1.He debated heating up the pot first before his friends came.
他考虑在朋友们到来之前先把火锅烧热。
2.A general comes before a colonel.
将官比校官。
3.It is the reason why the wildcatter, the independent oilman whose test drillings might come up dry 20 times before gushing in the end, is an enduring Texas symbol.