Chapter 1: Being a Civil Engineer
Unit 1: What is Civil Engineering?
Activate your knowledge
Discuss with your friends
- What is civil engineering?
- What does a civil engineer do?
1. Watch video 1.1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB3J01lr9j4)
What does the video mean? Discuss with your friends
2. Watch video 1.2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tekbOIQiU8E), and do
these:
1. Write what you see on a piece of paper!
2. Compare your notes with the results of your discussion!
3. Watch the video 1.2 again to answer these questions by choosing the
appropriate options.
1. What is civil engineering?
a. It is dealing with pyramids, mosques, churches, and great walls.
b. It is about building, constructing, structuring, and drawing.
c. It concerns with designing, developing, creating, and innovating.
2. What is not included into the world wonders built before the new evolution in
concrete technology ?
a. Great wall
b. Tunnel
c. Taj Mahal
3. What is the biggest project in 20th century?
a. The tallest tower in the world
b. Hoover dam
c. Subways
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4. What do civil engineers do nowadays?
a. They build railway station.
b. They build airports.
c. They improve transportation.
5. How do civil engineers do their job?
a. By working hard
b. By doing alone
c. By working in a team
4. Discuss these pictures with your friends!
1. What are they?
2. Where are they?
3. What are their functions?
Study through Polban e-learning
5. Do the exercises provided in Polban e-learning Chapter 1 Unit 1. You may do them
with your friends.
6. Watch video 1.3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJaRjI7K-Lw) and
complete the text using the words you hear from the video. You may replay the
video when necessary.
What Do Civil Engineers Do?
is
Civil Engineering ____________ is
everywhere. It ____ ________ with road,
help
clean water, and everything around you. Civil engineers ____________to improve
're ________
the life of millions of people everyday. We ____ going meet
to ____________ three
look
civil engineers and ____________ are
at some of the real ways that they ____
helping communities.
________
2
is
America’s water way system _____ home to entire ecosystem the animals
live
that ________ is
in the water. James Wanaburg ____ working to ____________
________ create a
is
healthy habitats in ecosystem in Washington DC PotomacRiver. He________ a
resident engineer for the Blue Plain Channel part of the DC clean rivers project. This
tunnel project ___ using
is ________ the massive drill that is almost 30 feet high in over 400
feet long.
is there for DC water working on the clean river project. This project
He ________
is
________ intended to eliminate sewer overflows into the DC waterways which
ultimately go down to the Chesapeak bay. He ____
________ is working in the deep tunnel
________
is
calledBlue Plain Tunnel. The tunnel main machines ________ 26 feet diameters.
it's a
Civil engineering ________ fantastic profession. It ___ deals
is ________ with engineering
is infrastructure on the surface. People
all over the world around us. There____
see
________ use
and ________ everyday like road ways, bridges, and think about nature.
is
In my view, working in the ground site ________the best part as civil engineers. It
is
________ so much fun. He had
____an interst big project. I ________
________in love to be part of
is a
great mission. It ________ is
humble work, and he ____ excited to do this. He
________
wait
cannot ________ see
to ________ the end result about hard work.
is
Maggie Jack ________ went
civil engineer who ________ help
to Haiti to ________
restore clean drinking water.
and________
did
Maggie’s professor ________ presentation on his trip to Haiti and
found there and ________ that the biggest problem ________
he________ was drinking
was not have clean water to drink and thousands of people
water. The people________
are ________
_____ dying was ________
each year, so he ____ trying to get civil engineering students
traveled to Haiti. For the first time she________
to travel there. In 2011, Maggie________ went to
a town and there ________ saw
was a big clinic there and she ________that all the colored
was ________
tends still stood up. The system ____ damaged by 2010 earthquake and it _____
was
broken
________ was
in a few places but the water ________ relatively clean. So she together
did
with her friends ________ was
a few repairs. The people________ so grateful because
was
of these she and her friends ________ gave them hope.
there, and________
opened
Herexperience in Haiti really ________her eyes to many possibilities that a civil
to
engineer ________ help
________.
3
is is
Earen White________ a civil engineer who ________ in charge of designing
the hurricane proof protectable roof in the Marlins Park in Florida.
is
This ________ is
the first roof in the world that ________ designed for
designed
weighted 7800 tons of steel and it ________________
hurricane proof. It roughly ________
is
to let the wind into the space and then back out. This ________ to decrease the
is
pressure on the roof. Almost anytime there________ short rain storm during a
game. The games often ________ rain delaysbecause Miami ________ rains every
can
day during the summer.So, this building ________ guarantee that the game
going to________
________ happen every night.
is is
The microsystem ________ very efficient and it ________ designed so that it
cost
________only nearly 10 dollars of electricity to move the roof open and close and
have
they ________the is a rain storm.
ability to close the roof very quickly if there ________
calculate the fly of batted ball from all different angles if the ball
He________
is
________leaving is
bat. There________a would
double plain field that ________ never come
are
in contact with the batted ball. He and his friends________ really interact with a lot
of people.
is
Civil engineers ________ are
a cool job. They ________ creative and innovative
are
people. They ________ make
an impact in changes lives. They ________ our world a
want
better place. The bottom line, if you ________ make
an amazing career that ________ a
difference then do something real. Be civil engineer!
Language focus
7. Study these:
Civil engineers help the communities. simple present
James is working to create healthy habitats. present continous
Maggie went to Haiti. simple past
You are going to be a civil engineer. simple future
I will work harder than before.
simple future
8. Answer these questions:
1. Do you remember the four main tenses in English? yes
2. What are they? simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous
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3. When do you use the tenses of those underlined verbs?
9. Match the tenses to their uses and examples.
Tenses General use Example
Present simple tense
2 c
Present progressive tense
7 a
Present perfect tense
9 b
Past simple tense
8 f
Past progressive tense
6 i
Past perfect tense
3 d
Future simple
1 g
Future ‘will’
5 h
Future ‘going to’
4 e
General use:
1. For expressing intention or announce a decision
2. For routines, habits, or things that are always true
3. For something that happened before a certain point in time in the past
4. For future actions and events already planned
5. For expressing future meaning in subordinate clauses
6. For an action in progress at a specific moment in the past
7. For unfinished action
8. For something that finished in the past, usually a past time phrase
9. For a situation where things that happened in the past have a result in the
present. It often goes with just, not yet, for, since, ever, never, first time,
second time, this week, and so far
Example:
a. You are studying English at polytechnic.
b. He has just finished his lunch.
c. He takes the subway to work every day.
d. She had finished the report when the power went out.
e. They are going to attend the conference this year.
f. She took several tests last July.
g. “OK, I will accept your offer.”
h. The moment he arrives, we will leave for the airport.
i. She was studying at senior high school last year when her brother was ill.
10. Complete the sentences to retell what you see in video 1.2. Use the words in the
box correctly, some words are used more than once.
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need, come, will, dream, have, deal, make, be, construct, look, say, build,
improve, care, provide, stand, find, work
Civil engineers are (1) dealing with design, development, creation, and
innovation. They(2)___________ from long time ago and (3)___________
wonders.They (4)___________ Giza Pyramids, Great Wall of China, Colosseum, and
Taj Mahal.
Civil engineers (5)___________ from long distance and (6)___________
together, as a result they (7)___________ Hoover Dam. They(8)___________
(9)___________ transportation systems, highway, fly over, and railways. They
(10)___________ (11)___________ constructed an airport in sea, Kansai Airport.
After the attack of 11 Sept, they (12)___________ stronger, taller, and bigger
buildings, Burj Dubai, and Palm City. They (13)___________ more reservoirs and
(14)___________ drinkable water to those who really (15)___________.
Civil Engineering is the mother of all engineering branches. They
(16)___________ against the storm, they (17)___________ solution together.
People (18)___________, civil engineers (19)___________ and (20)___________
their dream (21)___________ true. They (22)___________ of nature by creating
said
Eco-friendly structures. They (23)___________ make
impossible but we (24)___________
be
it possible. Without us earth will(25)___________ like blind.
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11. Read the text about “What is Civil Engineering?”and answer the questions.
Enrichment
Look at your surrounding, mention the products of civil engineers!
Find the branches of civil engineering from websites, and write what they are
dealing with.
Can you predict what will civil engineers do in the future?
What are you going to be when you graduate from polytechnic?
structural, construction planning and management, environmental, water resurces
transportation, geotechnical
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Speaking
12. Study this conversation.
Interviewer : Hello, Mr Eddy. Good afternoon. Nice to see you!
Mr Eddy : Hello. Good afternoon. Nice to see you, too!
Interviewer : I heard that you are a wonderful drafter in this company.
Mr Eddy : Well, I’m the Head of Drafting division. I’m happy working in this
company because it builds various buildings, skyscrapers and their
infrastructures.
Interviewer : What make you happy?
Mr Eddy : Mmm..., drafting is very challenging because those marvelous
buildings are built based on the precision of the drawing. If the
drafters make mistakes in the drawing, the project or the building
can be a disaster. The building might collapse, or not as strong as it
is designed.
Interviewer : So, being a drafter must work carefully. Thank you Mr Eddy, and
see you later.
13. Answer these questions:
a. Do you know how to greet informally to someone whom you are not familiar
with?
b. Can you find the greeting expressions from the conversation?
c. Please find other greeting expressions that you know!
14. Imagine you are a civil engineer and have a certain position in a famous contractor
or consultant. Please make similar conversation based on your job position.
Writing
15. This is a short e-mail from a friend who is working as a civil engineer.
Hi, Eko
How is life? I’m working as a civil engineer in Dubai at this moment. I’m happy to
work here, but my English should be good otherwise, I can’t communicate with my
team.
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I’m a surveyor here. I have to work using a theodolite, and many others. My
company uses modernsurveying equipment, so I have to operate and maintain the
equipment well. I have to read the manual carefully. Fortunately, I learned English
at polytechnic.
Now draft an e-mail to your friend and telling him/her your purposes of your
studying at this moment and what your planning is when you graduate from this
polytechnic.
