Lesson 8 parts of a building
TEXT A. THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A BUILDING
A building consists of two main parts: the substructure and the superstructure. The substructure is the part of a building below ground level. It includes the footing, the basement and the foundation walls. The superstructure is the part of a building above ground level. It includes the walls, floors, roofs, beams, columns and trusses.
To build a house first the excavation must be dug for the basement, then the foundation walls are constructed. After that the framework is erected, sheathed with various finishing materials and protected by several coats of paint.
The foundation is the lowest part of the structure upon which the superstructure rests. Foundations are usually made of monolithic concrete, concrete blocks, piles or bricks. They keep the walls and floors from contact with the soil, support the superstructure and prevent the building from sinking.
Walls enclose internal spaces and support the weight of the floors and roof . Non-structural subdividing walls are called partitions. Walls also protect the interior from exposure to the weather. They are made of wood, brick, stone, concrete, concrete blocks, reinforced concrete and/or other natural or artificial building materials.
A window is an opening in the wall of a structure which lets the light and air. Doors are constructed in walls to allow access. Floors divide a building into storeys. They may be of timber or constructed from fire-resistant materials. At present floors finished in wood or linoleum are very popular.
Stairs are a succession of steps connecting two spaces located at different levels. They may be of wood, stone, reinforced concrete or metal.
A roof is the topmost part of a building. Roofs cover the building and protect it from exposure to the weather. They should tie in the walls and give strength and firmness to the whole structure. Roofs must be well framed, strong enough to resist winds, sustain snow loads and serve as insulation to prevent heat transmission.
Today every building should be beautiful in appearance, well proportioned and provided with all modern conveniences such as running water, gas, central heating, ventilation, air conditioning, waste disposal and telephone points.
Exercise 1. Answer the following questions
What parts of a building do you know?
2.What is the substructure (the superstructure)?
3.What parts does the substructure (the superstructure) include?
4.What is the first step in building a house?
5.What is the function of foundations (walls, floors, roofs)?
6.What materials are foundations (walls, floors, roofs) made of ?
7.What are stairs?
8.What is a door (a window)?
9.What should every building be provided with?
Exercise 2 Make up sentences with the given word- combinations..
To build a house, to dig the excavation, to protect by several coats of paint, monolithic concrete, to prevent the building from sinking down, to resist winds, to sustain snow loads, to prevent heat transmission, air conditioning.
Exercise 3 Put in the necessary words and word- combinations.
1. Any building consists of two parts: ... and ... . 2. ... is the lowest part of the structure upon which the superstructure ... . For different ... builders have developed ... . 3. ... of the structure depends on the ... . 4.For framework protection they ... it with several ... ... ... . 5.Walls dividing flats into rooms are called ... . 6. ... divide the building into storeys. 7.Walls and roofs protect the interior from ... ... ... ... .
...are constructed to allow access.
9. Every building should be beautiful ... ... .
Exercise 4 . Translate into Russian.
1.If he were here, he would help us. 2.If you had left earlier yesterday, you would have arrived in time for dinner. 3.If it were not so late, I should stay. 4.If I had been you, I should have gone to the South last summer. 5.My article would have been ready last week provided I had had all necessary materials. 6.Were I in your place I should go there. 7.Had we seen them yesterday we should have told them about it. 8.Were they free tomorrow, they should go on an excursion. 9.Were she given this work, she would do her best to do it in time. 10.The holidays would be wonderful, were it not so cold. 11.Could they look through this article, we should discuss it. 12.Had he learnt all grammar rules, he would not have made so many mistakes in his dictation.
Exercise 5 Make up sentences according to the models:
Model a) I have time - I shall do the work.
If I had time, I should do the work.
1.I shall go - he invites me. 2.He will answer your letter - he knows your address. 3.I write to them - they will come. 4.She made a promise - she keeps it. 5.He has this book - he will give it to you. 6.It will rain tomorrow - we shall not go on our excursion.
Model b):
I did not translate the article yesterday because I had no dictionary .
If I had a dictionary ,I should have translated the article .
1.He was not in town therefore he was not present at our meeting .If ... . 2. It is
late and I have to go home .If ... .3. I have left the book at home: that is why I cannot read that passage to you.4. We lost our way because the night was dark. If... .5.There were too many unknown words in the text therefore i could not translate it without a dictionary. If ... .
Exercise 6. Open the brackets and translate the sentences into Russian
.
1.If I (am, were) you, I shouldn’t do that. 2.If I (know, knew) his language, I should speak to him. 3.We (should be glad, are glad), if the rain stopped. 4.If you (see, saw) him, he would tell you the news. 5.We should have arrived in time, if we (didn’t miss, hadn’t missed) the bus. 6.If he worked hard, he (makes, would make) progress. 7.She would take part in the discussion, if she (had, has) time. 8.If you (send, sent) a telegram now, he would get it in the afternoon. 9.If you had sent a telegram in time, he (would learn, would have learnt) the news. 10.If they had come yesterday, I (should be glad, should have been glad). 11.It is unusual he (left, should leave) his house so early. 12.If she (knows, knew) English well, she would translate this article without a dictionary. 13.You (would pass, would have passed) your examinations, if you had worked hard during the term. But you didn’t.
TEXT B. PILE FOUNDATIONS
Pile foundations are being used on a large scale in Russia. Their use makes it possible to achieve considerable reductions in the volume of concreting and to increase the use of prefabricated elements. Piles also speed up foundation work, reduce labour costs and increase reliability. Piles enable foundations to be built in all seasons, and eliminate the need for digging frozen ground. Subsidence with pile foundations is 80 per cent less than in conventional foundations. This is particular important in the construction of buildings with large wall panels, which are highly sensitive to uneven subsidence. Pile foundations are therefore being applied extensively in this type of building. The most common type of piles is a prefabricated, reinforced concrete pile, either solid or hollow.
Research is going on into the question of reducing the amount of piling required for a given building, the reinforcement required, while simultaneously increasing the cross section and load-bearing capacity. This refers to piles with prestressed reinforcement, and hollow piles. Piles of square section with a round cavity are being used, together with tubular piles.
The hollow square piles require less concrete, and are lighter, it makes them easier to drive. The tubular piles, up to 80 cm in diameter are more economical than solid piles. Furthermore, because of their large diameter and great load-bearing capacity, the number required can be reduced. This type of pile has been found most useful where it must pass through poor soil and enter relatively strong soils.
TEXT C. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE
In discussing the materials in construction, we have also been considering many of the elements of architectural construction such as walls, columns (or posts), beams, openings (windows and doors), roof coverings, arches. Both the materials used and the elements of construction were clearly associated with the practical function of each building.
The wall.. As an architectural element the wall may vary in thickness, height, shape (curved, straight, elliptical), completeness, manner of construction, basic function, and ultimate esthetic purpose and effect. In some styles of architecture, the wall as a wall is more important than in others, either for decorative or for functional reasons. In the chapel, e. g., the false wall is an area to be covered with ornament and is otherwise relatively functionless. In the house, the wall is a partly limiting, partly liberating surface, without ornament of any kind.
In some styles of architecture the wall is more important as a «bearing» or carrying element, that is, for functional reasons. This is seen in Romanesque, Egyptian, Renaissance, and many other traditional styles where the walls are the building, carrying themselves as well as the floors.
Ornament , in the traditional sense, is almost completely absent from the modern building, which relies on the texture and color of its walls and similar elements for decorative embellishment.
Windows and Doors. Windows and doors constitute the two chief types of openings. Their purpose is to afford ready access of light, air and entry for occupants. Different climates and purposes naturally require different types of windows and doors. Even in traditional architecture it was evident that whereas it was desirable to admit light in northern buildings where there was relatively little sun, in southern buildings it was far more advisable to keep sun out.
Windows and doors whether traditional or modern, are also important elements in the decoration of the building and its design qualities.
Doors are also part of the a esthetics of a building. In some buildings their effect is far less than in others - deliberately so. In traditional architectural forms, doorways often have a ceremonial purpose associated with a religious or royal procession and therefore carry importance in the architectural scheme together with their symbolic meaning.
Exercise 7. Make up your own topic "Parts of a Building".
LESSON 9: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
Text A. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
Ex 1. Read and translate the text. Work with the vocabulary and find Russian equivalents to the words marked out in the text.
There are two branches of engineering: heating and ventilation. They are very closely connected. Both are concerned with providing a required atmospheric environment within a definite space.
Air-conditioning is related to heating and ventilation. The most widely used system of heating is the central heating system. The term “central heating” applied to the heating of domestic and other buildings indicates that the whole of a building is heated from a central source. In the central heating system the fuel is burned in one particular place. It may be the basement of a building or a specially designed room for the purpose. Then from there steam, hot water or warm air is transmitted to all the necessary places to be heated.
Heating system has the two most common systems: the hot water system and the steam system.
The hot water system consists of a boiler and a whole system of pipes, which are connected to all the radiators in the building. The pipes are usually made of steel, but they can be made of copper too. The cooled water is returned to the boiler where it is reheated.
The steam heating system consists of the single-pipe system and the two-pipe system. In the single-pipe system the steam is conveyed to the radiator through a pipe at the bottom of one of the end sections. In the radiator forms the condensation, which flows back through the same pipe.
In the two-pipe system a separate system of piping is provided. It carry away the condensation and in some cases the air from the radiator.
Of course, ventilation of buildings is a very important factor in modern structures. It receives proper attention in housebuilding, because every person in the building should have plenty of fresh air.
Words:
ventilation – вентиляция , heating – отопление
air-condition – кондиционирование воздуха radiator – радиатор
to apply – применять, to be heated – отапливаться
to be transmitted – передаваться uel – топливо,
to be burned – сжигаться, basement – подвал
a single-pipe system – система с одной трубой pipe – труба
steam – пар ,boiler – котельная,
to be connected – быть соединенным ,
to be reheated – быть повторно нагретым ,
copper – медь, to be conveyed – передаваться
domestic building – жилое здание
central heating system – система центрального отопления
Ex. II. Answer the questions:
1. What branches of engineering are very connected?
2. Is air-conditioning related only to heating?
3. Where does the central heating apply?
4. Where is the fuel burned?
5. Call the two most common systems of heating?
6. What does the hot water system consist of?
7. How many systems does it include?
8. What can you say about the single-pipe system?
9. What can you say about the two-pipe system?
10.Why is ventilation of buildings a very important factor in modern structures?
Ex. III. . Translate the dialogue into English using words and phrases from the text and tell it in pairs.
А: Можешь ли ты мне сказать, какая система отопления наиболее широко используется?
Б: Я не специалист в этой области, но я уверен, что это система центрального отопления.
А: Правда ли, что в системе центрального отопления топливо сжигается в специальном для этого месте?
Б: Да, ты абсолютно прав. Этим местом может быть подвал здания или специально созданная для данной цели комната.
А: Затем оттуда пар, горячая или теплая вода передается во все необходимые места, чтобы они отапливались.
Б: Ты прав. Это то, что мы называем системой центрального отопления.
Ex IV. Tell about heating, ventilation and air conditioning.