[English]precede, be preceded by

precede  

/ prɪˈsiːd; prɪˋsid/ v
 1. [I, Tn] come or go before (sth) in time, order, rank, etc （在时间﹑ 顺序﹑ 行列等上）在（某事物）之前; 先於（某事物）:

                  The Mayor entered, preceded by members of the council.

                        市政会的委员们入场後, 市长也入场了.

               * This point has been dealt with in the preceding paragraph.

                        这一点在前面一段里已经交代过了.

              * the days that preceded the final catastrophe

                        大祸即将临头的那些日子.
 2. [Tn.pr] ~ sth with sth say sth before sth 在讲某话之前先讲某话; 在讲...前加上...:

                She preceded her speech with a vote of thanks to the committee.

                         她发表讲话以前先提议向全体委员表示感谢.

 

be preceded by

前面是， 以...为先导（直译的话好像应该是 "被...领先"？）

 eg:

1. His resignation was preceded by weeks of speculation.

    在他辞职前，有关的猜测已持续了几个星期。

2. We were preceded by our guide.

    我们跟着向导走。