[General] Sentence check

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Silverobama

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Dear teachers.

Here are some sentences from my notebook. I wrote them down many years ago. They are mainly from my old dictionaries. Some of them do make sense and good and some are not. I want to keep the good ones. Please feel free to take a look at them. You might simply put a cross next to the wrong ones but it would be better if it/they can be corrected.

1) He borrowed a mechanical book from me.
2) The two ends of the pipeline are connected with the radiator.
3) The car has a fan-cooled radiator.
4) A centipede snaked swiftly away.
5) A train snaked into sight.
6) We must make use of our untapped reservoirs of talent.
7) The lightning made a zigzag in the sky.
8) The road zigzagged up the hill.
(I think "zigzag" is common as a verb but not as a noun.)
9) He played the cornet in the school band.
10) It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.
11) The tongue is a vocal organ.
12) Today the young are much more vocal.
13) She could be wayward, petulant, and disagreeable.
14) He meditated for two days before giving his answer.
("meditate" is weird here to me.)
15) They picketed the restaurant.
16) The price of sugar has suddenly skyrocketed up.
 
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emsr2d2

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[STRIKE]Dear teachers.[/STRIKE] Hello.

Here are some sentences from my notebook. I wrote them down many years ago. They are mainly from my old dictionaries. Some of them [STRIKE]do[/STRIKE] make sense and are good, and some don't and are not. I want to keep the good ones. Please feel free to take a look at them. You might simply put a cross next to the wrong ones but it would be better if it/they can be corrected.

1) He borrowed a mechanical book from me.
What on earth is a "mechanical book"?
2) The two ends of the pipeline are connected [STRIKE]with[/STRIKE] to the radiator.

See above.
 

Silverobama

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How many sentences can I ask per time or how many word counts do I have per time?

Maybe it's still a good idea to ask in "Ask a teacher"?

Thank you so much, ems, I wrote down all your suggestions in my new notebooks.

Edited:

What on earth is a "mechanical book"?

I don't know but according to its Chinese meaning, it means "a book about mechanics". I already deleted the sentence.

I wonder if today we could move on to sentence 3 and 4. Or I have to start a new thread with two sentences each.
 
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tedmc

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ask each time, not ask per time.
A mechanical book conjures up images of a book operated by machine.
 

emsr2d2

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Please start a new thread for sentences 3 and 4 (but number them 1 and 2 in the new thread). I recommend you stick to two sentences per thread, otherwise the responses can get very muddled. Put them in "Ask A Teacher".
 

Tarheel

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Two things, Silver. One, how can both ends of a pipe be attached to the radiator? Two, do you translate everything into Chinese?
 

Silverobama

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Two things, Silver. One, how can both ends of a pipe be attached to the radiator? Two, do you translate everything into Chinese?

No, that's not my translation but someone else's.

As for the radiator thing, I think it makes sense.
 
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Captain

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I've seen many impossible things in Western countries possible in China.
Yeah, right! You're bluffing.
Prove me wrong by posting a reliable source that supports your statement.
 

Tarheel

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I've seen many things that are impossible in Western countries but possible in China.

Like a pipe that starts and ends at a radiator?
 

Tarheel

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What is different in China? Are the laws of physics (for example) different there?
 

Silverobama

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Yeah, right! You're bluffing.
Prove me wrong by posting a reliable source that supports your statement.

I'm here for learning a language not for proving your wrong or something. I don't want to explain a bit about this. Why not come to China and see for yourself? If you only read things online and think everything is impossible, what can I say to further prove I'm right? I don't want to waste time arguing here.
 

Silverobama

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What is different in China? Are the laws of physics (for example) different there?

When I said "many things are impossible in the Western countries" are "possible in China", I didn't mean to offend anyone. If you read it positively, then you have your own positive understanding. I didn't mean anything related to physics when saying this sentence.

She corrected these two sentences for me. I think the second one is natural after her correction, why not ask ems for her opinion? I actually didn't read that much into the sentence until I saw your comments, Tarheel. My understanding is that "There is a pipeline and it has two ends, it might be in a shape of circle so it could be connected to a raditor". I don't know if it really works but it might sound natural in a context of a sci-fi.

Tarheel, would you minding not asking me questions that might arouse potential disagreement? I've said in the first post that all the sentences are from some old dictionaries. If you'd like to help, I appreciate it. If you don't, please don't ask me questions which have nothing to do with them, okay?

If don't like that comment, I'd love to delete it. I'm sorry for causing the misunderstaning.
 

tedmc

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A radiator is a device to cool an engine down by the process of conductoon and radiation. Typically, heated water from an engine is connected by a pipe to a radiator and goes through a coil with metal fins for heat exchange to take place. The cooled water goes out of the radiator back to the engine for cooling purposes before it is recirculated back to the radiator.
Thus the incoming and outgoing pipes connected to.the radiator cannot be the same pipe, which is why the sentence which said so was not logical to those who read it.
 

Captain

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I'm here for learning a language not for proving your wrong or something. I don't want to explain a bit about this. Why not come to China and see for yourself? If you only read things online and think everything is impossible, what can I say to further prove I'm right? I don't want to waste time arguing here.

Firts, I don't need to travel to China to confirm that your claim makes no sense whatsoever. Second, when did I say I think everything is impossible?
Let me put it simply for you, since you misconstrued my words. Your sentence about the radiator describes a technical fallacy that is not applicable to any mechanical configuration anywhere on earth, yet you asseverated that in China it is true.
I requested that you provide a reliable source that supports your statement, and you replied with a flippant comment that not only had nothing to do with the sentence in question, but confirmed my point that your sentence was wrong.

PS: You may want to check your post. It has a few grammatical mistakes.
 

Tarheel

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Thanks, Ted! (I didn't know we were talking about an automobile radiator. Interesting stuff.)
:up:
 

jutfrank

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Are we still on sentence number 2?

1) pipeline is the wrong word. Use pipe.
2) No, the sentence doesn't make sense. If there are only two ends, you obviously wouldn't connect both of them to a radiator. (See post #13)
 
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