Civil  engineering, the oldest of the engineering specialties, is the planning,  design, construction, and management of the built environment. This  environment includes all structures built according to scientific principles,  from irrigation and drainage systems to rocket-launching facilities.

Civil engineers build roads, bridges,  tunnels, dams, harbors, power plants, water and sewage（污水） systems,  hospitals, schools, mass transit（公共交通）, and  other public facilities essential to modern society and large population  concentrations. They also build privately owned facilities such as airports,  railroads, pipelines, skyscrapers, and other large structures designed for  industrial, commercial, or residential（住宅的） use.  In addition, civil engineers plan, design, and build complete cities and  towns, and more recently have been planning and designing space platforms（空间站）to  house self-contained communities.

The word civil derives from the Latin  for citizen. In 1782, Englishman John Smeaton used the term to differentiate  his nonmilitary engineering work from that of the military engineers who  predominated at the time. Since then, the term civil engineering has often  been used to refer to engineers who build public facilities, although the  field is much broader.

Scope.  Because  it is so broad, civil engineering is subdivided into a number of technical  specialties. Depending on the type of project, the skills of many kinds of  civil engineer specialists may be needed. When a project begins, the site is  surveyed and mapped by civil engineers who locate utility placement—water, sewer（污水管）, and power  lines. Geotechnical specialists perform soil experiments to determine if the  earth can bear the weight of the project. Environmental specialists study the  project’s impact on the local area: the potential for air and groundwater（地下水）  pollution, the project’s impact on local animal and plant life, and how the  project can be designed to meet government requirements aimed at protecting  the environment. Transportation specialists determine what kind of facilities  are needed to ease the burden on local roads and other transportation  networks that will result from the completed project. Meanwhile, structural  specialists use preliminary data to make detailed designs, plans, and specifications（技术要求） for  the project. Supervising and coordinating the work of these civil engineer  specialists, from beginning to end of the project, are the construction  management specialists. Based on information supplies by the other  specialists, construction management civil engineers estimate quantities and  costs of materials and labor, schedule all work, order materials and  equipment for the job, hire contractors（承包商）and subcontractors（分包商）, and  perform other supervisory work to ensure the project is completed on time and  as specified.

Throughout any given project, civil  engineers make extensive use of computers. Computers are used to design the  project’s various elements (computer-aided  design, or CAD) and to manage it. Computers are a necessity for the  modern civil engineer because they permit the engineer to efficiently handle  the large quantities of date needed in determining the best way to construct  a project.

Structural  engineering(结构工程). In this  specialty, civil engineers plan and assign structures of all types, including  bridges, dams, power plants, supports for equipment, special structures for offshore（近海的） projects, the  United States space program,  transmission towers（输电塔）, giant astronomical（天文学的） and radio telescopes, and many other kinds of projects. Using  computers structural engineers determine the forces a structure must resist:  its own weight, wind and hurricane forces, temperature changes that expand or  contract construction materials, and earthquakes. They also determine the  combination of appropriate materials: steel, concrete, plastic, stone, asphalt（沥青）,  brick, aluminum, or other construction materials.

Water  resources engineering. Civil engineers in this specialty deal  with all aspects of the physical control of water. Their projects help  prevent floods, supply water for cities and for irrigation, manage and  control rivers and water runoff（径流）, and  maintain beaches and other waterfront（滨水区）  facilities. In addition, they design and maintain harbors, canals, and locks（水闸）, build huge hydroelectric dams（水电堤坝） and  smaller dams and water impoundments of all kinds, help design offshore  structures and determine the location of structures affecting navigation.

Geotechnical  engineering（岩土工程）. Civil engineers  who specialize in this field analyze the properties of soils and rocks that  support structures and affect structural behavior. They evaluate and work to  minimize the potential settlement（沉降） of  buildings and other structures that stems from the pressure of their weight  on the earth. These engineers also evaluate and determine how to strengthen the stability of slopes and fills（边坡和填土稳定性） and  how to protect structures against earthquakes and the effects of groundwater.

Environmental  engineering. In this branch of engineering, civil engineers  design, build, and supervise systems to provide safe drinking water and to  prevent and control pollution of water supplies, both on the surface and  underground. They also design, build, and supervise projects to control or  eliminate pollution of the land and air. These engineers build water and wastewater treatment plants（污水处理厂）, and  design air scrubbers（洗涤器） and  other devices to minimize or eliminate air pollution caused by industrial  processes, incineration（焚化）, or  other smoke-producing activities. They also work to control toxic（有毒的）and hazardous  wastes through the construction of special dump（垃圾堆） sites or the  neutralizing of toxic and hazardous substances. In addition, the engineers  design and manage sanitary landfills（卫生填埋场）to  prevent pollution of surrounding land.

Transportation  engineering. Civil engineers working in this specialty build  facilities to ensure safe and efficient movement of both people and goods.  They specialize in designing and maintaining all types of transportation  facilities, highways and streets, mass transit systems, railroads and  airfields, ports and harbors. Transportation engineers apply technological  knowledge as well as consideration of the economic, political, and social  factors in designing each project. They work closely with urban planners,  since the quality of the community is directly related to the quality of the  transportation system.

Pipeline  engineering. In this branch of civil engineering, engineers  build pipelines and related facilities which transport liquids, gases, or  solids ranging from coal slurries (泥浆，残渣mixed coal and water)  and semiliquid wastes, to water, oil, and various types of highly combustible（易燃的） and noncombustible gases. The engineers determine pipeline design,  the economic and environmental impact of a project on regions it must  traverse, the type of materials to be used-steel, concrete, plastic, or  combinations of various materials-installation techniques, methods for  testing pipeline strength, and controls for maintaining proper pressure and  rate of flow of materials being transported. When hazardous materials are  being carried, safety is a major consideration as well.

Construction  engineering. Civil engineers in this field oversee（监督，管理） the  construction of a project from beginning to end. Sometimes called project engineers（项目工程师）,  they apply both technical and managerial skills, including knowledge of  construction methods, planning, organizing, financing, and operating  construction projects. They coordinate the activities of virtually everyone  engaged in the work: the surveyors（测量员）;  workers who lay out and construct the temporary roads and ramps（斜坡）, excavate for  the foundation, build the forms and pour the concrete; And workers who build  the steel framework. These engineers also make regular progress reports to  the owners of the structure.

Community  and urban planning. Those engaged in this area of civil  engineering may plan and develop community within a city, or entire cities.  Such planning involves far more than engineering consideration;  environmental, social, and economic factors in the use and development of  land and natural resources are also key elements. These civil engineers  coordinate planning of public works along with private development. They  evaluate the kinds of facilities needed, including streets and highways,  public transportation systems, airports, port facilities, water-supply（自来水，供水） and  waste water-disposal systems, public buildings, parks, and recreational and  other facilities to ensure social and economic as well as environmental  well-being.

Photogrammetry,  surveying, and mapping. The civil engineers in this specialty  precisely measure the Earth’s surface to obtain reliable information for  locating and designing engineering projects. This practice often involves  high-technology methods such as satellite and aerial surveying, and  computer-processing of photographic imagery. Radio  signal from satellites, scans by laser and  sonic beams, are converted to maps to provide far more accurate measurements  for boring tunnels, building highways and dams, plotting flood control（防洪控制点） and irrigation  project, locating subsurface geologic formations that may affect a  construction project, and a host of other building uses.

Other  specialties. Two additional civil engineering specialties that  are not entirely within the scope of civil engineering but are essential to  the discipline are engineering management and engineering teaching.

Engineering  management. Many civil engineers choose careers that eventually  lead to management. Others are able to start their careers in management  positions. The civil engineer-manager combines technical knowledge with an  ability to organize and coordinate worker power, materials, machinery, and  money. These engineers may work in government—municipal, county, state, or  federal; in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as military or civilian  management engineers; or in semiautonomous（半自治的）  regional or city authorities or similar organizations. They may also manage  private engineering firms（工程公司）  ranging in size from a few employees to hundreds.

Engineering  teaching. The civil engineer who chooses a teaching career  usually teaches both graduate and undergraduate students in technical  specialties. Many teaching civil engineers engage in basic research that  eventually leads to technical innovations in construction materials and  methods. Many also serve as consultants（顾问） on  engineering projects, or on technical boards and commissions（委员会） associated with  major projects.

civil  engineering 土木(民用)工程

irrigation   n. 灌溉 

drainages   n. 排水 

launch   v&n.发射 

power  plant 动力厂 

sewage   n. 污水 

mass  transit 公共交通 

public  facilities 公共设施 

population  concentration 人口集中 

pipeline   n. 管道系统

skyscraper    n. 摩天楼 

residential   a.住宅的 

space  platform空间站 

house   vt.容纳 

predominate   vt.掌握，支配 

map  v.测绘 

placement   n.方位

sewer   n.污水管
groundwater   n.地下水 

specification   n.技术要求

contractor    n.承包商

subcontractor   n. 分包商

 computer-aided  design 计算机辅助设计

structural  engineering 结构工程

specialty   n.专业

offshore   a.近海的

transmission 

 tower输电塔

astronomical   a. 天文学的

hurricane    n. 飓风
 

asphalt    n. 沥青

water  resources 

engineering 

水利资源工程 

runoff   n.经流，流走之物 

waterfront   n.滨水区 

lock   n.水(船)闸 

hydroelectric  dam水电堤坝

geotechnical 

engineering 

岩土工程 

settlement   n.沉陷

environmental  engineering环境工程 

supervise    v. 监督，管理 

wastewater  treatment plant 

污水处理厂 

scrubber    n. 洗涤器 

incineration   n. 焚化 

toxic    a.有毒的 

hazardous    a. 危险的

dump    n.垃圾堆 

neutralize   vt. (使)中和， (使)失效   sanitary   a.卫生(清洁)的 

landfill   n填(充 )土(地)场 

transportation  engineering交通运输工程

airfield    n(飞)机场
 

pipeline  engineering管道工程

slurry   n泥浆，残渣

combustible   a. 易燃的

construction  

engineering 

施工工程，建筑工程

oversee   v.监督，管理 

project  engineer 项目工程师 

surveyor   n.测量员 

lay  out   放栈, 

ramp   n.斜坡 

excavate   v.挖掘

natural  resources  自然资源

water-supply   n. 自来水，供水

engineering  firm 工程公司