A Joint Committee（联合委员会）on Concrete and Reinforced Concrete was established in 1904 by the American Society of Civil Engineers（土木工程师协会）, American Society for Testing and Materials, the American Railway Engineering Association, and the Association of American Portland Cement Manufactures. This group was later joined by（加入）the American Concrete Institute. Between 1904 and 1910 the Joint Committee carried out research. A preliminary （初步的）report issued in 1913 lists the more important papers and books on reinforced concrete published（发表）between 1898 and 1911. The final report of this committee was published in 1916. The history of reinforced concrete building codes in the United States was reviewed（回顾）in 1954 by Kerekes and Reid.
            水泥与钢筋混凝土的联合委员会于1904年建立，包括美国土木工程师协会、美国测试和材料协会、美国铁路工程协会和美国波特兰水泥制造协会。该团体中后来又加入了美国混凝土协会。在1904-1910年间，联合委员会进行了研究。在1913年发布的初步报告中列出了在1898-1911年间发表的关于钢筋混凝土的较重要的文件和书籍。该委员会最后的报告发表于1916。Kerekes and Reid在1954对钢筋混凝土建筑规范在美国的发展历史作了回顾。
           The design and construction of buildings is regulated（控制）by municipal bylaws（市政细则）called building codes. These exist to protect（用以保护）the public health and safety. Each city and town is free to（允许）write（编制）or adopt its own building code, and in that city or town, only that particular code has legal status（合法地位）. Because of the complexity of building code writing, cities in the United States generally base their building codes on one of three model（典型）codes: the Uniform（统一）Building Code, the Standard Building Code, or the Basic Building Code. These codes cover（包括） such things as use and occupancy requirements, fire requirements, heating and ventilating（供热和通风） requirements, and structural design.
            建筑的设计和施工是由称为建筑规范的市政细则来控制的。这些规范是用以保护公众的健康和安全。每个城市和城镇允许编制或采用其自己的建筑规范，并且在那个城市或城镇只有那个特定的规范才有合法的地位。由于建筑规范编制的复杂性，美国的城市通常将它们的建筑规范以三个典型规范中的一个为基础，即统一建筑规范、标准建筑规范或基本建筑规范。这些规范包括诸如使用和居住的要求，防火要求、供热和通风要求以及结构的设计。
            The definitive（最终的）design specification for reinforced concrete buildings in North America（北美）is the Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete (ACI-318-95), which is explained in a Commentary（说明）.

             在北美，钢筋混凝土建筑最终的设计规范是钢筋混凝土建筑规范要求（ACI-318-95），并通过说明（对该规范要求）加以解释。
              This code, generally referred to as （指..） the ACI Code, has been incorporated（体现）in most building codes in the United States and serves as the basis for comparable codes in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and parts of Latin America. The ACI Code has legal status only if（只要）adopted in a local（当地的）building code.

            该规范通常称为ACI规范，它已经在美国的大多数建筑规范中被体现，并作为加拿大、新西兰、澳大利亚和部分拉丁美洲国家类似规范的基础。ACI规范只要在当地的建筑规范中被使用便拥有合法的地位。
            The rules for the design of concrete highway bridges（公路桥） are specified in the Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials（美国国家公路和运输官方协会）, Washington, D.C.（哥伦比亚华盛顿特区）.

            混凝土公路桥的设计规则在哥伦比亚华盛顿特区的美国国家公路和运输官方协会对公路桥的标准规范中作了规定。
            Each nation or group of（一群）nations in Europe has its own building code for reinforced concrete. The CEB-FIP Model Code for Concrete Structures is intended to（用来）serve as the basis for future attempts to unify（统一）European codes. This code and the ACI Code are similar in many ways.

             在欧洲每个国家或一群国家都有自己的钢筋混凝土建筑规范。混凝土结构的典型规范CEB-FIP被用来作为将来尝试统一欧洲规范的基础。该规范在很多方面与ACI规范是相似的。

UNIT 8
            A column is a vertical structural member transmitting axial compressive loads（压缩荷载）, with or without moments. The cross-sectional dimensions of a column are generally considerably less than（远小于）its height. Columns support vertical loads from the floors and roof and transmit these loads to the foundations.