这些初步讨论为接下来的合作奠定了良好的基础。

These preliminary discussions laid the ___groundwork for future collaboration.

在建造新商场之前，工人们必须先做好准备工作。

Before building the new mall, workers had to lay the ___groundwork.

在开始编程之前，你需要先学习计算机科学的基础知识。

Before starting to code, you need to learn the ___groundwork of computer science.