Read the Texts 1, 2 from the supplementary reading to learn more about civil engineering.

UNIT 2

CONSTRUCTION WORKS

1. Remember the following word combinations:

purpose – намерение, цель

owner – собственник, владелец

to erect – возводить, строить

concern – отношение, to concern - касаться, беспокоить

stone – камень, to stone – мостить, облицовывать камнем

concrete – бетон

to harden – делать твердым, цементировать

footing – фундамент, основание, опора

heat – тепло

conductivity – проводимость

tier (level) – ряд, ярус

ferro-concrete – железобетон

plumbing – слесарно-водопроводное дело, прокладка труб

plumber – водопроводчик

water supply – водоснабжение, обеспечение водой

detail – деталь здания, часть, элемент

timber – лесоматериал, строевой лес, балки

drainage (sewerage) – дренаж, канализация

Read and translate the text below.

 

Text 2 A

The First Houses

 

The first houses were built for the purpose of protecting their owners from the weather and, therefore, were very simple – a roof to keep off the rain or snow, and walls to keep out the wind. The building erected now can be divided into two broad classifications: they are either for housing or for industrial purpose. As far as the material is concerned, the building can be divided into stone (or brick), wood and concrete types.

The brick is an artificial material made of clay then burnt to harden it. The natural stone (rubble masonry) is used for footing and foundations for external walls carrying the load. The buildings made of stone or brick are durable, fire-proof and have poor heat conductivity.

The tiers or levels which divide a building into stages or stories are called floors. These maybe of timber but in stone buildings they are made of ferro-concrete details in great and small sizes. The coverings or upper parts of buildings constructed over to keep out rain and wind and to preserve the interior from exposure to the weather, are called roofs. These should tie the walls and give strength and firmness to the construction.

Every building must be beautiful in appearance and proportional in various parts. The interior should be planned to suit the requirements of the occupants while the exterior must be simple without any excesses. Any building should be provided with water, electricity, ventilation and heating system. Getting water into the house is called plumbing.

The plumbers have also to get the water out after it has been used. The first part of this problem is called water supply and the second is called drainage or sewerage.

Almost everybody saw the construction of a building and followed its progress with interest. First the excavation is dug for the basement, then the foundation walls below ground level are constructed; after this the framework is erected and clothed with various finishing materials and protected by several coats of paint.

The part upon which the stability of the structure depends is the framework. It is intended for safety carrying the loads imposed. The floors, walls, roofs and other parts of the building must be carefully designed and proportioned. The architect or designer must decide what the sizes of the walls, the floors, the beams, the girders and the parts, which make up the framework, will be and how they will be placed and arranged. Here are the main parts of a building and their functions.

Foundations serve to keep the walls and floors from contact with the soil, to guard them against the action of frost, to prevent them from sinking and settling which cause cracks in walls and uneven floors.

Floors divide the building into stories. They may be either of timber or may be constructed of a fire-resisting material. Walls are built to enclose areas and carry the weight of floors and roofs. The walls may be solid or hollow. The materials used for the walls construction can be brick, stone, concrete and other natural or artificial materials.

Roofs cover the building and protect it from exposure to the weather. They tie the walls and give strength and firmness to the structure.

 

TEXT EXERCISES

 

3. Give the Russian equivalents to the following words and word-groups. Memorize them for housing

 

for industrial purpose, artificial material, made of clay, ferro-concrete details, covering, exposure, to suit the requirements, basement, framework, stability of the structure, girder, to guard against the action of frost, cracks in walls, uneven floors, fire-resisting material, firmness

 

4. Give English equivalents:

 

искусственные материалы, здания из камня или кирпича, долговечный, интерьер, водоснабжение, канализация, отделочные материалы, должны быть тщательно спроектированы, предотвращать, воздействие погодных условий

 

5. Say whether the following sentences are true or false. Correct the wrong statements:

 

1. The first houses were built for the purpose of protecting their owners from the weather.

2. The building erected now can be divided into four broad classifications.

3. As far as the material is concerned, the building can be divided into stone (or brick), wood and iron types.

4. The brick is a natural material.

5. The buildings made of stone or brick are durable, fire-proof and have poor heat conductivity.

6. Every building must be beautiful in appearance and proportional in various parts.

7. The interior should be planned to suit the requirements of the workers on a construction site.

8. Almost everybody saw the construction of a building and followed its progress with interest.

9. Floors serve to keep the walls and floors from contact with the soil, to guard them against the action of frost.

10. Roofs are built to enclose areas and carry the weight of floors.

 

6. Find the information in the text about:

 

- the purposes of the first houses;

- two broad classifications of modern buildings;

- framework;

- foundations;

- floors;

- roofs.

 

7. Read the text below to find answers to the questions:

 

1) What man is considered to be a skilled worker?

2) Who is a bricklayer?

3) Who is a carpenter?

4) Who is a joiner?

5) Who is a mason?

 

Text 2 B

Some Building Professions

 

A man, who has been an apprentice for some years in a building trade and has therefore enough skill to be considered a skilled worker at his trade, is called tradesman or craftsman. He may be a carpenter-and-joiner, bricklayer, mason, slater-and-tiler, plumber, electrician, house painter, glazier, floor-and-wall tiler, plasterer, paper-hanger, steeplejack, hot water fitter and so on.

Bricklayer is a tradesman who builds and repairs brickwork, lays and joints salt glazed stoneware drains, sets, chimney pots, manhole frames and fireplaces. He renders brickwork, including the insides of manholes. A sewer and tunnel bricklayer is a specialized bricklayer. In some districts of Greart Britain, bricklayers also fix wall and flooring tiles and slating and lay plaster and granolithic floors. But elsewhere these are plasterer’s specialities.

Carpenter is a man who erects wood frames, fits joints, fixes wood floors, stairs and window frames, asbestos sheeting and other wallboard. He builds or dismantles wood or metal formwork. The two trades of carpenter and joiner were originally the same, and most men can do both, but specialize in one or the other. In the USA the term “carpenter” includes a joiner. The word is derived from the French word charpente,which means a wood or metal framework.

Joiner is a man who makes joinery and works mainly at the bench on wood, which has been cut and shaped by the machinists. His work is finer than the carpenter’s, much of it being highly finished and done in a joinery shop which is not exposed to weather. In Scotland a joiner is a carpenter-and-joiner.

Mason is stone worker or stone setter. In Scotland and the USA a bricklayer is usually also a mason. A fixer or a fixer mason or a builder mason is a mason who sets prepared stones in walls, whether the stone be only facing or to the full wall thickness.

Plasterer is a tradesman who may be a fibrous plasterer or a plasterer in solid work. The latter lays successive coats of plaster or rendering and fixes fibrous plaster such as mould cornices and wall pattern. He can use a horsed mould, erect lathing for plaster, and apply stucco.

A Construction Manager, or CM, provides services similar to those of general constructor, but represents client’s interest during all phases of the building process – design as well as construction. They are usually paid a negotiated fee for the scope of services rendered.

For example, working with the architect during design, the CM provides updates cost projections so that a client will know probable costs, which the project evolves. A general constructor, however, doesn’t usually enter the scene until after the design is complete.

The CM decides who bids the job, picks up the request for invitation to bid, evaluates the bids, and awards work to the most reasonable bidder. The CM also prepares contracts and sends them out to the subcontractors. The owner sings the contracts with each subcontractor, unlike a general constructor who signs these contracts. As a result, the subcontractors are under the CM’s direction.

The CM may also be responsible for the safety of workers on the construction site.

 

Notes on the text

 

at his trade – в своём ремесле;

slater – and - tiler – кровельщик (мастер по укладке черепицы);

hot water fitter – теплотехник;

which is not exposed to weather – который не подвержен погоде / защищен от погоды

to use a horsed mould, erect lathing for plaster, and apply stucco - использовать опалубку для бетона, крепить сетку под штукатурку и применять отделочный гипс

 

8. Find English equivalents in the text:

 

Считаться искусным в своём ремесле, заниматься кирпичной кладкой, мастер по укладке черепицы, ремонтировать кровлю, собирать деревянные рамы, столярная мастерская, верхолаз, каменщик, многослойная штукатурка, быть подверженным влиянию погоды, класть стены из готового камня, предоставлять услуги, предполагаемая стоимость, самый подходящий покупатель, подписывать контракт с субподрядчиком, отвечать за безопасность рабочих