Page 36 - English for Construction 2

Focus on a project: Bahrain International Circuit
Formula 1 (BIC)

Reading Bahrain nternational Circuit (BIC) was completed in 2004 and is now used as a
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venue for different racing events, including ormula 1. It cost approximately US$150
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million o build. One of he most nteresting features of he rack is its desert
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location, which created interesting challenges for the designers.

1 Read he text about he quantities of materials used n the construction of
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Bahrain nternational Circuit. Complete it with he figures n he box.
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40,509 m 2 400,000 litres 600 70,000 m 3 8,500 tonnes
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The construction f the ircuit was carried out n record (2) _ concrete, 1,000 tonnes a l u m i n i u m ,
time for such a huge project. It was completed in just (3). steel, 7,750 m 2 glass, 30,000 m electric
485 days - f r o m concept to race. It required 8,265,000 w i r i n g , 7 0 , 0 0 0 t i m i n g circuitry, 7 8 , 9 1 9 m 2 paint,
man hours, 2,084 workers, (1) of sweet (4) plaster, 10,800 m 2 roofing membrane and
water, 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 h o l l o w blocks, 190,810 m ' paving finally (5) palm trees.
bricks, 820,000 m 3 rock removing, 300,000 m ! asphalt,

2 Read the text again. Find examples of building materials for these categories:
painting and decorating; electrical; landscaping; masonry.

Speaking 3 After c o m p l e t i o n , he rack was surrounded by artificial grass. What problem
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does hat solve? Choose rom his list. Which materials n he text solve the
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other two problems?
1 It speeds up construction time.
2 It stops sand blowing onto the track.
3 It helps to keep he buildings cool inside.
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4 Work n pairs. Student A: Turn o page 69.
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Student B: T u r n o page 68.

34 4 Materials