preceding
单词辨析：
指在当下所提及的事件、时间等之前发生或存在的，通常作定语。
She has a child from a previous marriage.
她前一次婚姻有一个孩子。
He discovered that he had met his new colleague before on three previous occasions.
他发现他以前见过他的新同事3次。
指事物在讲述、文章等中刚刚提到的，常作定语。
the foregoing examples
上述例证
The foregoing conclusion is based on the following data.
上述结论是根据以下数据得出的。
指曾有过某种职务或地位的，也可指发生或存在于过去的。
He has a great interest in books about the former president.
他对和那位前总统有关的书十分感兴趣。
His income has been reduced to half its former amount due to the economic depression.
由于经济萧条，他的收入已减少到以前的一半。
指在所提时间、地点或部分之前发生或出现的。
The examples in the preceding chapter are used again later.
上一章的例子后面又再次被使用。
Their plan of seeing a movie together on Friday failed because they had a quarrel on the preceding day.
他们周五一起看电影的计划泡汤了，因为他们在前一天吵了一架。
较正式用词，多指先于另一事物或某一时间前存在或安排的。
The discussion requires prior knowledge of the subject.
本次讨论要求事先了解该主题的相关知识。
No employee can be recruited without the prior approval of the manager.
事先未征得经理的同意不可以招收任何员工。
相关例句：
In this installment and the preceding one, I've discussed environmental concerns and impacts on emergent design.
在这一期和上一期，我介绍了环境因素及其对紧急设计的影响。
The shipowners referred to in the preceding paragraph shall include the charterer and the operator of a ship.
前款所称的船舶所有人，包括船舶承租人和船舶经营人。
This phrase serves as a connecting link between the preceding and the following.
这个短语起到了承上启下的作用。
In the preceding section we discussed the valence bond ( vb) or electron-pair theory of bonding.
在前面一节，我讨论了价键法&电子配对理论。
Consider the rebate scenario from the preceding paragraph.
请考虑上一段中的折扣方案。
In the four preceding chapters, I have diagnosed the sickness of contemporary society.
在前面四章中我已对当代社会的弊端作了分析。