preceding

1. ADJ You refer to the period of time or the thing immediately before the one that you are talking about as the preceding one. 前面的

As we saw in the preceding chapter, groups can be powerful agents of socialization. 如我們在前一章所見，團組可以是社會化的有力動因。

She informed us that eighteen members of the staff had left during the preceding year. 她當時告知我們，18位教職員在此前的一年里離開了。