.


:




:

































 

 

 

 


From the history of human dwellings




Where did primitive people look for protection?

1. Most of the time of a modern man is spent within the walls of some building. Houses are built for dwelling; large buildings are constructed for industrial purposes; theatres, museums, public and scientific institutions are built for cultural activities of the people. The purpose of modern buildings differ widely, but all of them originate from the efforts of primitive () men to protect themselves from stormy weather, wild animals and human enemies.

Protection was looked for everywhere. In prehistoric times men looked for protection under the branches of trees; some covered themselves with skins of animals to protect themselves from cold and rain; others settled in caves ().

 

What are the earliest types of human dwellings?

2. When the Ice Age had passed, Europe remained very cold, at least in winter, and so the people of the Old Stone Age had to find some warm and dry place to shelter from bad weather. They chose caves, dwelling places that storm and cold could not destroy. On the walls of their caves ancient people painted pictures. Such decorated caves are found in Europe, Asia and Africa.

When man began to build a home for himself, caves were imitated in stone structures, trees were taken as a model for huts built of branches, skins were raised on poles and formed tents.

Primitive stone structures, huts and tents are the earliest types of human dwellings, they are lost in the prehistoric past but serve as prototypes for structures of later historic times.

Why were the houses in town higher than in the country?

3. In the days of early civilization, once men had learnt how to build simple houses for their families, they began to feel a need to have a number of different kinds of houses in one place. At first the difference was mainly in size the chief or leader had a larger hut or tent than the rest of the people. Much later, when men began to build towns, there grew up a difference between town houses and country houses. The streets in towns were very narrow and there was not much place for building within the town walls, and therefore houses had to be built higher than they were in the country. A typical town house consisted of a shop opening on the street where the man did his work or sold his goods, with a kitchen behind and a bedroom above.

 

What were the houses in ancient Egypt built of?

4. In the country ordinary people lived in simple one-storey cottages which did not differ much from the mud and stone huts of an earlier age.

The rich people in the country, on the other hand, built huge castles () with thick walls and narrow windows. These castles were built not only as dwellings, but also to stand up to enemy attack and to be strong bases in time of war. The earliest houses of which anything is known are those of ancient Egypt. They were built of bricks dried in the sun. Some of them were built around a courtyard or garden with rooms opening into it.

 

How did the light come into early English houses?

5. Greek houses, too, had a courtyard in the middle and round their courtyard ran a covered walk (), its ceiling supported by pillars. There were special women's quarters, usually upstairs on the second storey.

In Rome bricks were used for building and houses were often finished with plaster over bricks on both inside and outside walls. The centre of family life was a garden-courtyard, surrounded by columns and with rooms opening out into it.

The earliest houses in Britain were round, built of wood or wicker basket work ( ) plastered over with clay. In the centre of the house was the hearth () and light came in through the hole in the roof above it and through the door because there were no windows.

Text 4

EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS

 

Architecture is the art which makes buildings beautiful to look at as well as useful. A man who designs () buildings and makes the plans for them is called an architect. He has to think not only of what he wants the building to look like when it is finished, but also what it is to be used for. He must not forget the sort of material to be used in the building. This may be stone, brick, wood or steel and concrete.

There have been many different styles or kinds of architecture in the past and there are many different styles today in different parts of the world.

The oldest monuments which are met within architecture are the colossal pyramids of Egypt most of which were constructed about 6,000 years ago.

The pyramids are large triangular () buildings which were placed over the tombs () of Egyptian kings. The best known of the pyramids are a group of three built at Giza south of Cairo. The largest of these is 482 feet high. They tell us of the advanced civilization of ancient Egypt which is much spoken about even in our days.

It was a country which had expert mathematicians and engineers, where astronomy and philosophy were known and studied.

The country was rich in hard and durable () stone, but poor in timber and metal, so that the main material used for construction was granite, and this was the reason for the durability of the pyramids.

Large blocks of stone were transported over long distances by land and water, and placed into position with the help of the most primitive equipment. That was done by slaves () working for thirty or forty years. All this great amount of work was done, masses of material and a large territory sometimes of about 52,000 square meters were used, only for protecting the body of a dead king and constructing a dwelling place for his happy life in the "other world".

 

 

Text 5

 

 

AN HONOURABLE PROFESSION (I)

 

In our country housing construction is being carried out on a large scale. Hundreds of factories producing prefab panels. are being constantly built. The successful fulfilment of housing plans in our country is a practicable realization of the industrialized building methods and the development of a large quantity of prefab ferroconcrete panels and parts. The work of a builder is no longer backbreaking and complicated.

Builders, as we know, assemble a house from prefabricated units which are delivered to the construction site. A welder then welds the units to hold them in place. A great variety of materials are nowadays used by builders. Students of building institutes study the existing materials. When they become full-fledged builders they develop new building materials and building methods.

A qualified building worker must now be able to read a technical drawing, he must know the scale and the specifications. If you want to contribute to the beauty of a town or city, if you want to leave a memory of yourself in the history of that town or city, come to a construction site and learn the trade of a builder. And be sure to enter a Civil Engineering Institute.

 

I. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following sentences:

1. . 2. . 3. . 4. .

 

II. In the blanks below insert the proper preposition:

1. The building profession attracts many numbers... young men and women. 2. Builders construct residential and industrial buildings, palaces... culture, etc. 3. Hundreds... dams, reservoirs, pump stations have been erected... our hydrotechnicians.

 

III. Open the brackets and use the proper tense:

1. The building profession (to attract) many numbers of young people. 2. It (to be) an honourable profession. 3. The person (to enter) this profession must (to have) a scientific attitude, imagination, initiative and good judgement. 4. A sanitary engineer (to protect) the quality of water by treating and purifying this water when it (to be) used for domestic purposes. 5. An architect (to be) a person who (to design) buildings,

 

 

AN HONOURABLE PROFESSION (II)

 

The building profession attracts many numbers of young men and women nowadays. It is an honourable1 profession.

Builders construct and reconstruct residential and industrial buildings, bridges, schools, palaces of culture, museums, theatres, kindergartens and hospitals. They build tunnels, canals2, power stations, dams and reservoirs. They also construct aqueducts to store and transport water for populated areas and to irrigate desert lands. The distribution of water in irrigated areas is based on annual plans. Very many irrigation systems have been built and are being built and modernized. Hundreds of dams, reservoirs, locks, pumping stations have been erected on the rivers of our country by our hydrotechnicians.

The person entering this honourable profession must have a scientific attitude3, imagination, initiative and good judgement, obtained by experience and serious work.

Civil engineers and architects have a common aim to provide people with all modern conveniences, such as running water, gas, electricity, central heating. While a sanitary engineer protects the quality of water by treating4 and purifying5 this water when it is used for domestic6 purposes, an architect is a person who designs buildings. An architect must receive a great deal of scientific training connected with his profession. He must know mathematics, as well as many facts concerning materials for example what loads different materials may safely carry so that there will be no danger of his building falling down. Architects must need some knowledge of sculpture, painting, design, mechanical engineering, geography, city planning, etc. The structure an architect creates should give us pleasure, a sense of beauty.

Notes

1. honourable

2. canal (); channel , , : The Belomor Canal, constructed in 1933, joined Leningrad and the White Sea. The English Channel separates the United Kingdom from the mainland on the south.

3. attitude , : I don't like his attitude towards his work.

4. to treat : In order to make this water drinkable it has to be treated with special chemicals.

5. to purify (): The water used for reinforced concrete must be purified of organic matter.

6. domestic , : Nowadays gas cookers are widely used for domestic purposes.





:


: 2016-11-24; !; : 1897 |


:

:

, - , ; , - .
==> ...

761 - | 770 -


© 2015-2024 lektsii.org - -

: 0.02 .