Comprehensive check

Task 1. Match the synonyms.

1. marvelous 2. establish 3. supplant 4. dense 5. audacity 6. embellishment 7. sumptuous 8. vast

a) replace b) huge c) decoration d) vividness e) amazing f) widespread g) close-packed h) boldness i) found j) luxurious

Task 2. Find words in the text that mean:

1. The upper part of the wall of a church, where there is a series of windows.

2. A substance used for covering walls, usually on the outside of a building, to give them a rough surface.

3. A thing that is used as a model for producing other similar examples.

4. A structure like a bridge that takes water across a valley.

5. A thick strong upright post that supports part of a building.

6. Some broken pieces of stone and brick from buildings, walls etc. that have been destroyed.

7. The long central part of a church where people can sit.

8. A curved area at one end of a church.

Task 3. Match the suitable parts of the sentences.

Roman architecture is the perfect example of … The Romans were the first builders in the history of architecture … Roman architecture spread across Christian Europe … Concrete construction proved to be … The Roman basilica was a large public building used … Roman architects perfected Roman concrete and used it in buildings … Basilicas often contained interior colonnades … Roman architecture flourished in the Roman Republic and even more so under the Empire, …

… for official ceremonies, business or legal matters, having many of the functions of the modern town hall. … innovation and experimentation in construction. … could be smoothed and faced with an attractive stucco or thin panels of marble. … when the great majority of surviving buildings were constructed. … where it could stand on its own and support a great deal of weight. … to realize the potential of domes for the creation of large and well-defined interior spaces. … that divided the space, giving aisles or arcaded spaces on one or both sides. … more flexible and less costly than building solid stone buildings. … well beyond the old frontiers of the empire.

Language activity

Task 4. Choose the correct word in the following sentences.

1. A flat roof is usually covered in roofing felt/ skin for protection against the weather.

2. Rooms in buildings are divided by interior supports/ partitions.

3. To prevent water entering the cavity of the wall, moisture barriers are used on the external surface and vapour/ insulation barriers are used on the internal surface.

4. The assemble/ structure of a building transfers all loads acting on the building to the ground.

5. The ventilation/ acoustical system provides fresh air.

6. Sound-deadening/ -barrier material is used to reduce sound passing from one room to another.

7. The foundation for a skyscraper building must be deep/ shallow.

8. A spread footing/ caisson piers is/ are used when the soil is weak.

Task 5. Match the phrases in italics in the text with the words or phrases in the box.

thermal protection, kilo for kilo stronger than steel, solar translucency, non-flammable, solar reflectance, good acoustics, low maintenance, high melting point

Tensile roof fabric is extremely fire-resistant. In case of fire, it (1) will not burst into flames. Even in a severe fire, the fabric won’t (2) melt until the temperature is very high, in fact over 650°C.

During the day, when the sun is shining, about 25% of the (3) sunlight can pass through it, but the other 75% of the sunlight is (4) reflected away from the outside of the fabric. This means that the material (5) protects the building from the heat of the sun. As a result, the need for artificial lighting and air conditioning is very low.

The roofing material is lightweight and yet (6) it has greater strength than steel relative to its weight. It can easily be formed into sound panels, which means that the (7) quality of sound is very good inside the building, which makes it suitable for concerts and gigs.

Finally, we can say that this fabric is durable, and (8) will not need to be repaired for many years.

Task 6.