Глава 1 Части здания Вариант 1

PARTS OF A BUILDING

Almost everyone saw the construction of a building and followed its progress with interest.

First the excavation is dug for the basement, then the foundation walls below ground level are constructed after this the framework is erected and clothed with various finished materials and protected by several coats of paint.

The part upon which the stability of the structure depends is the framework. It is intended for safety carrying the loads imposed. The floors, walls, roofs and other parts of the building must be carefully designed and proportioned.

The architect or designer must decide, what the size of the walls, the floors, the beams, the girders and the parts which make up the framework will be and how they will be placed and arranged.

Here are the main parts of a building and their functions.

Foundations serve to keep the walls and floors from contact with the soil, to guard them against the action of frost to prevent them from sinking and settling which cause cracks in walls and uneven floors.

Floors divide the building into stories. They may be either of timber or of a fire-resisting material. Walls are built to enclose areas and carry the weight of floors and roofs. The walls may be solid or hollow. The material used for the walls construction can be brick, stone, concrete or artificial materials.

AFTER - TEXT EXERCISES

1. Read and translate the following word combinations into Russian: the construction of a building, dug for the basement, various finishing materials, natural or artificial materials, fire-resisting, durable building.

2. Choose the correct variant and complete the sentences:

1.Artificial building material are made of ……( brick / wood ). 2. Buildings made of stone are ……( durable / indurable ). 3. The coverings or upper parts of the building are called ………...( ceilings / roofs ). 4. The exterior of a building must be …..( with superfluous decorations / simple ). 5. The water supply and sewerage systems are called …..( heating / plumbing ).

3. Complete the following sentences:

1. The excavation is dug for ….. .2. The floors, walls, roofs and other parts of the building must be carefully…. .3. Floors divide the building into ….. .4. The material used for the walls construction can be ….. .

Вариант 2

BEAMS

Already in the early 3^rd millennium BC, in Zozer's tomb complex at Saqqara, blocks of stone were being deliberately shaped for use as ceiling beams instead of just used as found. The fact that their undersides were cut to a rounded form suggests an even earlier use of cut timber, probably palm logs.

This is to be expected, since timber is easier to cut and transport. Apart from its inferior durability, it is also a more appropriate material because the structural action of a beam involves internal tension as well as compression. Besides, timber, unlike stone, has a tensile strength along the grain to match its compressive strength. With stone there was only one possibility — the use of metal reinforcement at the bottom to improve the tensile weakness.

Iron beams became structurally important elements only in the late 18^th century with the widespread introduction of cast iron.

Reinforced concrete became a highly versatile structural material, since the strength of the concrete, the overall geometry of the element, and the quantity and placement of the reinforcement rods were all under the de­signer's control.

AFTER - TEXT EXERCISES

1.Choose the right adjective.

1. Cut timber, probably … logs were used as ceiling beams. ( palm / oak /sequoia ).

2. The structural action of a beam involves … tension as well as compression. ( external /internal / overall ).

3. Metal reinforcement at the bottom was used to improve the … weakness of stone. ( tensile /earlier / compressive ).

4. Reinforcement concrete became a highly … structurally material. ( different /versatile /expensive ).

5. The … geometry of the element was under the designer’s control. (descriptive / fundamental /overall ).

2. Suggest the Russian equivalents.

• ceiling beams

• cut timber

• inferior durability

• to involve internal tension and compression

• along the grain

• the use of metal reinforcement

• the tensile weakness

• cast iron

• the strength of the concrete

• the reinforcement rods

3. Give the English equivalents.

• в начале 3 тысячелетия до нашей эры

• более подходящий материал

• внутреннее напряжение

• по направлению волокна

• сила сжатия

• арматура

• чугун

• универсальный строительный материал

• арматурные стержни