸显其展品的展览馆
SYN enhance, show off, complement, throw into relief