1. 他以前的尝试没有成功。

[ tā yǐ qián de cháng shì méi yǒu chéng gōng 。 ]

His previous attempts had been unsuccessful.

2. 很久以前人们相信地球是平的。

[ hěn jiǔ yǐ qián rén mén xiāng xìn dì qiú shì píng de 。 ]

Long ago, people believed that the world was flat.