listen, read and talk about: 1 страница

Module 3

Building a House

In this module you will

listen, read and talk about:

· activities on a construction site

· building equipment

· types of prefabricated buildings

· assembly sequence of a prefabricated building

· modern technologies of construction

learn how to:

· describe site work

· compare buildings according to their size, appearance and facilities

· write a report

· make up a summary

· describe process

practise:

· active and passive voice in different tenses

· degrees of comparison/ comparative and superlative adjectives

· “-ing” forms (Gerund, Participle I, verbal noun)

	Unit 7

On a Construction Site

		Unit 8

Prefabricated buildings

	Unit 9

New Technologies in Construction

Unit 7

On a construction site!

Lead in

Have you ever worked on aconstruction site? If yes, what did you do? What were your responsibilities? If not, what can students usually do during their practical work on the construction site?

Useful language

I worked as a… I dealt with… I was involved into… I was responsible for…

… plasterer/ bricklayer/ (house)painter/ carpenter/ paper- hanger / general worker/ loader, etc. … putting (pipes, bricks, windows and doors…) in place … digging (trenches, …) … assembling (wooden frames, …)

What equipment did you use or see on the construction site?

Activity 1

Look at the photos. Which photo shows…?

a.

a truck-mounted caterpillar front-end loader

b.

utility conduits

c. drainage piping

d. a backhoe

e. a power saw

f. a hammer

g. a construction

site

h. a truck

		Activity 2

You are going to read an extract from the novel

“The Stars Shine Down” written by the world’s master storyteller Sidney Sheldon. Lara, the main character of this book, deals with real estate investment. In this extract she is watching her first building being constructed.

1. Before reading match the words to their Russian equivalents:

gridiron	ось
hub	земляные работы
trench	трубопровод, кабелепровод
grading	решетка
utility conduit	котлован, траншея

2. Read the extract and choose the best answer to the following questions (find proofs in the text).

1. What is Lara’s occupation?

a) a builder

b) a contractor

c) a building owner

d) an architect

2. How would you describe Lara’s emotional state? Why?

a) indifferent

b) excited

c) bored

d) enthusiastic

“Watching the new building going up was the most exciting thing Lara had ever experienced. She was there every day. “I want to learn”, she told Charles Cohn. “This is just the beginning for me. I’m going to put up a hundred buildings.”

Cohn wondered whether Lara really knew what she was getting into.

The first men to set foot on the project site were members of the survey team. They established the legal geometric borders of the property and drove hubs into the ground at each corner, every hub painted with a fluorescent color for easy identification. The survey work was finished in two days, and early the following morning, heavy earthmoving equipment – truck-mounted Caterpillar front-end loader– arrived at the site.

Lara was there, waiting. “What happens now?” she asked Buzz Steele.

“We clear and grub. ”

Lara looked at him. “What does that mean?”

“The caterpillar is going to dig up tree stumps and do some rough grading.”

The next piece of equipment that came in was abackhoe to dig the trenches for its foundations, utility conduits, and drainage piping.

By now the boarders at the house had all heard what was happening, and it became the main topic of conversation at breakfast and supper. They

were all cheering for Lara.

“What happens next?” they would ask.

She was becoming an expert. “This morning they put the underground piping in place. Tomorrow they start to put in the wood and concrete formwork, so they can wire-tie the steel bars into the skeletal gridiron.” She grinned. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Pouring the concrete was the next step, and when the concrete foundation was cured, large truckloads of lumber rolled in, and crews of carpenters began to assemble the wooden frames. The noise was horrendous, but to Lara it was music. The place was filled with the sounds of rhythmic hammers and whining power saws. After two weeks the wall panels, punctuated with window and door openings, were stood upright as if the building had suddenly been inflated.

To passerby, the building was a maze of wood and steel, but to Lara it was

something else. It was her dream come to life. Every morning and every evening she went downtown and stared at what was being built. I own this, Lara thought. This belongs to me.

Learning strategy

Studying the context of unknown words can help you guess their meanings

3. Explain the words in bold.

4. Now find the appropriate word or expression in the extract corresponding to following phrases. Translate the found expression into Russian.

1. A group of people who have been chosen to work together to measure and record the details of an area of land (lines 1-10).

2. All the special tools, machines etc that you need for grading (lines 5-10).

3. A system of pipes used to carry waste water away from buildings (lines 15-20).

4. To fasten two or more things together and hold them in a particular position using wire (20-25).

5. Reinforcement/ armature rods (metal sticks) (lines 20-25).

Do you know?

5. a) Complete these words by adding the vowels.

1. C_t_rp_ll_r

2. B_ckh_ _

3. Gr_d_r_n

4. Tr_ckl_ _d

5. L_mb_r*

6. H_mm_r

7. S_w

8. C_nd_ _t

9. Pl_mb_r

10. T_mb_r**

* пиломатериал; заготавливать лесной материал

** строевой лес, лесоматериал, пиломатериал; строить из лесных материалов, плотничать

Types of conduits
There are many types of materials used for making conduits, including aluminum, clay and concrete. The type of conduit you use will depend on the type of material or substance you need to house. Although conduits can be devised of various materials, more and more they are being made of plastic. Plastic conduits are lighter, less expensive and easier to use. Still, when you need to ensure protection from electrical interference, metallic conduit is probably best.

b) Now complete the following sentences using some of the words above:

1. __________ are skilled craftsmen who install, repair, and alter pipe systems which carry gases, water and other liquids required for sanitation, industrial production, and other uses.
2. A _________ is used to let something pass, be it liquid, gas or wiring.
3. On a construction site it is necessary to use different _________ construction vehicles, including the track - type tractor, excavator, and others.
4. Galvanized (оцинкованный) steel ________ are used for transporting water, gas and other liquid.
5. _________ is used for driving nails (гвозди), beating metals, and the like, consisting of a head, usually of steel or iron, fixed crosswise to a handle.
6. An instrument for cutting or dividing substances, as wood, iron, etc., consisting of a thin blade, or plate, of steel, with a series of sharp teeth on the edge, which remove successive portions of the material by cutting and tearing - _________.

Activity 3

Pronunciation

Put the words below in the correct column of the table according to their word stress:

Drainage, utility, conduit, backhoe, hammer, truckload, caterpillar, loader, construction, contractor, gridiron, assemble, equipment, survey, excavate, sanitary, erect, wire-tie.

●●●●	●●●	●●●●	●●●	●●	●●
				drainage

Activity 4

1. Read the extract again and complete this flow diagram:

Site workers Activities Result/reason

Fixing of floor joists, roof timbers, doors, windows, etc.

- to assemble the wooden frames

Excavating the ground.

Making the site ready for …

2. Compare your diagrams in pairs.

Activity 5

Discuss the following questions.

1. In the extract from the “The Stars Shine Down” the author describes the process of building a house in the USA in 1980s.

Is this description similar to the process of construction in Russia nowadays?

Do we use the same equipment? Is the sequence of construction stages the same or different? In what way?

How long does it take to put up a building?

2. Have you ever watched a building being constructed?

Lara is very enthusiastic to be involved in the construction activities: “Every morning and every evening she went downtown and stared at what was being built. I own this, Lara thought. This belongs to me.” Do you agree that the process of turning design into reality is really exciting? Why?

	Activity 6 Grammar review Passive Voice

Learning strategy

By paying attention to a number of examples you can come to conclusions about rules

When describing phases of construction passive forms are widely used.

Examples: 1…when the concrete foundation was cured, large truckloads of lumber rolled in …

2. After two weeks the wall panels, punctuated with window and door openings, were stood upright as if the building had suddenly been inflated.

1. Study the table and fill in the missing active or passive forms:

	active	passive
Present simple	The caterpillar does rough grading.	Rough grading is done (by the caterpillar).
Present continuous	The caterpillar is doing rough grading.	Rough grading is being done.
Past simple	The caterpillar did rough grading.	Rough grading was done.
Past continuous	The caterpillar was doing rough grading.	Rough grading .…………… ……………………..
Present perfect simple	The caterpillar ……… ……. rough grading.	Rough grading has been done.
Past perfect simple	The caterpillar had done rough grading.	Rough grading ……… ……….
Future simple	The caterpillar will do rough grading.	Rough grading will be done.
Future perfect simple	The caterpillar … … ………… rough grading.	Rough grading will have been done.
Infinitive	The caterpillar has to do rough grading.	Rough grading has to be done.
Modals	The caterpillar should do rough grading.	Rough grading …………….. …………….

2. Complete the sentences choosing the correct form of the verb:

1. A wealth of opportunities ………by the civil Engineering profession.

a) are provided b) has been provided c) is provided

2. The Institution of Civil Engineers ………by eight young men in a fleet Street coffee house in 1818.

a) established b) had been established c) was established

3. – “The noise is horrendous! What is happening over there?”

– “Oh! The piles ………

a) are driven b) are being driven c) have been driven

4. On Wednesday morning next week the building ………

a) was decorated b) will be decorated c) is being decorated

5. After the legal geometric boarders ………, the hubs were driven into the ground.

a) were established b) were being established c) had been established

6. Corner units ……… by workers.

a) are just erected b) had been just erected c) have been just erected

7. Yesterday while the steel frame ………, the wall planks and floor units were fixed.

a) was being fixed b) was fixing c) had been fixed

8. By the end of the next month the site works ……….

a) will be completed b) is being completed c) will have been completed

3. You are going to read a civil engineering magazine interview with a professor of architecture, Aston University, UK, about the causes of a building collapse. Before reading match the following words to their Russian equivalents:

1. tensile strength 2. beam 3. high alumina cement 4. roof support 5. tensile deformation

a) деформация растяжения b) стропила, поддерживающие крышу c) высокоглиноземистый цемент d) балка, брус e) прочность на растяжение; сопротивление растяжению

4. Now read the dialogue and put the verbs in brackets into the correct active or passive form.

Interviewer: Professor, why do buildings sometimes fall down?

Professor: Basically, a building 1) …………… (collapse) because of some kind of structural failure.

Interviewer: And what is the cause of such structural failure?

Professor: Well, there are many causes of structural failure, but they all generally can 2) …………… (divide) into two categories. The first category can 3) …… ……… (define) as faults in design.

Do you know?

Interviewer: You mean these faults 4) …………… (cause) by architects?

Building collapse in St. Petersburg was caused by "construction defect"

The building collapse in St. Petersburg was caused by foundation problems, Russian Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu told journalists. It appears that a number of blocks were missing from the foundation, which was 40 centimetres shorter than it should have been. Most probably, that was a "construction defect," as the minister put it. Besides, the soil and the hydrogeological situation have changed since the year 1971 when the building was erected, and that, too, could have affected the foundation, said Shoigu. Until 1969, there was a water channel here called Seldyanoi, but it was filled up with earth before the construction began.

Professor: I’m afraid so, yes. Architects who 5) …………… (not / do) their jobs carefully enough, or builders who 6) …………… (not / carry out) the architect’s instructions properly. Whatever the cause, the effect is the same: a building or a bridge or some other such structure may 7) …………… (collapse and cause) death or injury.

Interviewer: Can you give me an example of what you mean?

Professor: Yes, let’s take reinforced concrete as an example. As you know, this is concrete which 8) …………… (strengthen) by bars of steel. But if a reinforced concrete beam does not contain enough steel, its tensile strength may be affected.

Interviewer: And what 9) …………… (happen) next?

Professor: Well, if the beam is subjected to a heavy load, a failure in tensile strength may 10) …………… (result) in the collapse of the beam.

Interviewer: I’ve been reading recently about the dangers of high alumina cement.

What causes of building collapses do you know?

Can you give any examples of accidents in construction?

Professor: Ah yes, that’s another good example – high alumina cement. This type of cement 11) …………… (originally / use) because it was much lighter but appeared to be very strong.

Interviewer: And isn’t it?

Professor: Usually, yes. But under certain conditions a weakness can develop. This weakness 12) …………… (cause) by a chemical reaction in the cement itself.

Interviewer: And that can be dangerous…

Professor: Well naturally, because any weakness in the cement directly 13) …………… (affect) the strength of the roof support or wall that is built from it.

Activity 7

Lara is going to sell her new building to a businessman. She has to inform him what stage the building is at and what site work has been done. Make up their conversation. Ask all possible questions both active and passive. (Use the flow diagram from Activity 3 and the table below). Then act out their conversation.

	Active	Passive
Special questions	What work has the survey team done?	What work has been done by the survey team?
Answers	The survey team has establish the legal geometric borders of the property and to drive	The site has been prepared for excavating.
General questions	Have machine-drivers dug up tree stumps?	………………………….. ………………………….?
Answers	…………………………………….. ……………………………………..	Tree stumps have been dug up.
	…………………………………….?	…………………………..?

	Activity 8

Learning strategy

Role-play helps you prepare for a real-world experience.

1. Role play

You are working on the project of building a new trade centre. Choose the role and act out the conversation.

Chief Engineer:

You are inspecting the work on the construction site to find out whether the work is going according to the schedule. Ask the foreman what site work has been done.

Foreman:

You have to report to the chief engineer about the progress on the construction site. Describe the situation using the following schedule of the work performance. It is week 30 and you have to be finishing the work. However, due to some reasons you are behind the schedule.

Schedule of the work performance

Survey team
Machine drivers
Steel erectors
Concrete workers
Plumbers
Carpenters

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

---

Дата добавления: 2015-09-29