2. Answer the following questions:

1. Are artificial stones secondary materials? 2. What are the secondary materials? 3. What binding materials do you know? 4. What materials do you know? 5. What do we use the binding materials for? 6. What do we use the secondary materials for? 7. What natural and artificial materials do you know? 8. What’s the difference between them? 9. Why has a greater speed in housing construction been achieved?

IV. Comprehension and Word Study.

1. Translate into English:

Требовать, требовать каких-либо изменений, не требовать каких-либо изменений, известны, известны как природные строительные материалы, изменены, изменены в сборные элементы (единицы), характеризуются, характеризуются возросшей прочностью, объединены, объединены в единую систему.

2. Translate into Russian:

1. building materials, building engineer, building timber;

2. main building materials, secondary building materials, artificial building materials, binding materials;

3. bearing structures, bearing walls, bearing members;

4. interior finish, sand finish, surface finish;

5. to achieve great speed, to achieve good results;

6.prefabricated members, precast members, concrete members.

3. Say whether it is true or false:

1) Main building materials are used for making artificial stones. 2) Stone, clay, sand, lime and timber do not require any changes in their chemical structures. 3) Now building materials are changed into units of dismantle. 4) The new materials of construction are characterized by increased strength. 5) Structural, insulating and surfacing demands are combined in many systems.

4. Fill in the blanks with one of the following prepositions: by; into; of; for.

1. The building materials are changed ___ units of assembly. 2. The new materials are characterized ___ increased strength. 3. Concrete is an example ___ artificial building materials. 4. We use these materials ___ bearing structures. 5. All building materials are divided ___ three groups. 6. Cement is used ___ making artificial stones

5. a) Put general questions to the following sentences;

b) Put special questions to the underlined words;

1. Lime is a binding material. 2. Chalk is a soft white limestone. 3. A greater speed of construction was achieved. 4. White, black, grey, reddish, greenish marbles (мрамор) are used in the construction of monuments. 5. The most beautiful monuments in the world are of marbles. 6. They achieved a greater speed of construction using prefabricated units.

V. Post-reading Activities.

1. Discuss with your partner the text “Building Materials”.

2. Be ready to speak about “Building Materials”.

VI. Supplementary Reading.

1. Read the following text and write 8 questions: 2 general, 2 special, 2 alternative, 2 disjunctive.

High scale of construction

Construction is growing from year to year in our country. This requires the use of new building methods and new building materials which play a very important role in the work of architects and builders. They help to develop modern architecture, speed up construction work and decrease its cost.

We are now building thousands of new blocks of flats, schools, hospitals and a large number of industrial enterprises. A great percentage of the houses are constructed by house-building plants. This building method is successfully applied in different cities and towns of Belarus. Millions of Belarussian people get new flats and houses every year. The newly built blocks of flats have all modern conveniences, making our life more and more comfortable.

2. Read and translate into Russian:

HOW MATERIALS INFLUENCE THE SCHOOLS OF ARCHITECTURE

It is of interest to note briefly the influence of materials upon the schools of architecture. Where clay abounded, as in Egypt, sun-dried bricks were easily and cheaply made. Stone was also obtainable, and because of its durability it became the material of the temples and palaces; the less pretentious dwellings were built of brick. In Mesopotamia large brick buildings were constructed, and, in the absence of stone and wood to span their areas, the arch and dome came into being. Greece possessed perfect marble for columns and beams, and the arch and dome received little attention. A fortunate combination of lime, limestone, clay and pozzuolana gave Rome stone and cement, and the great mass of her structures is largely due to the union of stone, brick, strong mortar, and concrete. In Northern Europe, Switzerland, and Russia, where forests abounded and other materials were difficult to obtain, wooden architecture was characteristic for buildings of all types.

Science, machinery, and easy transportation are now bringing to the hands of architects resources of materials hitherto unknown or unobtainable.

LESSON 2