Vocabulary:

1. population (n) – население

2. place of interest (n) – достопримечательность

3. outstanding (adj) – выдающийся, знаменитый

4. create (v) – создавать

5. remarkable (adj) – замечательный

6. ensemble (n) – ансамбль

7. last (v) – продолжаться

8. defence (n) – защита

9. district (n) – район

10. outskirt (n) – окраина

11. provide (v) – обеспечивать

12. conveniences (n) – удобства

Questions to the text:

1. What is the population of St.Petersburg?

2. Is St.Petersburg one of the greatest industrial centres of Russia?

3. When did the history of the city begin?

4. When was St.Petersburg founded?

5. Who was it founded by?

6. Is St.Petersburg a great centre of science and education?

7. How many higher schools are there in the city?

8. Students from different countries of the world study in St.Petersburg, don’t they?

9. Is St.Petersburg an important cultural centre?

10. How many museums and theatres are there in the city?

11. What is the city famous for?

12. Who lived and worked in St.Petersburg?

13. What did they create?

14. How many days did the heroic blockade last?

15. How many Leningraders gave their lives during the defense of the city?

16. Where are thousands of multy-storied blocks of flats built every year?

Building materials

Materials used for structural purposes are called building materials.

All building materials are divided into three groups: main building materials, secondary building materials, binding building materials. Main building materials are used for bearing structures. These are: concrete, stone, brick, timber, metal etc. Secondary building materials are used for the interior finish of the buildings. Binding materials are used for making artificial stone and joining different planes. These are gypsum, lime and cement. All building materials differ in properties such as hardness, strength, durability, fire-resistance and water-tightness. It is important that the materials should be hard, strong, durable, fire-proof and water-tight. Building materials may be natural and artificial. The examples of natural building materials are: stone, wood, sand, clay, etc. The examples of artificial building materials are: cement, concrete, reinforced concrete, brick, etc.

Vocabulary:

1. purpose (n) – цель

2. divide (v) – делить, разделять

3. bind (v) – связывать

4. bear (v) – нести

5. concrete (n) – бетон

6. brick (n) – кирпич

7. stone (n) – камень

8. timber (n) – строевой лес

9. interior (adj) – внутренний

10. finish (n) – отделка

11. artificial (adj) – искусственный

12. join (v) – соединять, присоединять

13. plane (n) – плоскость

14. gypsum (n) – гипс

15. lime (n) – известь

16. cement (n) – цемент

17. property (n) – свойство

18. hardness (n) – твердость, прочность

19. strength (n) – прочность

20. water-tightness – водонепроницаемость

21. fire-resistance – огнеупорность

Questions to the text:

1. What materials are called building materials?

2. What groups are building materials divided into?

3. What are they?

4. What main building materials do you know?

5. What are they used for?

6. What binding materials do you know?

7. What are they used for?

8. What are secondary materials used for?

9. What groups of building materials do brick, concrete, timber and metals belong to?

10. What group of building materials do lime, gypsum and cement belong to?

11. What do all building materials differ in?

12. What are the examples of artificial building materials?

13. What are the examples of natural building materials?