People have known how to make ethanol since the dawn of civilisation, if not before.

如果不能说在人类文明开始之前人们就学会制造乙醇，那这也是人类文明刚刚出现就有的事了。

youdao

Most migrant worker families must therefore send their children back home when they reach junior high school age, if not before.

所以，大多数的农民工家庭只好尽早把他们的孩子送回老家读初中。

youdao

If the Union force attacked before Stonewall Jackson got into position, Lee could not possibly hold it back.

VOA: special.2009.10.15

The answer is generally not because if you buy the stock before it goes ex-dividend, you get--you have to pay a higher price, but you get the dividend.

答案一般来说是不用,如果你买了股票,是在除息之前买的,你的买入价高,但能分到红

耶鲁公开课 - 金融市场课程节选

What we need to really become convienced of the immortality of the soul even if we were convinced, is not the mere suggestion that the soul was around before our birth.

能真正说服我们,灵魂是不朽的,即使我们承认灵魂不朽，并不仅仅是因为,灵魂存在于出生之前这样的推测。

耶鲁公开课 - 死亡课程节选

U.S. military to cease all use of anti-personnel landmines (APLs) by 2006, if not before.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SENATE

Private-equity firms have been accused of wrecking companies since the 1980s, if not before.

ECONOMIST: Alternative investments: Doing well by doing good | The

The coalition is likely to drift apart as soon as Mr. Aquino leaves office, if not before.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: Party Time in the Philippines