情景对话：

A: Where's Tom?

汤姆去哪了？

B: He set about his homework after school and hasn't finished it yet.

放学后他就开始做作业了，还没做完。

A: I don't know why the teacher assigns so much homework!

真不明白老师为什么要布置那么多的作业！

B: That will do him good.

都是为他好。

第一，词海拾贝

set about

exp. To undertake a task; to begin doing something. （开始做……）

Usage：set about是动词短语，about是介词，后面接名词，即：set about something，也可以接动名词，即：set about doing something。

如果在set和about之间加上表示人的名词或代词则表示“使某人开始做某事”，即：set someone about something/doing something。

e.g. After the meeting, I'll set about writing a draft of the report.

会后，我将着手草拟这份报告的草稿。

e.g. They set about cleaning the house from top to bottom before their guests arrived.

他们在客人到来之前就开始把房子彻底打扫了一遍。

e.g. When they heard the police sirens, they all set about saving their own skins.

听到警车号笛，他们便开始纷纷逃窜。

e.g. They got scorched out by and by, and drearily set about getting breakfast.

不久他们就晒得很热了，大家怪无聊地开始弄早饭吃。

变异：set someone about something/doing something

e.g. I set the boys about raking up the leaves.

我让孩子们把树叶耙起来。

e.g. She set herself about repairing the damaged machine.

她逼迫自己着手修理损坏的机器。

第二，语汇积累

after school：放学后

e.g. The teacher punished the noisy children by making them stay after school.

老师用放学后留学生的办法惩罚那些吵闹的孩子。

e.g. They walked home together after school as usual, both of them looking grim.

放学后他俩象往常一样一起踱步回家，看上去两个人都愁眉不展。