This was how things worked not very long ago.

就在不久前发生了这样的事。

youdao

Not very long ago, it was also unthinkable that a virus would shut down nations and that safety nets would be proven so disastrously lacking in flexibility.

不久以前，人们还无法想象一种病毒能使众多国家封闭，而安全网被证明是如此灾难性地缺乏灵活性。

youdao

There was a time not so very long ago that I didn’t pay much attention to where my money went.

不久以前的某个时候，我并没怎么注意钱花到哪儿去了。

youdao

Long ago,people who were rich or important rode horses that were very tall.

VOA: special.2009.07.12

They have a very high respect for a criminal Jew, who led some kind of guerilla war and was executed long ago, somewhere in Syria.

他们非常尊敬一名犹太罪犯，他指挥了某种游击战，很久以前被处死了，就在叙利亚某处。

耶鲁公开课 - 新约课程节选

and I think that because... from a long time ago there were, it was just a very diverse city.

而且很久前，这里就是个多元性的城市。

移民者的都市 - SpeakingMax英语口语达人

Not very long ago, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart had the world at their feet.

FORBES

Not so very long ago, America was the destination for capital and talent.

FORBES: Wriston's Law Still Holds

Not very long ago this event would have served as an extended happy hour en route to an epic night of some sort.

FORBES: Why Ryan Kavanaugh Is Now The Most-Watched Man In Hollywood