/ɪn ðə bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ/
表示“起初；在开始的时候”，强调事物最初的阶段或过程的起点，通常用于描述时间顺序的开端，尤见于讲述故事、历史事件或解释事物起源时。
时间起点标记：用于句首或句中，引出事件的初始状态。
与“at the beginning”辨析：两者常可互换，但“in the beginning”更具文学性，暗示“起初阶段”的完整过程；“at the beginning”侧重时间点，常与“of”连用（如 at the beginning of the year）。
In the beginning, people believed the earth was flat.
She found the job difficult in the beginning, but now she enjoys it.
In the beginning, the project seemed impossible to complete on time.
He made many mistakes in the beginning, but gradually improved.
In the beginning, there was only darkness and silence.
The company struggled financially in the beginning, but later became profitable.
In the beginning, I didn’t understand the instructions clearly.
They were strangers in the beginning, but soon became close friends.
In the beginning, the experiment failed repeatedly.
The story is set in a small village in the beginning.
in the beginning of：在……的初期（后接名词，如 in the beginning of the 21st century）
from the beginning：从一开始（如 I knew from the beginning that it would work）
right from the beginning：就从最开始（强调起点，如 He opposed the plan right from the beginning）
在宗教语境（如《圣经》）中，“In the beginning”常作为固定短语表示“创世之初”，首字母需大写（In the Beginning）。
思考：语言中描述“开始”的表达如此丰富，是否反映了人类对“起源”和“过程”的深层关注？从“起初”到“现在”，每个阶段的描述都在塑造我们对事物发展的认知。