第一单元
Fundamentally, engineering is an end-product-oriented discipline that is innovative, cost-conscious and mindful of human factors. It is concerned with the creation of new entities, devices or methods of solution: a new process, a new material, an improved power source, a more efficient arrangement of tasks to accomplish a desired goal or a new structure. Engineering is also more often than not concerned with obtaining economical solutions. And, finally, human safety is always a key consideration.
从根本上，工程是一个以最终产品为导向的行业，它具有创新、成本意识，同时也注意到人为因素。 它与创建新的实体、 设备或解决方案有关：新工艺、新材料、一个改进的动力来源、任务的一项更有效地安排，用以完成所需的目标或创建一个新的结构。 工程是也不仅仅关心获得经济的解决方案。最终，人类安全才是一个最重要的考虑因素。
Engineering is concerned with the use of abstract scientific ways of thinking and of defining real world problems. The use of idealizations and development of procedures for establishing bounds within which behavior can be ascertained are part of the process.
工程关心的是，使用抽象的科学方法思考和定义现实世界的问题。理想化的使用和发展建立可以确定行为的边界的程序，是过程的一部分。
Many problems, by their very nature, can’t be fully described—even after the fact, much less at the outset. Yet acceptable engineering solutions to these problems must be found which satisfy the defined needs. Engineering, then, frequently concerns the determination of possible solutions within a context of limited data. Intuition or judgment is a key factor in establishing possible alternative strategies, processes, or solutions. And this, too, is all a part of engineering.
很多的问题，就其本身的性质而言，不能完全被描述 — — 即使这一事实，在其开始之前。然而还必须找到对于这些问题可接受的工程解决方案，来满足预定的需求。直觉或判断是建立可能的替代策略、 流程或解决方案的关键因素。。而这也是工程的一部分。
Civil engineering is one of the most diverse branches of engineering. The civil engineer plans, designs, constructs, and maintains a large variety of structures and facilities for public, commercial and industrial use. These structures include residential, office, and factory buildings; highways, railways, airports, tunnels, bridges, harbors, channels, and pipelines. They also include many other facilities that are a part of the transportation systems of most countries, as well as sewage and waste disposal systems that add to our convenience and safeguard our health.
土木工程是工程的最多样化的分支机构之一。土木工程师计划、设计、施工，和维护大量的结构和公共、商业和工业使用的设施。这些结构包括住宅，办公室和工厂大厦；公路、铁路、机场、隧道、桥梁、港口、渠道和管道。在其他大多数的国家它们还包括运输系统许多其他设施，以及将为我们的生活带来便利的和维护我们的健康污水及废物处理系统。
The term “civil engineer” did not come into use until about 1750, when John Smeaton, the builder of famous Eddystone lighthouse near Plymouth, England, is said to have begun calling himself a “civil engineer” to distinguish himself from the military engineers of his time. However, the profession is as old as civilization.
直到大约1750年，人们才开始使用“土木工程师”这一术语。约翰.斯密顿在英格兰普利茅斯附近，建造了著名的埃迪斯通灯塔的建造师，开始自称为“土木工程师"来将自己与当时的军事工程师区分开。然而，土木工程这个职业却像文明一样古老。
 In ancient Egypt the simplest mechanical principles and devices were used to construct many temples and pyramids that are still standing, including the great pyramid at Giza and the temple of Amon-Ra at Karnak. The great pyramid, 481 feet(146.6 meters)high, is made of 2.25 million stone blocks having an average weight of more than 1.5tons (1.4 metric tons). Great numbers of men were used in the construction of such monuments. The Egyptians also made obelisks by cutting huge blocks of stone, some weighing as much as 1000 tons (900 metric tons). Cutting tools of hard bronze were used.
古埃及人用最简单的机械原理和装置建造了许多至今仍矗立的庙宇和金字塔，包括吉萨大金字塔和在卡纳克的Amon-Ra的寺庙。这个大金字塔，481英尺（146.6 米）高，由2250000个石块组成，石块的平均重量超过1.5吨（1.4 吨）。建造如此的纪念性建筑使用了大量的人力。埃及人也作了一些重达1000吨(900吨)的石头的大块切割的方尖塔。硬青铜的切削刀具在其中使用到了。
The Egyptians built causeways and roads for transporting stone from the quarries to the Nile. The large blocks of stone that were erected by the Egyptians were moved by using levers, inclined planes, rollers, and sledges.
为了从采石场向尼罗河运输石材埃及人建造了长堤和道路。由埃及人竖设的大块石头通过使用拉杆、斜平面、滚子和雪橇来移动。
The Egyptians were primarily interested in the know-how of construction; They had very little interest in why-for of use .In contrast, the Greeks made great strides in introducing theory into engineering problems during the 6th to 3rd centuries B.C. They developed an abstract knowledge of lines, angles, surfaces, and solids rather than referring to specific objects. The geometric base for Greek building construction included figures such as the square, rectangle, and triangle.