3. Say what position would you like to have at the plant and why?

4. Read and memorize the dialogue

At the plant

Ann: Where have you been, Pete? I haven’t seen you for ages.

Pete: I had my technological practice at the machine – building plant.

Ann: It was interesting, I hope.

Pete: Rather. In our college workshops we mastered some operations and learnt to know some technological properties of materials, the structure and use of certain hand and machine tools. But what I have seen at the plant gave me an idea of what the key branch of modern industry is.

Ann: Please, tell me something about the plant.

Pete: With pleasure. First of all, the plant has four main shops.

Ann: What are they?

Pete: They are foundry, the forge and the engineering and the assembling shops. One of the basic processes of the metal-working industry, as you know, is the production of metal casting. Well, cast ingots are produced in the foundry.

Ann: Is it a simple operation?

Pete: Casting is not as simple as it may seem. The process consists in melting out metal in a furnace and pouring it into molds, where it cools down and is ready for further processing.

Ann: This is clear. Ann what about the forge?

Pete: Its main tools are different: a board drop hammer, a steam drop hammer, a pneumatic hammer, some forging machines and presses. Here the ingots are forged into parts that are further hardened and annealed.

Ann: And where does the machining proper take place?

Pete: It’s done in the engineering shop where you can see all kinds of modern lathes.

Ann: Are lather complex devices?

Pete: Rather. And accurate. Capable of doing a great quantity and variety of work.

Ann: What lathes have they got there?

Pete: A whole lot: turning, milling, planning lathes, boring and polishing lathes. You can’t even remember the names of all of them.

Ann: And now, Pete, I can tell you myself what the assembling shop does. It assembles the ready parts into units and fits them on the body of the machine they are producing.

Pete: Quite right. The most important thing of all is that automation of the production processes in all the shops is well under way. A number of automatic and semi-automatic machines have been installed there, even an automatic line. Besides, they have initiated a movement for operation several lathes simultaneously.

Ann: I see, Pete, that practice was interesting and useful. Good-buy, Pete and thanks a lot.

Pete: Good-bye, Ann. See you tomorrow.

Notes and commentary

to master – освоювати;

learn to know – навчатися;

engineering shop – механічний цех;

assembling shop – складальний цех;

to cast ingots – робити відливки;

to cool clown – охолоджувати;

a board drop hammer – функціональний молот з дошкою;

a steam drop hammer – паровий штампувальний молот;

forging machine – машина для ковки;

forged into parts – перековуються в певні частини (деталі);

are hardened and annealed – загартовуються та відпалюються;

turning, milling, planning, boring, polishing lathes – верстати токарні, фрезерні, стругальні, розточні, шліфувальні;

to assemble ready parts into units and fit them on the body of the machines – збирати готові частини в блоки та монтувати їх на машини

automation of production processes in well under way – широко проводиться автоматизація виробничих процесів.