Unit 1 The construction industry

Word Definition Translation

AC (n) (= alternating current) a corriente alterna (n)
continuous electric current
that periodically reverses
direction
address (n) the name of the place dirección (n)
where someone lives
air conditioning (n) a system that makes the aire acondicionado (n)
air in a room or building
cooler and drier
alphabet (n) a set of letters, arranged in alfabeto (n)
a particular order and
used in writing
apartment (n) a set of rooms on one floor apartamento (n)
of a building where
someone lives
apartment block (n) a large building containing bloque de apartamentos
many apartments (n)
bathroom (n) British English a room cuarto de baño (n)
where there is a bath or
shower, a basin and
sometimes a toilet [= a
room where there is a
toilet American English]
bedroom (n) a room for sleeping in dormitorio (n)

bridge (n) a structure built over puente (n)

something, usually water,
to allow travel from one
side to the other
client (n) someone who pays for a cliente (n)
service
commercial (adj) relating to schools, comercial (adj)
hospitals, office blocks
and factories
dining area (n) the part of the house comedor (n)
where you eat meals
excavator (n) a large machine that digs excavadora (n)
and moves earth and soil

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factory (n) a place in which goods are fábrica (n)
produced
family area (n) the part of the house sala de estar (n)
where families relax and
sit together
family name (n) the name someone shares apellido (n)
with all the members of
their family (= last name,
surname)
first floor (n) American English the floor piso bajo (n)
of a building that is at
ground level [= ground
floor British English]
first name (n) the name or names that nombre (n)
come before your family
name
flyover (n) a type of bridge that takes paso elevado (n)
one road over another
road
garden (n) the area of land next jardín (n)
to/behind/in front of a
house with grass and
plants
ground floor (n) British English the floor of piso bajo (n)
a building that is at ground
level [= first floor American
English]
heating (n) a system for making a calefacción (n)
room or building warm
hospital (n) a building where sick or hospital (n)
injured people receive
medical help
house (n) a small building that casa (n)
people live in
house plan (n) a drawing of the floor of a plano en planta de la casa
house and the rooms in it, (n)
as seen from above
infrastructure (n) the basic systems and infraestructura (n)
structures that a country or
organisation needs in
order to work properly,
e.g. roads, railways, banks
JCB (n) (= JC Bamford Excavators JCB (n)
Limited) a construction
equipment manufacturer
of heavy duty equipment
kitchen (n) the room where you cocina (n)
prepare and cook food
manufacturer (n) a company that makes fabricante (n)
goods
office block (n) a large building with many bloque de oficinas (n)
offices in it

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porch (n) an entrance covered by a porche (n)
roof outside the front door
of a house
power plant (n) building where electricity is central eléctrica (n)
produced
residential (adj) relating to houses and residencial (adj)
apartments rather than
offices and businesses
road (n) a specially prepared hard carretera (n)
surface for cars, buses,
bicycles, etc. to travel on
rpm (n) (= revolutions per minute) revoluciones por minuto
a unit of frequency: the (n)
number of full rotations
completed in one minute
around a fixed axis
school (n) a place where children escuela (n)
learn
sector (n) a part of an area of sector (n)
activity, especially of
business, trade, etc.
spell (v) to form a word by writing deletrear (v)
or naming the letters
stairs (n) set of steps built for going escaleras (n)
from one level of a
building to another
surname (n) the name that you share apellido (n)
with your parents and
which in English comes at
the end of your full name
(= last name, family name)
tunnel (n) a passage that has been túnel (n)
dug under the ground for
cars, trains, etc. to travel
through
ventilation (n) a system for changing the ventilación (n)
air in a room or building
plumber (n) someone whose job is to fontanero (n)
install and repair water
pipes, baths, toilets, etc.
roofer (n) someone whose job is to techador (n)
build a roof
architect (n) someone whose job is to arquitecto (n)
plan and design buildings
crane operator (n) someone whose job is to operador de grúa (n)
operate a crane
building inspector (n) someone whose job is to inspector de obra civil (n)
inspect structures at
different stages of
completion
ministry (n) a government department ministerio (n)

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project (n) the plan and process of proyecto (n)
building something, e.g. a
house, bridge, road
general contractor (n) someone who is contratista general (n)
responsible for overseeing
a construction site and
subcontractors
subcontractor (n) someone who does an subcontratista (n)
agreed part of the building
work for a fixed fee
material (n) any type of material used material (n)
in construction, e.g. bricks,
pipes, plaster, tiles
equipment (n) the tools needed to do a equipo (n)
job
construction site (n) the place where the emplazamiento de la
construction, e.g. of a construcción (n)
building, is situated
deal with (phr v) to take action to solve tratar con (v)
something, e.g. a problem
supplier (n) a company or person that proveedor (n)
provides a particular
product

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