它们也以另外一种方式互补：它们几乎有相同的收缩率和膨胀率。因此，它们在拉、压为主要因素时能共同工作。在出现拉力的混凝土梁或结构中，将钢筋埋入混凝土而成钢筋混凝土。混凝土与钢筋形成如此强大的结合力——这个力将它们粘合在一起——以致于钢筋在混凝土中不会滑移。还有另一个优势是钢筋在混凝土中不会锈蚀。酸能腐蚀钢筋，而混凝土会发生碱性的化学反应，与酸相反。
           The adoption of structural steel and reinforced concrete caused major changes in traditional construction practices（施工作业）. It was no longer necessary to use thick walls of stone or brick for multistory buildings, and it became much simpler to build fire-resistant floors（防火地面）. Both these changes served to（有利于） reduce the cost of construction. It also became possible to erect（建造）buildings with greater heights and longer spans.
        结构钢与钢筋混凝土的采用使传统的施工作业发生了明显的变化。对多层建筑，再也没必要采用厚的石墙或砖墙，且施工防火地面变为容易得多。这些变化有利于降低建筑的成本。它也使建造高度更高和跨度更大的建筑物成为可能。
          Since the weight of modern structures is carried（承受） by the steel or concrete frame, the walls do not support the building. They have become curtain walls, which keep out the weather and let in light. In the earlier steel or concrete frame building, the curtain walls were generally made of masonry; they had the solid look of bearing walls（承重墙）. Today, however, curtain walls are often made of lightweight materials such as glass, aluminum, or plastic, in various combinations.
        由于现代结构的重量由钢或混凝土框架承受，墙体不再支承建筑物。它们成为幕墙，将日晒风吹雨打阻挡在外，而让光线进入。在较早的钢或混凝土框架建筑中，幕墙一般由砌体构成；它们具有承重墙的结实外观。但是今天，幕墙通常由轻质材料组成，如玻璃、铝或塑料，并形成不同的组合。
          Another advance in steel construction（结构） is the method of fastening together（连在一起） the beams. For many years the standard method was riveting. A rivet is a bolt with a head that looks like a blunt screw（圆头螺丝钉） without threads（螺纹）. It is heated, placed in holes through the pieces of steel（钢构件）, and a second head is formed at the other end by hammering（锤击）it to hold it in place（固定就位）. Riveting has now largely been replaced by welding, the joining together of pieces of steel by melting（熔化） a steel material between them under high heat.
        钢结构中的另一个进步是梁的连接方式。在很多年里，连接的标准方式是铆接。铆钉是个有头的螺栓，看上去象个没有螺纹的圆头螺丝钉。铆钉加热后穿过钢构件之间的孔洞，并通过锤击另一端而形成第二个铆钉头，从而将其固定就位。如今铆接已大量地被焊接所替代，钢构件间的连接通过在高热下熔化它们之间的钢材料（即焊条）进行。
             Prestressed concrete is an improved form of reinforcement（加强方法）. Steel rods are bent into the shapes to give them the necessary degree of tensile strength. They are then used to prestress （对..预加应力）concrete, usually by one of two different methods. The first is to leave channels in a concrete beam that correspond to（相应于） the shapes of the steel rods. When the rods are run through the channels, they are then bonded to the concrete by filling the channels with grout, a thin mortar or binding agent. In the other  (and more common) method, the prestressed steel rods are placed in the lower part of a form（模板） that corresponds to the shape of the finished structure（成品结构）, and the concrete is poured around them. Prestressed concrete uses less steel and less concrete. Because it is so economical, it is a highly desirable（非常理想） material.
            预应力混凝土是加强法的改进形式。将钢筋弯成一定的形状以使它们具有必要的抗拉强度，然后用该钢筋对混凝土施加预应力，通常可采用两种不同方法中的任何一种。第一种方法是在混凝土梁中按钢筋的形状留下孔道，当钢筋穿过孔道后，通过在孔道内灌注薄砂浆（一种稀薄的砂浆或粘合剂）将钢筋与混凝土粘结在一起。另一种（更常用的）方法是将预应力钢筋置于按成品结构的形状设置的模板的较低部位，然后将混凝土倒入（模板）而包围着钢筋。预应力混凝土使用了较少的钢筋和混凝土，由于它是如此的经济，因此是一种非常理想的材料。
            Prestressed concrete has made it possible to develop（建造） buildings with unusual shapes, like some of the modern sports arenas, with large space unbroken by any obstructing supports（阻碍的支撑物）. The uses for this relatively new structural method are constantly being developed（不断地扩大）.
        预应力混凝土使建造独特形状的建筑物成为可能，象一些现代的运动场，它具有不受任何支撑物阻挡视线的大空间。这种较新的结构方法的使用正在不断地被扩大。