before the criticism has
actually been made (对未提出
的指责等的）预先驳斥
pre-can-cer-ous /.prii'kaensaras/ adj. {medical IS) that will develop
into cancer if not treated 癌前的；邊变前
的：precancerous cefe 癌前细胞
pre-car-ious /pn'keerias; NAmE -'ker-/ adj. 1 (of a situ- ation
情势）not safe or certain;
dangerous 不稳的；:不确
定的；：不成险的；危险的：He earned a precarious
Hving as an artist•作为一个艺家，他过的是_木保夕的生活。
0 The
museum is in a financially precarious position. ^ 家博物馆的财政状况不稳定。2 likely to fall or
cause sb to fall摇摇欲坠的.；不稳固的：rhat iadder Zoafcs
very precarfoas•那梯子* 桌摇摇晃 i 的。◊ The path down to the beach is very precarious in wet
weather.
小跆歯关非常M滑危险。► precarious.ly adv.: rhe economy is precariously close to
recession.
的边缘。◊ He baZance)
the gkiss.jprecari’ousiy on the arm o/his chair•他把杯子故在椅子的扶串;随时可能議卞， pre-car-ious-ness nounr[V]
pre-cast /.prii'kaist; A/Am£
-'kaest/ adj. (of some building
materials 某.些建筑材料)made into blocks
ready to use 预制的；® 先浇‘的：precast concrete stobs
M 凝土预
制板
pre.cau*ti〇fi /卩〇火；):了11/ /iow/1
.[usually pi.] 1 〜（against sth) something that is done
in advance in order to prevent problems or to avoid danger 预防措施;■预防；
防备：sa/ety precautions 安全防范措成◊ precautions
against/ire 防火措施.0: Ybu must tafce aZZ reasonable precautions to protect yourself and
your family.
采取一切合理的预防措施，保护自.己和家Tv。◊J’Hfceep the tetter as a precaution•我要保存终封信，以防万一。
2
precautions
[pi.]
a way of referring to contracep- tion 避孕措施：We didn’t tafce any
precautions and Jgotpregnant.我们没有采取任何避孕措施，所以我
怀孕 1%. ► Pre.cau.ti〇n.arY
/Pri'k3:Janari; -neri/
adj.: He was kept in the hospital overnight as a pre- cautiona/y measure.为了谨慎起见，他被安排整晚留院
观察。
pre-cede /pri'siid/ verb 1 to happen before sth or come before
sthi/sb in order在…之前爰生（或出现）；先于：
[VN]
the years preceding the jvar 战前的几年◊ Jfis resignation
was preceded by week o/specukition. 在他辞职之 前，有关的猜测已持续了几个星期。◊ She preceded
me fn the job.她是我这工作的前任。◊ [V] See the prececifng chapter.请见前一章。2 [VN +fl£/v.//?re/?.] to go in front of sb 走在…前面：She preceded him out 〇/ the room.她先 于他圭出 M子。pre_cede sth with sth to do or say sth to
introduce sth else 以…开始（’或引导）：She preceded her speech with a vote of thanks to the
com- mittee.她讲话的开头是对委员会的鸣谢。
pre.ce.dence
/'presidans/
now/? [U]〜（over sb/sth) the condition of being more important than
sb else and therefore coming or being dealt with first ’优先；优先权
HT1
priority： She had to learn that her
wishes did not take precedence over other peopled needs.
自己的愿望不能先T别人的需奏。◊ I7ze speakers
chme on to
the platform in order of precedence (= the most important
one first).讲演人按行辈鱼贯上台。
pre-ce-dent /'president/ noun 1 [C, U] an
official action or decision that has happened in the past and that is seen as
an example or a rule to be followed in a similar situation latei•可援用参考的具体例子；实例；范例：rhe ruZing set a precedent/or Kbd cases.逢攻裁决为
今后的诽镑案提供了判例。2 [C，U] a similar action or event that happened earlier先前出现的事例；前例；先
例：histori’caZ precedents 历史前例◊ There is no
precedent /or a disaster 〇/ this ’scaZe•这种规模的灾率羞空前
的。◊ Such protests
are without
precedent fn recent history.这类抗议事件在近代史上没有发生过。3 [U] the way that
things have always been done 传统；常例；常
规 PCT71 tradition
： to break with precedent (= to do sth in a
different way)打破常规 一 see also unprecedented
pre-cept /'pri:sept/ noun [C, U] {formal)
a rule about how to behave or what to think (思想、行为的）准则，规范
BflTl
PRINCIPLE
pre-cinct
/'priisiqkt/
noun 1 (firf) a commercial
area in a town.where cars cannot go 步行商业‘区：a ped-
estrian/s/ioppfng precinct 步行/'购物区 2
(N/Amf) .one of the parts into which a town or city is divided in order to
organize elections 选区f 3 (AMm£) a part of a city that has its own police
station; the police station in this area警区；分区警察局；派出所：Detective
Hennery 〇/the
44th precinct 第 44 区的亨尼西警探;◊
The murder occurred just a block from the precinct. ^ 案就发生在和警察分局相隔一条街的地方6 4 [usually pi.】 the area around a place or a building, sometimes
surrounded by a wall (建筑物等的..）外围•，围墙内区
域：t*e cathedraC/co〖tege precincts 大教堂'/ 学院周围 ◊ wit/iin the
precincts. 〇/the
casrte 在城堡的围墙内
pre-ci-os*ity
/.preji'ositi;
.presi-; NAmE -'a:s-/ noun [U] (c//’SflppraW/?g)
the quality of being precious(5)道貌岸 然；_揉造作 EQE1
PRECIOUSNESS
pre-cious
/'preX^s/
adj., adv.
■
flrf/ Vrare and worth a lot
of money 珍奇的.；珍稀的： a precious vase # 1ft ^ <► The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeraZds. ,iSlh 镶嵌着稀世珍宝——有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石《 —see
also PRECIOUS METAL, PRECIOUS STONE O note at VALUABLE 2 valuable or important
and not to be wasted ^
贵的；珍贵的：C7ecm water is a predous comm〇(if(y h that part 〇} the worW.在世界的那个地方，洁净的水是
:宝贵的东被。◊ Fou’re wasring precious time/ 你在浪费 宝贵侖时间！ 3 loved
or valued very much受珍爱
的；被珍‘的■:
BQC1 treasured :
precious
memories/ possessions.珍贵的回忆/ 财物 4
[only before noun] {informal) used to show you are
angry that another person thinks sth is very important (表示气愤）宝贝似
■的：J didn’t touch，ur precious car/ _没碰务那辆宝贝
车！
5 [disapproving) (especially of people
and their behaviour 尤指人或行 A) very formal,
exaggerated and not natural in what you say and do 道貌岸然的；矫揉 造作的 affected ► pre-dous-ness noun [U]： the preciousness 〇/cm oZd_/iriemis/iip 悠久友谊的可贵◊■ffk writings reveal an
unattractive preciousness of style, 文章流露出,不讨好的做作风格。一see also preciosity
■
flt/v. (//?/om7fl/) ~ litt‘e"ew
used to emphasize the fact that there is very little of sth or that there are
very few of sth (强调极少或夫少）：rhere’s precious Zittte to do in this
town.这个镇上没有多少可做的事。
.precious
'metal noun [C, U] a very valuable metal
such as gold or silver 贵重金属
.precious
'stone (also
stone)
noun a rare valuable stone,
such as a diamond, that is used in jewellery 宝石 —see also semi-precious
preci-pice /'presapis/ noun a very steep side of a
high cliff, mountain or rock Jv
^; MM： (figurative) The country
was now on the edge of a precipice (= very dose to
disaster).这个国家现在情势岌岌可危。一see also PRECIPITOUS
pre-cipi-tate verb, adj； noun
m verb /pri'sipiteit/ [VN] (formal) 1 to make sth,
especially sth bad, happen suddenly or sooner than it should ^ • 突然降临；加速（坏事的发生）SX3 BRING ON, SPARK
off： His resignation
precipitated a leadership crisis. % 的辞职立即引发了领导层的危机。2 ~ sb/sth into sth to suddenly force sb/sth into a
particular state or condi- tion使突然陷入（某种状态）：rhe
assassfnarion o/the president predpi’tated t?ie coimt/y into war.总统被暗杀
使国家骤然陷入战争状态。
■
adj. /pri'sipitat/ (formal) (of an action or a
decision 或决定）happening very
quickly or suddenly and usually without enough care an^ thought 鲁莽的；草率的；4 促的►
pre.cipi.tate.ly flt/v.: to act precff^tateZy 贸然
行事
■
noun /pn'sipiteit/ [chemistry a solid substance that has
been separated from a liquid in a chemical process
沉淀物；析出物
pre.cipi.ta.tion
/pri,sipi_teijn/ /7〇w/i 1 [U] 术语）
rain, snow, etc. that falls;
the amount of this that falls 降水，降7_jc量（包括雨、雪、冰等）：cm increase fn annuaZ
precfpitaticin 年降水量的增加 2
[U，C] 化)
a chemical process in
which solid material is separated from a liquid沉淀；淀析