You are on page 1of 7

Unit 24 Surveying as a Career

The basic principles of surveying have changed little over the ages, but the tools used by surveyors have evolved tremendously. Engineering, especially civil engineering, depends heavily on surveyors. Whenever there are roads, Railways, Reservoir, dams, retaining walls, bridges or Residential areas to be built, Civil Engineers (surveyors) are involved. They determine the boundaries of private property and the boundaries of various lines of political divisions. They also provide advice and data for GIS, computer databases that contain data on land features and boundaries. Surveyors must have a thorough knowledge of algebra, basic calculus, geometry, and trigonometry. They must also know the laws that deal with surveys, property, and contracts. In addition, they must be able to use delicate instruments with accuracy and precision. In the US, surveyors and civil engineers use units of metric feet wherein a survey foot is broken down into 10ths and 100ths. Many deed descriptions requiring distance calls are often expressed using these units (125.25 ft). On the subject of accuracy, surveyors are often held to a standard of one 1/100 of a foot. Calculation and mapping tolerances are much smaller wherein achieving near perfect closures are desired. Though tolerances such as this will vary from project to project, in the field and day to day usage beyond this 1/100 of a foot is often impractical. In most states of the US, surveying is recognized as a distinct profession apart from engineering. Licensing requirements vary by state, however these requirements generally all have a component of education, experience and examinations. In the past, experience gained through an apprenticeship, together with passing a series of state-administered examinations, was required to attain licensure. Nowadays, many states insist upon basic qualification of a Degree in Civil Engineering with additional coursework in surveying, in addition to experience and examination requirements. Typically the process for registration follows two phases: sitting for the Fundamentals of Land Surveying exam to become a Surveyor in Training (SIT) and sitting for he Principles and Practice of Land Surveying exam along with a state-specific examination. (After Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia)
147

Vocabulary
accuracy = acuratee additional coursework = cursuri suplimentare advice = sfaturi apprenticeship = ucenicie attain licensure (v.) = a fi autorizat(), a primi autorizaia be held to (v.) = a trebui s te conformezi beyond = dincolo de bridge = pod broken down = divizat() computer database = baz de date computerizat dam = baraj day to day usage = activitatea de zi cu zi deal with (v.) = a avea de-a face cu, a se referi la evolve (v.) = a evolua gained = achiziionat() heavily = enorm (adv.) impractical = nepractic() in addition = n plus in the field = pe teren involved = implicat() knowledge = cunotine land features = caracteristicile terenului licensing requirements = condiii de autorizare near perfect = aproape perfect() nowadays = n zilele noastre over the ages = de-a lungul secolelor passing examinations = susinerea de examene railway = cale ferat reservoir = lac de acumulare retaining wall = perete / zid despritor sit for an exam (v.) = a da un examen thorough = amnunit(), atent(), detaliat() tremendously = extraordinar vary (v.) = a varia whenever = ori de cte ori wherein = n care why = de ce
148

Exercises
1. True or false?
Statement True False

Surveyors determine the boundaries of state property and the boundaries of various lines of political divisions. Surveyors must also know the laws that deal with surveys, property, and contracts. Surveyors need not be able to use delicate instruments with accuracy and precision. Surveyors must have a thorough knowledge of algebra, basic calculus, geometry, and trigonometry. Surveyors provide information for GIS, computer databases that contain data on land features and boundaries. Surveyors use units of metric feet wherein a survey foot is broken down into 10ths and 100ths. The basic principles of surveying have changed over the ages, but the tools used by surveyors have evolved tremendously. 2. Group the following words relating to a part of something, as in the model. accessor addition adjunct appendage appurtenance attachment bar bit blade body chassis component detail flap floor grip handle hook layer level lid longitudinal neck nose part piece portion projection sandwich section shelf story stratified stratum the back the flip side the other side the reverse wheel
Words referring to one something side added to of the main two part 149 the part of something used to hold it

a layer of something

a part of something

the main part of something

stratum 3. Fill in with the proper nouns from below. authority countries jurisdiction land surveyor (2 times) mapper names plans property province (3 times) surveyors (2 times) Registered usually denote themselves with the letters P.S. (professional surveyor), L.S. ( ), or P.L.S. (professional land surveyor), or R.L.S. (registered ), R.P.L.S. (Registered Professional Land Surveyor), or P.S.M. (professional surveyor and ) following their , depending upon the dictates of their particular state of registration. In Canada, Land Surveyors are registered to work in their respective . The designation for a Land Surveyor breaks down by but follows the rule whereby the first letter indicates the followed by L.S. There is also a designation as a C.L.S. or Canada Lands Surveyor who has the to work on Canada Lands which include Indian Reserves, National Parks, the three territories and offshore lands. In many Commonwealth , the term Chartered Land Surveyor is used for someone holding a professional license to conduct surveys. Typically a licensed land surveyor is required to seal all , the format of which is dictated by their state , which shows their name and registration number. In many states, land are also required to place caps bearing their registration number on corners that they have set. 4. Make questions about the fragments underlined in the text below. Make any necessary changes. In the fields of science, engineering, industry and statistics, accuracy is the degree of conformity of a measured or calculated quantity to its actual (true) value. Accuracy is closely related to precision, also called reproducibility or repeatability, the degree to which further measurements or calculations show the same or similar results. The results of calculations or a measurement can be accurate but not precise; precise but not accurate; neither; or both. A result is called valid if it is both accurate and precise. The related terms in surveying are error (random variability in research) and bias (non-random or

150

directed effects caused by a factor or factors unrelated by the independent variable). 5. Put the verbs between brackets in the right form. Bowls (be) a game played by rolling a heavy wooden ball on a green towards a jack. I wish Mary (come) earlier. If you admit (make) such a serious mistake, they (turn down) your offer. No sooner he (begin) his walk through the woods, than he (get) lost. The next time we (see) this movie again, well have a detailed discussion about it. They all realised it was high time they (send) a new signal. Whatever my moral rights (be) , if you (extend) me that courtesy, you deserve to have it (acknowledge)... When we (go) to see them last night, they (play) chess. They said they (play) ... since four oclock. Whenever Jane (find) a nice flat to rent, there was someone who (tell) the owner that she (evict) three times in the past few years.

6. Put the following into Romanian paying attention to the rules of the Sequence of Tenses. Ai avut vreo idee de ce s-a ntmplat acolo? Am rcit pentru c nu ne-am luat haine groase pentru munte. Copilul alerga dup un fluture, ncercnd s-l prind, cnd deodat czu i se lovi. El aflase c in ora va fi organizat o petrecere i c prietenii l ateapt s soseasc. Faptul c a trebuit s m opresc dou ore n satul acela m-a fcut s mi schimb ntreaga rut. nainte de a pleca in vacana ne-am cumprat tot ce aveam nevoie. Nici unul dintre noi nu a putut gsi cartea pierdut de Mike. Nimeni nu i cunotea situaia aa cum o tiam eu. Nu ai primit vederea pe care am trimis-o cu cteva zile nainte de ntoarcerea acas?
151

Nu tia ct de mult i dorise ea s-l vad. Nu tiam cnd v-ai ntors. De ce nu ne-ai anunat? 7. Express astonishment or doubt, as in the model. Will he attend the meeting? Wont he attend the meeting? Are they abroad? Can I do it myself? Has she spoken to you about this matter? Is she helpful? Is she in the office? Will the investors come?

8. Using shall or will, as in the model. Open the window. Open the window, will you? Lets do it at once! Lets have a short rest! Put the keys on the table! Shut the door! Stop arguing! Stop complaining! Wait a moment!

Lets Laugh!
A: How did the aliens hurt the farmer? B: They trod on his corn. A: What did the neurotic pig say to the farmer? B: You take me for grunted. A: When is a farmer like a magician? B: When he turns his cow to pasture. A: Why did the farmer call his pig Ink? B: Because it was always running out of the pen.
152

A: What do you call cattle with a sense of humour? B: Laughing stock.

Bibliography
***Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms , Cambridge University Press, 2002 Ammer, Christine, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. The Most Comprehensive Collection of Idiomatic Expresions and Phrases , 1997 Baker, Mark C., Lexical Categories. Verbs, Nouns, and Adjectives , Cambridge University Press, 2004 Broukal, Milada, Idioms for Everyday Use. The Basic Text for Learning and Communicating with English Idioms, National Textbook Company, 1994 Crystal, David, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language , BCA, 1994 Eastwood, John, Oxford Guide to English Grammar , Oxford University Press, 2002 Eckersley, C. E., A Concise English Grammar for Foreign Students , Longman, 1986 Greenbaum, Sidney, The Oxford English Grammar, Oxford University Press, 1996 Herzog, David Alan, Webster's New World Essential Vocabulary, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005 http://www.britishcouncil.org http://www.encarta.msn.com http://www.wikipedia.org Patwell, Joseph M. (Editor), The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1991 Ra, Georgeta, Alexandru Moisuc, Ionel Samfra, Raluca Silion, Oana Boldea, Water & Agriculture, Editura Mirton, Timioara, 2004 Schrampfer Azar, Betty, Basic English Grammar, Longman, 1996 Spears, Richard A. (Editor), American Idioms Dictionary. The Most Practical Reference for the Everyday Expressions of Contemporary American English, National Textbook Company, 2000 Thomson, A. J. & A. V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, Oxford University Press, 1986 Umstatter, Jack, English Brainstormers. Ready-to-Use Games and Activities That Make Language Skills Fun to Learn, Jossey Bass, 2002

153

You might also like