Samir Sami (asker) Dec 11, 2008:

Thanks for all these invaluable illustrations The deeper I get here, I find your discussions truly applicable. Some type of out-of-context words, and sentences incorrectly written, etc. I believe that translation here, and based on your illustrations, will be more of inference.

Ken Cox Dec 10, 2008:

comment To my ear, 'in steps of' sounds like an artifact of the digital era. I can't otherwise imagine anyone using this phrasing in this situation -- after all, the indication (liquid column) of a conventional thermometer does not change in steps, unlike a digital display.

Tony M Dec 10, 2008:

Perfectly straightforward! Yes, it is obvious that it is the temperature scale that is being referred to here — the sentence isn't really that abdly written, though I suspect there may have been a transcription error, since it would have been clearer if it had read "The temperature range is from ..." ('ranges' and 'range is' would sound almost identical when dictated)

Egil Presttun Dec 10, 2008:

in steps of We're just talking about steps in the typical meaning here. It's not more complicated than that. Think of a man walking; Each time he puts his foot down, he makes a step. You walk, step by step. It's just that. One step is 1° C, the next step is 2° C... The temperature itself can not jump in steps. That's impossible. So, it must be how the thermometer is graduated they mean in this case. In my opinion the sentence is not correctly written, but it doesn't make sense to interpret it otherwise.