Test Paper

Translate the sentences from English into Russian.

Variant I

1. The purpose of my study is to write my scientific work.

2. He was busy with his scientific work.

3. Regular work in our National library helps me very much in writing this article for the conference,

4. For centuries people had been founding the ways to make their houses more comfortable.

5. Our structural engineers ensured their design satisfied building codes.

Variant II

1. Our science has reached a high stage of development and now does great wonders.

2. Pyramidal piles are a well-known design of piles used in building.

3. If you know theory well, you will have possibility to organize the practical work.

4. For years engineers have accumulated experience of improving structural elements in building industry.

5. By the first of December she will have been working as a chief executive for ten years.

Word Study

1. Study your active vocabulary.

to design – проектировать

an employer – работодатель

sewerage – канализационная система

demolition – снос

to overlap – частично совпадать

calculus – исчисление

to worship – поклоняться

to shelter – приютить

to promote – содействовать

shelter – кров

a staircase – лестничный пролет

a cellar – подвальный этаж

to worship – поклоняться

a skyscraper – небоскреб

сivil engineering – гражданское строительство

to maintenance – обеспечивать техническое обслуживание

iron-poor glass – стекло с низким содержанием железа

sun-protection shields – солнцезащитные экраны

«thawing in air» – «растворение в воздухе»

tower lobby – вестибюль здания

silvery birches growing among a moss – серебристые березки среди мха

internal stairways – внутренние лестничные пролеты

2. Read these international words and try to guess their meaning.

Lecture, element, role, process, irrigation, discipline, structure, geotechnical, materials, client, symbol, civilization.

3. Match the phrases:

1) to raise a) from one floor to another

2) to climb b) the project

3) to divide into c) staying

4) to supervise d) several parts

5) to feel like e) networks

6) complicated f) our children

7) to give g) problems

8) environmental h) security

4. Fill in the blanks:

1. We ______ mostly for shelter.

2. The biggest churches of all, cathedrals,____ even bigger than most castles.

3. By putting a window in a wall, with or without glass, we ______ light inside the building.

4. Big buildings ______ power.

5. To work in civil engineering _____ training.

6. Construction workers ________ at a center and 'on the job' (training while doing the job).

7. Civil engineering often _______ with architecture (let, requires, are, symbolize, will train, overlaps, build).

Reading Practice Text 1

1. Read the text to yourself and try to understand what it is about.

2. While reading the text find the sentences where the Present Indefinite Active is used.

BUILDING

Building is one of the most ancient human skills. It is part of how we have survived and it is the clearest symbol of every civilization. Although some other animals build simple structures, e.g. birds, ants and bees, humans have learned to build in a great many different ways, to suit different needs and local conditions. We build mostly for shelter. Buildings can shelter people, or animals, or machinery, or anything. The simplest building is just a roof, to keep the space beneath dry, or shady. Adding walls gives more shelter, from the wind or rain. It also gives security.

By putting a window in a wall, with or without glass, we let light inside the building. We leave a hole somewhere big enough to go in and out, with a door which can be opened and closed. Often the door will have a lock, so the building can be left secure. If a building is to last for a long time, it must have a foundation. This is like the root of a tree, which is sunk in the ground and supports the walls. If the ground is soft, the foundation must be very deep and strong.

If a building is high enough, it can have more than one floor. People can climb from one floor to the next by a staircase, or perhaps by a lift or elevator. This is known as going upstairs, or downstairs. Buildings can also have a floor under the ground. This is usually called a cellar or basement.

So we build shelters: places to live and to raise our young. We also build places to work and to make things, places to store things, places to sell things, places where sick people can go to be treated, places to put people who break our laws. We build to make life easier, or to make money.

But we also design some buildings for a very different reason. We build churches where a large number of people can gather to worship god or listen to what other people have to say. Until we began to build skyscrapers, churches were always the very largest, tallest buildings of all, except for castles. The biggest churches of all, cathedrals, are even bigger than most castles.

Big buildings have always symbolised power. They are built to impress and to give a focus to our cities. They are designed to make us feel small and to make those who own them appear big. Banks and governments like to build tall, impressive buildings for the same reason.

Buildings can be beautiful or ugly, exciting or boring. Architects are people trained to design buildings. There have been many good architects and also many bad ones, just as there have been good builders and bad. Architecture can be an art form. Look at the building where you are reading this. Look at the shapes and shadows. Is there enough light? Do some rooms make you feel like staying in them, while others make you want to hurry away? Do they have interesting features? Think about how you could have made the building better. Almost anybody can become an architect if they want to badly enough, but only a good architect or a good builder can make a beautiful building.