TEXT 10. Engineering-what’s it all about?

Engineering is largely a practical activity. It is about putting ideas into action. Civil engineering is concerned with making bridges, roads, airports, etc. Mechanical engineering deals with the design and manufacture of tools and machines. Electrical engineering is about the generation and distribution of electricity and its many applications. Electronic engineering is concerned with developing components and equipment for communications, computing, and so on.

Mechanical engineering includes marine, automobile, aeronautical, heating and ventilating, and others. Electrical engineering includes electricity generating, electrical installation, lighting, etc. Mining and medical engineering belong party to electrical.

Study these illustrations. They show some of the areas in which engineers work. Can you identify them? What kinds of engineers are concerned with these areas-electrical, mechanical, or both?

 

 

Tasks

1.Now read the following texts to check your answers to the picture above. Match each text to one of the illustrations above.

Transport: Сars, trains, ships, and all products of mechanical engineering. Mechanical engineering are also involved in support services such as roads, rail track, harbours, and bridges.

Food processing: Mechanical engineering design, develop, and make the machines and the processing equipment for harvesting, preparing and preserving the foods and drinks that fill the supermarkets.

Medical engineering: Body scanners, X-ray machines, life-support systems, and other high- tech equipment result from mechanical and electrical engineers with combining with medical experts to convert ideas into life-saving and preserving products.

Building services: Electrical engineers provide all the service we need in our homes and places of work, including lighting, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, refrigeration, and lifts.

Energy and power: Electrical engineers are concerned with the production and distribution of electricity to homes, offices, industry, hospitals, colleges and schools, and the installation and maintenance of the equipment involved in these processes.

2.Match each item in column A with an appropriate item from column B and link the two in a sentence.

A	B
1 marine	a air-conditioning
2 aeronautical	b roads and bridges
3 heating and ventilating	c body scanners
4 electricity generating	d cables and switchgear
5 automobile	e communications and equipment
6 civil	f ships
7 electronic	g planes
8 electrical installation	h cars and trucks
9 medical	i power stations

 

3. Complete the sentences.

The main branches of engineering are civil …, …, and electronic. Mechanical engineering is …,... machinery of all kinds. This branch of engineering includes … automobile, … and heating and ventilating. The first three are concerned with transport: …cars and planes. The last … with airconditioning, refrigeration, etc.

Electrical engineering deals with … from generation to use. Electricity generating is concerned with … stations. Electrical installation deals … cables, switchgear, and connecting up electrical equipment.

Two branches of engineering include both … and …engineers. These are mining and … engineering. The former deals with mines and mining equipment, the latter with hospitals … of all kinds.

Before you start

Work in groups and discuss the questions.

List the materials you know which are used in engineering. Combine your list with the other in your group and classify the materials as metal, thermoplastic, etc.