at first 起 初 ；起先.

它主要用于强调前后对照，暗示接下来的动作与前面的动作不同，甚至相反。

• I was very nervous at first, says Sarah. 萨拉说我起初很紧张。
• I don’t like the job much at first. 起初我不喜欢这个工作。
• At first the place was strange to me.起先我对这个地方不熟悉。

at last  最后，终于

• At last we came in sight of a few houses. 最后，我们看到了几座房屋。
• At last we could relax and talk without constraint.我们终于可以放松下来，无拘无束地谈话了。
• The economy is at last beginning to recover. 经济终于开始复苏了。