Road roller

1. A Road roller (sometimes called a roller-compactor or just a roller) is an engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations.

2. In many parts of the world, road rollers are still known colloquially as steam rollers, regardless of their method of propulsion.

3. This typically only applies to the largest examples (used for road-making).

4. Road rollers work by using the weight of the vehicle to compress the surface being rolled, the smooth finish of the rollers ensuring an even result.

5. Rollers are also used in landfill compaction.

6. Such compactors typically have knobby (“sheep’s-pad”) wheels and do not attempt to achieve a smooth surface, merely a squashed one.

7. The roller can be a simple drum with a handle that can be operated by one man, and weighs 100 pounds, all the way up to a massive ride-on road roller weighing 44,000 lb or 20 tons and costing more than $150,000 US dollars.

8. A landfill unit can weigh 54 tons.

9. On some machines, the drums may be filled with water on site to achieve the desired vehicle weight.

10. When not filled, the lighter machine is easier and cheaper to transport between worksites.

11. Additional compaction may be achieved by vibrating the roller drums.

12. Water lubrication may be provided to the drum surface to avoid hot asphalt (for example) sticking to the drum.

13. Hydraulic transmission permits greater design flexibility (early examples were direct mechanical drive) and reduces the number of moving parts exposed to the dust and mud associated with construction sites.

14. Human-propelled rollers may only have a single roller drum.

15. Self-propelled rollers may have two drums, mounted one in front of the other (format known as 'duplex'), or three rolls, or just one, with the back rollers replaced with treaded pneumatic tyres for increased traction.

1. Participle 2; infinitive; noun group.

2. Noun group; meaning of “-less”.

3. Superlative degree; gerund.

4. Subject and predicate; gerund; participle 1; absolute participle construction.

5. Noun group.

6. Infinitive; function of “one”.

7. Modal verb; function of “one”; participle 1.

8. Noun group.

9. Modal verb; infinitive; participle 2; noun group.

10. Participle 2; comparative degree; infinitive.

11. Noun group; gerund.

12. Noun group; infinitive; ing- form.

13. Subjects and predicates; words with suffixes; noun group; meaning of “-s”; comparative degree; participle 1; participle2.

14. Modal verb.

15. Participle 2.

Translate and remember the following words:

Roller, compact, concrete, foundation, propulsion, drum, short ton, fill, lubrication, provide, flexibility, reduce, member, expose, tread.

Exercise 3. Translate Text C without a dictionary:

Text C

Epa tractor

During World War 2 there was a shortage of tractors in Sweden and this led to the invention of a new type of tractor called the EPA tractor (EPA was a chain of discount stores and it was often used to signify something of lacking in quality). An EPA tractor was simply an automobile, truck or lorry, with the passenger space cut off behind the front seats, equipped with two gearboxes in a row. When done to an older car with a ladder frame, the result was not dissimilar to a tractor and could be used as one.

After the war it remained popular, now not as a farm vehicle, but as a way for young people without a driver's license to own something similar to a car. Since it was legally seen as a tractor it could be driven from 16 years of age and only required a tractor license.

Later no new EPA tractors were allowed to be made, but the remaining were still legal, something that led to inflated prices and many protests from people that preferred EPA tractors to ordinary cars.

In March 31, 1975 a similar type of vehicle was introduced, the A tractor [from arbetstraktor (work tractor)]. The main difference is that A tractor has

a top speed of 30 km/h. This is usually done by fitting two gearboxes in a row and not using one of them. Volvo Duett was for a long time the primary choice for conversion to an EPA or A tractor, but, since supplies have dried up, other cars have been used, in most cases a Volvo.

Notes:

discount stores – дисконтные магазины

signify – означать

legal – законный

Exercise 4. Translate Text D without a dictionary:

Text D