Translate the following sentences. Mind the Complex Subject

1) Water content is known to decrease in the cut wood.

2) Wood as a structural material is considered to be highly used because of its low weight, low cost, and high workability.

3) Use of concrete for building purposes is announced to be constantly increasing all over the world.

4) The strength and hardness of cut wood are known to increase as its water content evaporates.

Give the English equivalents of the Russian words.

1) Small (полосы) __________________ of wood are (склеены) ____________________ together.

2) Wood in panel form is more (предпочтителен) __________________ for some construction (цели) ______________ than (доски) __________

3) (фанерные) __________________panels are made up of (тонкие) ___________________ (деревянные) ___________________ veneers.

Choose the correct answer.

Stud (s) of a common wooden partition

a) are vertical wooden members

b) is the upper horizontal wooden member

c) is the lower horizontal wooden member

d) are the intermediate horizontal wooden members.

Pick up the commonly adopted geophysical method in civil engineering from the following:

a) the seismic method

b) electrical resistivity method

c) gravitational method

d) magnetic method

e) both (a) and (b) of the above.

The portion of a brick cut across the width, is called

1) closer

2) half brick

3) bed

4) bat.

The 9 cm x 9 cm side of a brick as seen in the wall face, is generally known as

1) stretcher

2) face

3) front

4) header

5) side.

References:Ажищев Н.И. «Профессия-строитель», Москва, высшая школа, 2009г.

Безручко Е.Н. «Английский для строителей», Москва высшая школа, 2001г. Издательский центр «Март», 2010г.

Пономоренко В.И. «Сборник текстов на английском языке». М.: «Высшая школа», 2002г.

Unit 6. Building stones.

Vocabulary.

Clay – глина

Dwelling - жилье

Igneous – вулканический

Mica - слюда

Sedimentary – осадочный

Slate – сланец

In many places, as in hilly regions, stones are more freely available than clay bricks. They occur naturally and need not to be manufactured so that stone masonry becomes cheaper than brick work. From early days, even before bricks were invented by the humans, stones were used to build dwellings. Stones are more permanent than most of other natural building materials like wood. Most of the prehistoric monuments that remain even today are made of stones. Stones were preferred before the advent of concrete for heavy engineering constructions like bridge piers, harbour walls, seaside walls and they are still used for facing work. Today, stones form an important source of aggregates (both coarse and fine) for concrete. Thus, stone is an important building material that all civil engineers are familiar with.

A study of rock-forming minerals belongs to Geology. As already stated, stones, depending on the type, can be used in building for masonry, flooring, roofing and paving roads, as well as aggregates for concrete.

Some of the common stones and their uses are as follows:

1. Granite (Igneous rock). It is used for heavy engineering works for bridge piers, columns, retaining walls, random rubble, foundation, dressed stonework and for coarse aggregates in concrete. They can also be cut into slabs and used as floor slabs and stone facing slabs.

2. Basalt and trap (Igneous rocks). They have the same use as granite.

3. Gneiss (Metamorphic rock). It is used in the same way as granite. It can be identified by its elongated platy minerals often mixed with mica.

4. Quartzite (Metamorphic rock). It is also used in the same way as granite but it is not used for ornamental work as it is brittle.

5. Marble (Metamorphic rock). It is used for ornamentation, flooring and stonefacing slabs.

6. Slate (Metamorphic rock). It is used for damp-proofing flooring and roofing.

7. Limestone (Sedimentary). It is used for walls as coarse aggregates for concrete but also as a base material for cement.

8. Sandstones (Sedimentary). They are used for ornamental work and paving.

9. Laterite (Decomposed from igneous rocks). It can occur in hard and soft varieties. The soft variety is used for wall after curing while the hard variety is used for paving the pathways.

Answer the questions:

1. What advantages does stone have as a building material?

2. What are stones used for nowadays?

3. When was stone a preferred building material?

4. What stones can be used for heavy engineering?

5. What stones can be used for paving?

Exercises:

1) Decide whether the statements are true or false:

1. Stones are cheaper than bricks.

2. Nowadays stones are only used as aggregates for concrete.

3. Stones were never used for heavy engineering.

4. Quartzite is not used for ornamental work because it is soft.

5. Laterite is used for walls and paving.

2) Match the words from the left with their Russian equivalents:

1. Marble 2. Limestone 3. Slab 4. Pier 5. Aggregate

a. Известняк b. Заполнитель c. Опора d. Мрамор e. Плита

3) Guess the word by its definition:

1. A structure that supports a building

2. Small blocks of clay used in building

3. A building or place of shelter to live in

4. A large, thick, flat piece of stone

5. A shiny silicate mineral found in granite and other rocks

4) Open the brackets and put the verbs in a correct form:

1. People (use) stones to build dwellings from early times.

2. Stones (use) for heavy engineering constructions before the invention of concrete.

3. Geology (study) rock-forming minerals.

4. Most prehistoric monuments (build) of stones.

5. Granite often (cut) into slabs.

References: http://books.google.ru/books?id=MBamtq45OykC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Unit 7. Concrete.

Vocabulary.

Aggregate – заполнитель

Diluted – разбавленный

Cure – затвердевать

Imperviousness – герметичность

Mouldability – способность к формованию

Concrete is a building material made by mixing cement (portland cement and water) with aggregate (sand and stone). The cement is the ‘glue’ that binds the particles in the aggregate together. The strength of the cement depends on the relative proportions of water and cement, with a more diluted paste being weaker. In addition, the relative proportions of cement and aggregate affect the strength, with a higher proportion of making stronger concrete. The concrete hardens through the chemical reaction between water and cement, without the need for air. Once the initial set has taken place, concrete cures well under water. Strength is gained gradually, depending on the speed of the chemical reaction. Admixtures are sometimes included in the concrete mix to achieve certain properties. Reinforcement steel is used for added strength, particularly for tensile stresses. Concrete is normally mixed at the building site and poured into formwork of the desired shape, in the position that the unit will occupy in the finished structure. Units can also be precast, either at the building site or at a factory.

Concrete is associated with high strength, hardness, durability, imperviousness and mouldability. It is a poor thermal insulator, but has high thermal capacity. Concrete is not flammable and has good fire resistance, but there is a serious loss of strength at high temperatures. Concrete made with ordinary portland cement has low resistance to acids and sulphates but good resistance to alkalis.

Answer the questions:

1. What does the strength of the cement depend on?

2. What is required for curing of concrete?

3. What kind of admixtures can be used in the concrete mix?

4. What are the properties of concrete?

5. How does high temperature affect concrete?

Exercises:

1) Decide whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Concrete is a building material made of cement and aggregate.

2. Air is needed for the concrete to harden.

3. Reinforcement steel is added to better mouldability.

4. Precast concrete can be made at a factory only.