An honorable profession

The building profession attracts many numbers of young men and women nowadays. It is an honorable profession.

Builders construct and reconstruct residential and industrial buildings, bridges, schools, palaces of culture, museums and hospitals. They build tunnels, canals, power stations, dams and reservoirs.

The person entering this honorable profession must have a scientific attitude, imagination, initiative and good judgment, obtained by experience and serious work.

Civil engineers and architects have a common aim – to provide people with all modern conveniences, such as running water, gas, electricity, central heating. While a sanitary engineer protects the quality of water by treating and purifying this water when it is used for domestic purposes, an architect is a person who designs buildings. An architect must receive a lot of scientific training connected with his profession. He must know mathematics, as well as many facts concerning materials, for example, what loads different materials may safely carry – so that there will be no danger of his building falling down. Architects must need some knowledge of sculpture, painting, design, mechanical engineering, geography, city planning. The structure an architect creates should give us pleasure, a sense of beauty. (1300)

X. Прочитайте и переведите диалог, затем разыграйте в парах. (Read and translate the dialogue, then act it out with your partner).

- What would you like to be in the future?

- I want to become a civil engineer.

- Why does this profession attract you?

- It’s an interesting, challenging and honorable occupation.

- What types of buildings do civil engineers erect?

- They construct and reconstruct residential and industrial buildings, bridges, schools, palaces of culture, museums and hospitals.

- What kind of knowledge must a specialist in the field of construction have?

- First of all, he must have a scientific attitude, imagination, initiative and good judgment. And, it goes without saying, he must receive a lot of scientific training. At the same time, he must know mathematics, as well as many facts concerning materials, for example, what loads different materials may safely carry. And, finally, he must need some knowledge of sculpture, painting, design, mechanical engineering, geography, city planning.

- So now I see your future profession is really demanding and very important. I wish you to succeed in mastering it.

- Thank you.

Тема 2. Строительные материалы (Building materials)

I. Pronounce the following words word combinations, try to memorize them:

artificial	[ɑːtɪˈfɪʃl]	искусственный
auxiliary material	[ɔːɡˈzɪl.i.ər.i məˈtɪəriəl]	вспомогательный материал
binding material	[ˈbaɪn.dɪŋ məˈtɪəriəl]	вяжущее вещество
brick	[brɪk]	кирпич
compactness	[kəmˈpæktnəs]	плотность
concrete	[ˈkɒŋkriːt]	бетон
crushed stone	[krʌʃt stəʊn]	щебень
durability	[ˈdjʊə.rə.bil̩iti]	долговечность; прочность; стойкость
finish	[ˈfɪnɪʃ]	отделка поверхности
fire-resistant	[ˈfaɪə-rɪˈzɪstənt]	огнестойкий
fasten	[ˈfɑːsn]	соединять; скреплять
hardness	[ˈhɑːdnɪs]	твёрдость; жёсткость бетонной смеси
lime	[laɪm]	известь
petrochemicals	[pet.rəʊˈkem.ɪ.kəlz]	нефтепродукты
property	[ˈprɒpəti]	свойство
strength	[streŋθ]	прочность
timber	[ˈtɪm.bər]	строительный пило-, лесоматериал
work	[wɜːk]	обрабатывать