I. Industrial and Civil Engineering

Промышленное и гражданское Строительство

 

Текст 1

Housing

 

Houses are built of wood, brick, stone and concrete. Many new types of individual houses are made from reed slabs, rolled gypsum concrete panels or wooden sheets. A lot of houses are built of prefabricated blocks (prefabs). All the parts of such houses are produced on an industrial scale in factories and assembled on the spot. The building process takes place under the supervision of foremen and engineers. The structure is put up by bricklayers, carpenters, plasterers, plumbers, painters, locksmiths, glass-cutters, etc. In the construction of a house the first step is to make a careful survey of the site and to examine the soil in order to find its bearing power. Next, the building lines are staked out. After this, the foundations are built. The excavation is dug for the basement and then followed by the actual building of the foundation walls below ground level. Then the foundation work is finished by providing anchoring sills. That is the case of a wooden building.

In the case of a brick structure, the building of the walls may be directly proceeded with. Foundations are to keep the floors and walls from contact with the soil, to act against the action of the frost and to prevent from settlement. The part upon which the stability of the structure depends is the framework. It carries the loads which are imposed on it. To do this work properly and safely the floors, walls, roofs and other parts of the construction must be correctly designed and proportioned. The designer determines the size of the walls, the floor joists, the beams, the girders and the parts which make up the framework. He also decides how they are to be spaced and arranged.

The building of a wall consists in laying down courses of bricks and bonding them together with mortar. Walls are constructed to enclose areas and to support the weight of floors and roofs. The walls may be solid and hollow.

Besides brick, stone, concrete and other natural and artificial materials are used for the construction of walls. When doors or windows are to be made, a lintel is usually inserted in the wall above the opening. The entrance leading into the house from the street is called the front door, from the yard – the back door. The window panes are fastened in with the help of glazier's putty.

 

1. What materials are houses built of?

2. Where are the parts of houses built of prefabricated blocks produced on?

3. What are the steps in the construction of a wooden building?

4. Who supervises the building process?

5. Who puts up the building structure?

6. What are the steps in the construction of a brick structure?

7. What natural and artificial materials are used for the construction of walls?

Текст 2

The Development of the House

 

The first houses in different countries of the world were made of wood. At that time the greater part of our planet was covered with thick forests. Even in those days men found ways of using wood as a building material. In some places they tied together the tops of several trees and covered them with the hides (skins) of animals. In other places they covered them with leaves or grass.

The primitive people's first houses were tents or huts. Primitive building required no tools. The invention of tools permitted the cutting of stones and timber. Stone was the most convenient building material in countries where there was not much wood but plenty of stone.

People began to use stone widely to build their houses many centuries ago.

The column has played an important part in the history of building. Most of the building of old times was based upon the column and beam method of construction.

About 4,000 years before our era the Egyptians possessed great constructional know-how (ability). They built simple houses by present standards. They used bricks which in their most primitive form were not burned, but were hardened by being dried in the sun. Since the middle ages, brickwork has been in constant use everywhere, in every sort of construction and in every architectural style. They made flat roofs because there was very little rain in Egypt. Their buildings were simple in construction but very beautiful. We still admire their monuments, sphinxes and palaces.

Greek builders learned much from Egyptian builders. They built their houses with slanting roofs because the climate of these two countries differs greatly. Soon Greek builders became second in column making. But they added the arch, thus adding much strength and beauty to their buildings.

The use of precast concrete, a very advanced construction technique, has many advantages over other building materials. Precast building units can be assembled at the site all the year round in any weather. The precast concrete technique which is constantly being improved in our country plays a great role in our extensive building programme.

 

1. Why were the first houses in different countries of the world made of wood?

2. What were the primitive people's first houses?

3. What was the most convenient building material in countries where there was not much wood?

4. What method of construction was most of the building of old times based upon?

5. Why did Egyptians make flat roofs and Greek builders slanting roofs?

6. How did Greek builders add much strength and beauty to their buildings?

7. What are the advantages of the use of precast concrete?

 

Текст 3

Home, Sweet Home

 

It is common knowledge that there is no place like home. To the British their homes are important. They are dedicated to them; they give them a lot of time and effort, looking after their homes with much love, care and enthusiasm.

More than half of British families own their homes (houses or flats). Others live in council accommodation and some people rent from private owners.

There are three main types of houses that people live in: detached, semi-detached and terraced.

A detached house is the most expensive type of home. It stands on its own land and is not attached to another building. Such houses have privacy from neighbours, and they are ideal for keen gardeners who can devote plenty of time to work in their garden. A semi-detached house is joined the house next door by a shared wall. A house of this kind is less expensive than a detached house, but still offers a good standard of privacy and comfort. It usually has a small garden at the front and a larger garden at

the back.

A terraced house is usually two- or three-storey high. It is one of a continuous row of similar houses, joined together by their side walls. Many rows of terraced houses were originally built for workers in nearby factories or coalmines. A terraced house usually costs less than a semi-detached or detached house of similar size. There are miles of terraced houses in most towns. Over a quarter of British families live in them.

There are also other types of buildings in which people live: apartment blocks, bungalows and country cottages. Bungalows are one-storey houses which are particularly popular with older people. Apartment blocks are high-rise blocks of flats which provide accommodation for a lot of city dwellers. But these buildings are not very popular. About 20% of the populations live in flats. There are more flats in cities than in rural areas. Most people in Britain traditionally like to live in houses.

 

1. How many British families own their homes?

2. What are there three main types of houses that people live in?

3.What is the most expensive type of home?

4.What house is called a semi-detached?

5.What were terraced houses originally built for?

6. What other types of buildings are there in which people live?

7. What houses do most people in Britain traditionally like to live in?

II. Fire Safety in Building

Пожарная безопасность в строительстве

 

Текст 1

Basic Principles of Fire Protection and Design against Fire

 

Fire hazard in buildings may be divided into internal, in the building itself, and external, arising from a fire in adjoining property. The internal hazard may be sub- divided into danger to occupants of the building and damage to structure and contents.

The basic principles of fire protection may be set out under three broad headings:

- every building should be designed and constructed to reduce the risk of ignition of any part of the building and the spread of fire inside the building, or into or out of it;

- the parts of the building are required to withstand the effects of fire long enough to avoid any structural collapse that would increase the risk of fire spread;

- the safety of the occupants within the building.

The fire safety problem concerns with some fire precautions. These precautions must be considered at an early stage of the building design process. There are some essential principles of fire design:

- the building should be constructed from building materials that will not contribute to the spread of fire;

- there should be adequate provision to prevent an arson attack;

- the building should be fitted with an appropriate automatic fire-alarm system;

- all fire-protection systems should be installed by adequately trained specialists.

Fire safety engineer has two duties: to protect the lives and to safeguard property within the building.

 

1. How is fire hazard in buildings divided?

2. What are the basic principles of fire protection?

3. When must fire precautions be considered?

4. Building materials shouldn’t contribute to the spread of fire, should they?

5. What should the building be fitted with?

6. What are the duties of fire safety engineer?

Текст 2

The History of Fire Prevention and Protection Abroad

 

We don't know for sure how the use of fire was discovered. But ever since man has known fire, he has feared it too.

Historians record that in Rome in about 300 BC a band of slaves was given the task of watching for fires from a top of a hill and of warning the citizens of fire. Under Caesar Augustus the first municipal-type fire department appeared. The command structure was almost identical to that is used by fire department today.

There were 7 squads that contained from 100 to 1000 men per squad. Each man within each squad was given a particular task. Each squad had a supervising officer.

William 1 of England decreed one of the first recorded fire prevention regulations. The use of the open hearth for heating and cooking within houses created a fire danger to such an extent that he ordered all fires be extinguished at night and hearth covered.

King Richard 1 decreed that walls 16 feet high and 3 feet thick should be built between the neighbouring buildings to prevent fire spread from one building to another.

After September, 2, 1666 further changes in fire prevention regulations took place. On that day the Great Fire of London began and burned for 5 days, leaving 373 acres of ashes. Following that fire the London City Council acted to prevent similar fires. Legislation was passed that required all homes were to be rebuilt of brick or stone.

Almost before the settlement of America began, there were serious setbacks because of fire. The first permanent colony in Virginia was destroyed by fire and then in 1623 the colony in Plymouth suffered by destructive fire. Several reasons explain why fire was such a hazard in the early American colonies: building their homes the English settlers used traditional building methods and materials of rural England.

Benjamin Franklin in 1736 recommended the formation of a volunteer fire company and served as the first fire chief in America.

On October, 9, 1871 a sweeping fire destroyed most of the city of Chicago. The power of fire is a never-ending story: but the fight against fire is also a story worth telling.

 

1. What task was given to a band of slaves in Rome?

2. When did the first municipal-type fire department appear?

3. What was the command structure of fire department?

4. Who decreed one of the first fire prevention regulations?

5. How did King Richard 1 try to prevent fire spread?

6. What happened to London in 1666?

7. Why was fire such a hazard in the early American colonies?

 

Текст 3

Fire Research Work and Training of Fire Safety Engineers

 

The first fire testing station was built in 1935 at Boreham Wood to test elements of structure. This has grown into the present Fire Research Station as the result of cooperation between the government and the insurance industry. Now the station is one of the largest and best equipped in the world.

Aim of the Station is to improve methods of preventing and fighting fire. Work is divided into five sections. In the operational research and intelligence section, details of fires are coded and analyzed. The “ignition and growth of fire” section

studies the physical aspects of ignition, combustion and heat transfer.

Another section studies building materials under fire conditions to obtain basic data for the design and protection of buildings. Tests are carried out on structural elements. Results are used in advice given to architects, builders, structural engineers and local authorities on appropriate types of structure and materials. Two more sections deal with industrial fires and explosions involving gases, vapors, dusts and unstable materials not classified as explosives and the properties and methods of application of extinguishing agents – water, foam and dry powder. Tests are also conducted on such equipment as automatic sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers and automatic fire alarms.

In our country we can say we have the oldest Higher Educational centre in the world training safety engineers.

The Moscow Institute of Fire Safety has accumulated a great deal of experience in training specialists for fire protection at different levels.

There are the following faculties at the institute: the faculty of fire safety engineers on the base of the general secondary education with five years period of training; the faculty of fire safety engineers on the base of the secondary specialized education with three years period of education; the faculty of training of leading staff officers with year and a half period of training; a refresher course for fire safety engineers with one month period of education; a post graduate and doctorate courses.

About 130 professors and teachers well-known in Russia and in other countries have been working at the institute. Annually about 550 specialists in Fire Protection of the highest qualification graduate from the institute, the total number of such specialists is more than 18000.

About 2000 fire safety engineers and researchers for fire service of Bulgaria, Hungary, Viet-Nam, Germany, Guinea, Cuba, Moldavia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other countries used to study at the institute.

The Moscow Institute of Fire Safety keeps in touch with many Fire Safety Educational Establishments.

 

1. What was the aim of the first fire testing station and what is its purpose nowadays?

2. How is work organized in the operational research and intelligence section?

3. What section studies the physical aspects of ignition and combustion?

4. Who are the results important for?

5. Who does the Institute of Fire Safety train?

6. How many specialists graduate from it annually?

III. Road Engineering

Дорожное строительство

 

Текст 1

Right-of-Way

 

The zone which is marked to lay the road is called the road zone or right-of- way. The higher is the technical classification of the road, the wider is the right-of- way for its construction. The road zone includes such parts of a road as a carriageway, road shoulders, inner and outer slopes, and other parts.

The road surface strip within the limits of which motor vehicles run is called a carriageway. Usually it is reinforced by means of natural or artificial stone aggregates. These stone aggregates form the pavement.

The strips of the ground which adjoin the carriageway are called the road shoulders. The shoulders render lateral support to the pavement. In future the pavement will always be made of solid materials within the limits of the carriageway.

To lay the carriageway at the required level above the ground surface a formation or roadbed is constructed. It is constructed in the form of embankments or cuttings with side ditches for drainage and the diversion of water.

The formation includes borrow pits – shallow excavations from which the soil was used for filling the embankments. It also includes spoil banks. Spoil banks are heaps of excessive soil remaining after the excavation of cuttings.

The carriageway and shoulders are separated from the neighbouring land by slopes. The cuttings and side ditches have inner and outer slopes. The junction of the surface of the shoulders and the embankment slope is called the edge of the roadbed. The distance between the edges is called the width of the roadbed.

 

1. What is called the road zone or right-of-way?

2. What parts of a road does the road zone include?

3. What is called a carriageway?

4. Is the carriageway usually reinforced by means of natural or artificial stone aggregates?

5. What is a roadbed constructed for?

6. What is called the edge of the roadbed?

7. What is called the width of the roadbed?

Текст 2

Pavement Structural Layers

 

To ensure all-year-round operation of vehicles traffic on a road, the carriageway is covered with a pavement. The pavement is laid on the surface of the roadbed. It can be rigid or semi-rigid structure. The pavement resists traffic stresses and climatic factors.

The stresses induced in the pavement by motor vehicle wheels attenuate with the depth. This enables the pavement to be designed in the form of a multilayer structure. The pavement consists of the following layers: the surfacing, the pavement base, the sub-base and the subgrade.

1. Surfacing is the upper and most rigid layer of the pavement. It is comparatively thin, but resists well the abrasion and the impacts caused by the wheels, and also the effect of weather conditions. Usually the surfacing is the most expensive part of the pavement. Surfacing usually comprises two coats or courses – a course and a wearing course.

2. Below the surfacing base coat is the pavement base, a strong bearing layer of stony material or stone with a binding matrix. This layer is designed to distribute the individual wheel-loads over the roadbed or sub-base. The pavement base is not subjected to the direct action of automobile wheels.

3. The sub-base is a layer of earth or stone materials, resistant to moisture, inserted when necessary between the pavement base and the roadbed. The sub-base reduces the required thickness of the pavement base. The sub-base is made of gravel, slag, soil treated with binding agents, sand, etc.

4. The subgrade comprises the thoroughly compacted upper layers of the roadbed, upon which are laid the layers of the pavement.

 

1. What is the carriageway covered with a pavement for?

2. What structure can the pavement be?

3. What enables the pavement to be designed in the form of a multilayer structure?

4. How many courses does the surfacing comprise?

5. Where is the pavement base laid?

6. What is the pavement base designed for?

7. What does the subgrade comprise?

 

Текст 3

Side Ditches

 

For collecting water from the roadbed side ditches, flumes, interception ditches and drain channeling can be used. Present road construction provides side ditches parallel with the roadway. A side ditch is intended to collect the water discharged by the crown. It also collects the water from the roadside. Water from the adjoining land must be collected by the side ditch too. The side ditch discharges into a natural outlet at the first opportunity.

Side ditches in cuttings and next to embankments may be excavated to a depth of up to 0.6 m. These ditches are for the collection of water flowing off the road surface and from adjoining land during rainfall or snow thawing. The side ditch may contribute to the drainage of the subgrade because of the evaporation of moisture from the side ditch inner slopes. However, the major use of the side ditch is to permit the rapid discharge of water. When this water discharge is not ensured and ponding occurs, the side ditch becomes a source from which water may penetrate back under the road, resulting in saturation of the subgrade.

The cross-section of the ditch is either V-typed or trapezoidal. In the case of impermeable soils and in less favorable conditions of runoff the side ditches can be given a trapezoidal cross-section with a bottom width of 0.4 m and a depth of up to 0.7-0.8 m from the edge embankment. If the road must be built in dry country with a rapid surface runoff, and the occurrence of ground water is deep, the side ditches are given the shape of triangular flues of 0.3 m minimum depth. The V-typed side ditch can be easily constructed and maintained with the blade grader. The V-typed side ditch cannot be deep and, therefore, it is much safer than the trapezoidal side ditch.

 

1. What is the side ditch intended to?

2. What does the side ditch discharge into?

3. Why may the side ditch contribute to the drainage of the subgrade?

4. What is the major use of the side ditch?

5. When does the side ditch become a source from which water may penetrate back under the road, resulting in saturation of the subgrade?

6. The cross-section of the ditch is either V-typed or trapezoidal, isn’t it?

7. What machine can the side ditch be easily constructed and maintained with?

 

IV. Economy and Management

Экономика и управление Текст 1

Personnel Management

 

The most valuable asset of any business is its people. Land, buildings, goods, and equipment may dominate a balance sheet, but they do not make a business successful: people do. The best businesses are the ones that have the best people

— capable, creative, energetic people. To attract them requires both ingenuity and initiative on the part of an employer. But the payoff in productivity is worth it. Staffing your business with the best people should be one of the highest priorities.

Staffing, leading and controlling are important functions of management. The main aim of staffing is to fill and keep filled the positions in the organization structure with competent people. It also involves selecting, hiring, promoting, planning the career, compensating and training.

Many firms have a personnel department with personnel manager directly responsible for coordinating activities of the employees.

Yet, whether or not there is a personnel department, all managers are responsible for managing human resources.

 

1. What do business successful?

2. What functions of management are named?

3. What assets of a business are mentioned in the text?

4. Which of them is characterized as the most valuable? Why?

5. What does the term "to staff" mean?

6. Who is directly responsible for coordinating activities of the employees?

7. What people are responsible for personnel management in an organization?

Текст 2

Legal Forms of Business

 

Having decided to set up your own business, you should choose the legal form it will take. There are three legal forms to choose from: sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation (limited company). No one form is better than another. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The important thing is to be sure the chosen form is best for you.

Many businesses are sole proprietorships, which mean that they are owned and run by one person. Setting up a sole proprietorship is easy; it does not need many formalities. As a sole trader, a person is fully responsible for the success or failure of his / her business. Any profits go to the owner; any losses are his or her responsibility as well. If losses become greater than the investment, the owner is responsible for paying them, even if this touches all personal assets. This feature is called unlimited liability.

There is no legal difference between the owner and the business. As the business is personal to the owner, it is liquidated upon the death of the owner. Finances for a sole trader are usually limited to his or her own savings or to what can be borrowed from family or friends. Therefore sole proprietorships are usually small businesses.

When a proprietor wants to expand a business, one way to do so is to form a partnership, a business formed for profit by two or more co-owners. The rights and duties of a partnership are regulated by laws and by a legal agreement made by the partners. Usually an agreement states how much capital each partner has put up, how profits will be shared, and how the business will be run between the partners.

All partners are legally responsible for any of the firm's activities, in other words, each partner has unlimited liability, meaning that all partners are liable for the debts of the business. They share the risks and the profits or losses associated with their business.

A way to avoid the risks of unlimited liability is to form a limited partnership. In a limited partnership there are two kinds of partners – general and limited. General partners have unlimited liability for the business. The liability of limited partners is limited to the amounts of their investments.

However, in exchange for this limited liability, limited partners are usually not allowed to take an active part in the firm's management. There must be at least one general partner in such kind of partnership.

 

1. What legal forms of business are described in the text?

2. How many people can own a sole proprietorship?

3. What liability has a sole trader for his / her business?

4. How can a person raise funds for setting up a new business?

5. What kind of business is partnership?

6. What is the liability of partners for running a usual partnership?

7. What kinds of partners are there in a limited partnership?

 

Текст 3

Pricing, Promotion, Distribution

 

Marketing management is an important function of a business. The marketing manager is responsible for the totality of a company's market offering - the range of products and their packaging, the prices charged, the discounts offered, the communications media employed (television, press, personal salesmen, direct mail, etc.), and the channels through which the product or service is delivered to the customer (retailers, mail order, automatic vending, etc.). The activity of the marketing manager determines whether or not the company meets its financial objectives. The sale of products or services is normally the sole income generator in a company while most remaining personnel solely incur costs.

Hence, marketing management must maintain continuous contact with those colleagues in the company who are responsible for manufacturing the products or providing the service for sale, and with those financial colleagues who are responsible for controlling budgets, raising capital and distributing profits.

 

1. What is an important function of a business?

2. What is the range of duties of a marketing manager?

3. What determines the activity of the marketing manager?

4. Why is his/her activity vital for the company's financial standing?

5. What interdepartmental contacts are important for marketing managers?

6. What are financial managers responsible for?

7. Which channels are products or services delivered to the customer through?