pretense 的意思是伪装，借口。Those parents who handed large sum of money to college athletics officials to get their kids into prestigious colleges on the pretense of joining the sports team may face bribery charges. 一些家长为了让他们的孩子以加入校运动队为名进入名校而给大学体育官员大量金钱，这些家长可能会面临贿赂指控。

 

Barbara Bush, the snowy-haired first lady had a plainspoken manner and utter lack of pretense which made her more popular at times than her husband, President George H.W. Bush. 芭芭拉·布什这位白发苍苍的第一夫人，说话直来直去，从不装腔作势，这让她比时任总统的丈夫乔治·H·布什更受欢迎。