provinces

英 [ˈprɒvɪnsɪz]

美 [ˈprɑvənsəz]

n. 省份; (某些国家的)一级行政区; 首都以外的地区; 知识(或兴趣、职责)范围; 领域
province的复数

柯林斯词典

N-COUNT 省
Aprovinceis a large section of a country which has its own administration.
1. ...the Algarve, Portugal's southernmost province.
  阿尔加维，葡萄牙最南部的省份
N-PLURAL 外省（首都以外的地区）
The provincesare all the parts of a country except the part where the capital is situated.
1. The government plans to transfer some 30,000 government jobs from Paris to the provinces.
  政府计划将3万个左右的政府职位从巴黎转移到外省。
N-SING （兴趣、知识、责任的）范围，领域
If you say that a subject or activity is a particular person'sprovince, you mean that this person has a special interest in it, a special knowledge of it, or a special responsibility for it.
1. Arvo avoided committing himself. 'I'm afraid that's not my province,' he replied...
  阿尔沃不想作出承诺，“恐怕那不归我管，”他回答说。
2. Industrial research is the province of the Department of Trade and Industry.
  工业研究属贸易和工业部的职责范围。