【解释】
take place表示“发生、举行、举办”，一般指非偶然性事件的“发生”，即这种事件的发生一定有某种原因或事先的安排的一种按计划发生的事件。无被动语态。
happen作“偶然发生、碰巧”解，一般用于偶然或突发性事件。无被动语态。
occur作“发生、想到、突然想起”解，其意义相当于happen，较为书面。可用于偶然事件或计划之事，可与 happen 换用。无被动语态。
come about表示“发生、产生”，多指事情已经发生了，但还不知道为什么，常用于疑问句和否定句。（尤指未经计划而）产生，发生；无被动语态。
break out意思为“发生、爆发”，常指战争、灾难、疾病、火灾或者争吵等事件的发生，也可以表示突然大声叫喊等。多指（不愉快之事）爆发，突然发生。无被动语态。
请看经典例句运用：
（1）take place
Great changes have taken place in China.
中国发生了翻天覆地的变化。
Great changes have taken place in my home village.
我家乡有了很大的变化。
Great changes have taken place in our hometown during the past ten years.
在过去的十年里我们的家乡发生了巨大的变化。
It has been confirmed that the meeting will take place next week.
已经确定会议将于下个星期召开。
A total solar eclipse is due to take place some time tomorrow.
明天某个时刻会发生日全食。
The next Rugby World Cup will take place in three years' time.
下一届橄榄球世界杯赛将于三年后举行。.
Voting will take place on May 1.
投票将于5月1日进行。
The meeting should take place on the fifth of May
会议将会于5月5日举行。
Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals.
每两周开一次会。
When does the wedding come off [ take place]?
什么时候举行婚礼？
She wanted Hugh's wedding to take place quickly
她希望休快点举行婚礼。
Disaster struck when the wheel came off.
车轮脱落，灾难就来了。
Their marriage took place in a local church.
他们的婚礼是在当地一所教堂里举行的。
A smoke bomb created a diversion while the robbery took place.
劫案发生时，一枚烟雾弹转移了人们的视线。
The exchange of prisoners took place this morning.
今天早上交换了俘虏。
Earlier reports suggested that a meeting would take place on Sunday
早先的报道暗示周日可能会召开会议。
The stock market is convinced more cross-border deals will take place.
股市相信跨境交易会越来越多。
Elections take place every year.
每年都进行各项选举。
The election will take place against a backdrop of increasing instability.
选举将在愈加动荡不安的局势下举行。
Elections will now take place on November the twenty-fifth.
选举现定于11月25号举行。
The visit took place amidst tight security.
访问是在戒备森严的情况下进行的。
No official permission has been given for the event to take place.
这项活动未得到正式批准，不能进行。
This year's event will take place on June 19th, a week earlier than usual
今年的活动将于6月19日举行，比往年提前一周。
Activities all take place under the guidance of an experienced tutor.
所有活动都在经验丰富的导师指导下进行。
The events took place against the dramatic backdrop of the Atlas mountains.
活动在雄伟的阿特拉斯山脉举行。
The 26th Olympiad took place in Atlanta, Georgia.
第26届奥运会是在佐治亚州的亚特兰大举办的。
They are cautiously optimistic that the reforms will take place.
他们对是否实行改革表示审慎的乐观。
It is envisaged that the talks will take place in the spring.
谈判预期在春季举行。
The talks took place in the presence of a diplomatic observer.
会谈是在一位外交观察员在场的情况下进行的。
The discussion took place in a famous villa on the lake's shore
商讨是在湖边一座著名的别墅内进行的。
The parade will take place on Sunday, rain or shine.
庆祝游行定于星期日举行，风雨无阻。
The spelling contest will take place at our school next week.
拼写比赛下周将在我们学校举行。
The final examination will take place next month.
下个月要进行期末考试。
The proceedings of the enquiry will take place in private
问讯将会秘密进行。
The trial took place amid a blaze of publicity.
审讯在全面曝光的情况下进行。
Peace talks failed to take place because of a dispute over the venue.
由于在谈判地点上存在分歧，和平谈判未能举行。
A race between the two is now unlikely to take place this side of the world championships.
现在看来，本届世界锦标赛之前两人之间不太可能展开较量了。
A sea change has taken place in young people's attitudes to their parents.
年轻人对待父母的态度已经发生了三百六十度转变。
A great change has taken place in the situation.
形势有了很大的变化。
Many changes took place between the two world wars.
两次世界大战之间发生了很多变化。
We may never discover what took place that night.
我们可能永远不会知道那一夜发生了什么事。
This remarkable achievement took place without the benefit of our modern telecommunication industry.
这项非凡成就的取得并没有借助于现代电信业这个有利条件。
When the attack took place, there were no victim support schemes.
当袭击发生后，没有任何援助受害人的方案。
The incident took place about 500 yards from where he was standing
事件发生在距他所站位置大约500码远的地方。
The world premiere took place in August 1956
全球首映是在1956年8月。
By the time the tests took place, the athletes had had a full 17 hours notice.
到检测开始时，离运动员得到通知已经整整17个小时了。
Today's award ceremony took place at the British Embassy in Tokyo.
今天的颁奖典礼在英国驻东京大使馆举行。
The collision took place in the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
撞船事故发生在全世界最繁忙的航道上。
The explosions took place in shopping centres as crowds of people were shopping for Mothers' Day.
爆炸发生在购物中心，当时大批人群正在为母亲节购物。
Only a short campaign took place in Puerto Rico, but after the war Spain ceded the island to America
在波多黎各的战事很短暂；但是战争结束后，西班牙将该岛屿割让给了美国。
The tragedy he mentioned took place in March.
他提到的那一悲惨事件发生在3月。
The same changes took place again and again.
同样的变化一再发生。
（2）happen
Accidents like this happen all the time.
此类事故经常发生。
She happened to be out when we called.
我们打电话时她刚巧不在家。
It happened that she was out when we called.
我们打电话时她刚巧不在家。
I happened to see your sister crying on my way to school yesterday. I was in such a hurry that I had no time to ask what had happened to her.
昨天我在上学的路上碰巧看到你妹妹哭了。我如此匆忙，以至于没有时间问她发生了什么事。
I hope nothing has happened to them.
我希望他们没出事。
If we had been spotted at that point, I don't know what would have happened to us.
如果当时我们被发现了，我不知道会有什么后果。
He gave me a guarantee that it would never happen again.
他向我保证这种事情绝不会再发生。
I give you my word that this won't happen again.
我向你保证这种事不会再次发生。
Who can say what will happen next year?
谁能说得出明年会发生什么事？
You must on no condition tell them what happened.
你决不能告诉他们所发生的事。
She gave us her version of what had happened that day.
她从她的角度向我们描述了那天发生的事情。
She brought him up to date with what had happened.
她让他知道最新的情况。
The same thing happened to me last week.
上星期我也遇到了同样的事。
The children gave a confused account of what had happened.
孩子们把发生的事叙述得颠三倒四。
At least give him the opportunity of explaining what happened.
至少要给他机会解释一下发生了什么事。
The accident happened as the jet was about to take off.
事故是在喷气式飞机正要起飞时发生的。
The accident happened through no fault of her own.
这一事故的发生不是她本人的过错。
Unless something unexpected happens, I'll see you tomorrow.
如果不出意外，我明天去看你。
We didn't want this to happen.
我们并不希望发生这样的事情。
The accident happened at 5 o'clock.
事故发生在5点钟。
It happened that I saw him on my way home yesterday.
我昨天在回家的路上碰巧看见他了。
A big earthquake happened/occurred in the south of China last year.
去年中国南方发生了一次大地震。
（3）occur
The earthquake occurred/happened at dawn.
地震发生在黎明时分。
If headaches only occur at night, lack of fresh air and oxygen is often the cause...
如果只是在晚上头疼，那常常是由于缺乏新鲜空气和氧气的缘故。
A serious traffic accident occurred/happened yesterday.
昨天发生了一起严重的交通事故。
When exactly did the incident occur?
这一事件究竟是什么时候发生的？
No one has suggested how this might occur
没人说得清这事是怎么发生的。
We need to know the exact time the incident occurred.
我们需要了解事情发生的确切时间。
Something unexpected occurred.
发生了一件出乎意料的事。
The prosecution stated that intercourse had occurred on several occasions.
控诉方称发生过数次性交。《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》
Such events occur only when the external conditions are favorable.
这种事情只有在外部条件有利时才会发生。
After 19 May, strikes were occurring on a daily basis
5月19日之后，每天都会发生罢工。
The robbery occurred in broad daylight, in a crowded street.
抢劫就发生在光天化日之下的一条熙熙攘攘的街道上。
The murder occurred just a block from the precinct.
谋杀案就发生在和警察分局相隔一条街的地方。
The department denies responsibility for what occurred.
这个部门拒绝为所发生的事承担责任。
The time frame within which all this occurred was from September 1985 to March 1986
这一切发生的时间范围是1985年9月到1986年3月。
The human brain needs to be without oxygen for only four minutes before permanent damage occurs.
人的大脑缺氧4分钟后便会造成永久性损伤。
The crash occurred when the crew shut down the wrong engine
机务人员关错了引擎，随即飞机坠毁。
About two in every five epileptic fits occur during sleep
每5例癫痫病中约有两例是在睡眠过程中发作的。
The idea occurred to him in a dream.
这个主意是他在梦中想到的。
It didn't occur to him that his wife was having an affair.
他没有想到自己的妻子有婚外情。
It didn't occur to her to ask for help.
她没想到请别人帮忙。
It never occurs to them to question the doctor's decisions
他们从未想过要怀疑医生的决定。
It did not occur to me to check my insurance policy...
我没有想到要核实我的保险单条款。
It occurred to me that I could have the book sent to me
我想到可以让人把书寄给我。
（4）come abou
Any possible solution to the Irish question can only come about through dialogue...
任何解决爱尔兰问题的可行方案只能通过对话产生。
You will recall that I sent you a warning of troubled times. Well now, almost everything I forecast has come about.
你还记得我警告过你时局会出现动荡吧。现在看来，几乎我预测的每件事都发生了。
How did this unhappy state of affairs come about?
这种不幸的情况是怎么发生的呢？
She has a mental toughness that did not come about by chance ．
她坚韧的精神并非偶然。
Can you tell me how the accident came about?
你能告诉我事故是怎样发生的吗？
That came about when we went to Glastonbury last year
那是我们去年去格拉斯顿伯里的时候发生的事。
Can you explain how it came about that you were an hour late?
你怎么会迟到一个钟头，对此你能作出什么解释呢？
This came about quite suddenly.
这事儿来得很突然。
（5）break out（除了“发生”还有许多其他含义）
He was 29 when war broke out.
战争爆发时他才29岁。
Armed conflict may break out at any moment.
武装冲突有一触即发之势。
Dark clouds were gathering in the skies over Europe. War was soon to break out.
欧洲上空乌云密布，战争即将爆发。
The authorities have urged people to stock up on fuel in case hostilities break out.
当局已敦促人们储存燃料，以防战事爆发。
Another time of great excitement for us boys was when war broke out
对我们男孩子来说另一个极度刺激的时刻是战争爆发。
Disagreement reached such a pitch that we thought a fight would break out.
意见分歧大到我们以为会打起来的程度。
Fighting broke out in three districts of the city last night.
昨夜这座城市有三个区发生了战斗。
Where were you living when war broke out?
战争爆发时你住在哪儿？
The minister warned that if war broke out, it would be catastrophic for the whole world.
这位部长警告说，万一爆发战争，那对全世界都将是场灾难。
He had no sooner got his wings than the Korean conflict broke out.
他刚获得飞行资格，朝鲜战争就爆发了。
Her family was given safe conduct to Britain when civil war broke out.
内战爆发时，她全家获得了前往英国的安全通行许可。
Fighting had broken out and all was chaos and confusion.
战斗爆发了，一切都陷入了混乱不堪的状态。
Fighting had broken out between rival groups of fans.
双方球迷发生了打斗。
A fight broke out between rival groups of fans.
比赛双方球迷打了起来。
The fighting broke out about two hours after sundown.
日落后大约两小时战斗打响了。
We can fix the ship's exact position at the time the fire broke out.
我们可以确定发生火灾时那艘船的确切位置。
They had escaped to America shortly before war broke out in 1939.
1939年战争爆发前不久他们逃到了美国。
Pandemonium broke out when the news was announced.
这消息一宣布，立即乱成一片。
Rioting broke out in the capital.
首都爆发了骚乱事件。
Scuffles broke out between police and demonstrators.
警察和示威者之间发生了冲突。
Clashes broke out between police and demonstrators.
警方与示威者发生了冲突。
Gunfire broke out early this morning around the seat of government in Lagos.
今天凌晨在拉各斯的政府大楼周围发生了枪战。
Shooting broke out after the guards surrounded a villa in the city.
卫兵包围了该市的一所别墅后便发生了枪战。
Communal violence broke out in different parts of the country.
在该国不同的地区发生了群体暴力事件。
The plague has broken out.
突然发生了鼠疫。
Fires broke out everywhere, the entire city went up in flames.
到处都燃起了火，整个城市陷入一片火海。
Most of the occupants had left before the fire broke out
大部分住户在火灾发生前就已经离开。
Fires broke out at three railway stations, halting service on two commuter lines for several hours
三个火车站发生了火灾，两条通勤线路的服务被迫中断数小时。
A few minutes after take-off, the pilot radioed that a fire had broken out.
起飞几分钟后，飞行员用无线电报告说飞机内突然起火。
A row has broken out over education.
在教育问题上出现了严重分歧。
Violence has broken out in the capital, a stark reminder that the religious tensions are refusing to go away.
首都爆发了暴力事件，这给了人们一个严酷的提醒——宗教紧张局势还在持续。
