Text 12 History of building materials

Words and word-combinations to be remembered:

to erect – зводити

to be intended for – призначатися

durable – довгочасний, міцний, надійний

fire proof – вогнетривкий

heat conductivity – теплопровідність

binder – в’яжуча речовина

portland cement – портланд цемент

improvement – вдосконалення

compressive strength – робота на тиск

Read and translate the text:

History of building materials

All the buildings erected nowadays are of two main types: they are intended either for housing or industrial purposes.

The main building materials are timber, stone (brick), concrete, steel, light metals, glass and plastics. Timber was one of the first materials to be used by man for constructional purposes. It is highly probable that it will be one of the last. Timber is unique among the materials of construction. It will be available when the earth's capital deposits of iron, coal, clay and the rest have been consumed.

The buildings made of stone or brick are durable and fireproof, they have poor heat conductivity.

Concrete made with natural hydraulic binders was used in antiquity, particularly by the Romans. After the decline of the Roman Empire the art of making concrete has been forgotten, and the revival came much later.

Portland cement was produced more than a century ago. From the time of its first production there was a steady and gradual improvement in its compressive strength.

Reinforced concrete is hardly 100 years old, but its practical application in building began only 90 years ago. Today reinforced concrete is used in all civilized countries as one of the most important building materials. One of the essential properties of concrete is its compressive strength.

Exercise 1.

What’s the English for:

зводити в’яжуча речовина

призначатися портланд цемент

довгочасний, міцний вдосконалення

вогнетривкий робота на стиск

теплопровідність

Exercise 2.

Answer the questions in English:

1. What are building intended for?

2. What are the main building materials?

3. When was Portland cement produced?

4. When was concrete first used?

5. What are the earth’s capital deposits?

Exercise 3.

Complete the following sentences according to the text:

1. All the buildings are intended … .

2. The main building materials are … .

3. … was one of the first materials to be used for construction.

4. The buildings made of … are durable and fireproof.

5. Concrete made with … was used in antiquity.

6. … was produced more than a century ago.

7. The practical application of … began only 90 years ago.

8. One of the essential properties of concrete is … .

Exercise 4.

Translate into Ukrainian paying attention to the word “one”:

1. To determine the density of a body one must know its mass and its volume.

2. Ductile materials have greater strength than brittle ones.

3. Copper is one of the metals used in the prehistoric times.

Exercise 5.

Use the following sentences in all forms and tenses adding suitable adverbial modifiers where necessary:

1. People employ glass for many purposes.

2. Iron is widely used as a building material.