borrowed or stolen

[phoebemia]

Hi, I have some questions about one reading exercise in the following book.





1. Number 3, why is borrowed incorrect?
2. Number 9, why is pay incorrect?




3. Number 13, I don't think any of the options is the meaning of simulate, are they?

 

[emsr2d2]

1. The better choice is "stolen" but I agree with you that "borrowed" is also possible.
2. "Pay" is wrong because of the preposition later in the sentence. We don't "pay [amount of money] on something". We "pay [amount of money] for something. You need "spend" because that collocates correctly with "on those machines".
3. One of the options is a close fit for "simulate". Read the whole sentence again and see which one is possible.

I have to point out that the whole piece is very poorly written. Here are some of the errors from the first one:
- Each person has his own way of blood vessels ...
- High-tech security devices are being fixed ...
- Already, a Japanese security company has fixed ways ...
- ... thieves and robbers are getting harder to break in ...
- How will a boy borrow his dad's car ...? (Why aren't girls and mothers included?)

There are so many unnatural phrases in the second excerpt that it would take me too long to list them.

I don't know if you have a choice of which text book to use but, if you do, stop using this one immediately. It's not helping you!

 

[Tarheel]

I have a hard time reading that. Could you copy and paste?

 

[phoebemia]

1. The better choice is "stolen" but I agree with you that "borrowed" is also possible.
2. "Pay" is wrong because of the preposition later in the sentence. We don't "pay [amount of money] on something". We "pay [amount of money] for something. You need "spend" because that collocates correctly with "on those machines".
3. One of the options is a close fit for "simulate". Read the whole sentence again and see which one is possible.

I have to point out that the whole piece is very poorly written. Here are some of the errors from the first one:
- Each person has his own way of blood vessels ...
- High-tech security devices are being fixed ...
- Already, a Japanese security company has fixed ways ...
- ... thieves and robbers are getting harder to break in ...
- How will a boy borrow his dad's car ...? (Why aren't girls and mothers included?)

There are so many unnatural phrases in the second excerpt that it would take me too long to list them.

I don't know if you have a choice of which text book to use but, if you do, stop using this one immediately. It's not helping you!

Thanks a lot for helping. Sadly the book is chosen by my daughter's school and she has to go through the whole book.

 

[phoebemia]

I have a hard time reading that. Could you copy and paste?

Sorry, it's from a book and it's kinda long. But next time I'll try to type everything.

 

[jutfrank]

Regarding Question 3: borrowed is not possible because it doesn't make sense. The security threat around keys is that someone will steal them, not borrow them.

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry, it's from a book and it's kinda kind of long no full stop here but next time I'll try to type everything.

There's no need for that with something this complicated. Whilst it is quite difficult to follow the contents of the screenshots, it would be almost impossible for you to type it out yourself while still including the markups. We accept that sometimes a text is just too complicated (and time-consuming) to copy out yourself.

 

[emsr2d2]

Sadly, the book is chosen by my daughter's school and she has to go through the whole book.

That's a shame. If your daughter is at least 14, she can join this forum herself. Bear in mind that we do not help with homework or assignments.

 

[Kontol]

There are so many unnatural phrases in the second excerpt that it would take me too long to list them.

Hello, emsr2d2. Does "would" mean "will" in your sentence?

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello, emsr2d2. Does "would" mean "will" in your sentence?

No, it means "would". If it helps you to understand it, imagine there is a conditional in that sentence.

If I listed them, it would take too long.