The starting gun blasted and they were off.

发令枪一响，他们跑了出去。

《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

This is especially important among the young, who risk losing the race even before the starting gun has sounded.

对于青年人来说，这点尤为重要。 如果就业是一场赛跑的话，青年人很可能在枪声响起以前就输掉了比赛。

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It was a surprise to the world, a shock to many Americans, and the starting gun for the space race between the superpowers.

在冷战中，这个消息震惊了世界，并给美国人带来巨大冲击，同时也是两个超级大国间太空竞赛的发令枪响。

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Kerry himself often fires the starting gun for the wheelchair race at the marathon.

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Predictive analytics can gather weather and tidal data to help crews ready themselves for the next starting gun.

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If this was the starting gun to a leadership challenge most MPs seemed to flinch with surprise at hearing it.

BBC: Full Story: Brown's leadership challenge