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MARTIN: |
Where have you worked before? |
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FOREMAN: |
I've worked on many projects and buildings. I've worked mostly here
in the city. I've lived here all my life. One year I worked in
Florida. But I like it here. |
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MARTIN: |
Where do the men and women eat their lunch? |
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FOREMAN: |
They eat where they work. They just stop working and sit and eat. |
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MARTIN: |
Isn't it too cold today? |
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FOREMAN: |
They don't sit very long. They only take half an hour for lunch.
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MARTIN: |
What's that man doing up there? |
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FOREMAN: |
He's putting up the forms for the cement. |
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MARTIN: |
Explain that. What does that mean? |
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FOREMAN: |
The
cement is liquid, of course. They have to put it into forms until it
gets hard. Then they remove the forms. That's what makes the
skeleton of the building. It's like the bones in your body. |
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MARTIN: |
Are
the skeletons of all these large office buildings made of cement?
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FOREMAN: |
No,
many are made of steel. Even the cement buildings have steel inside
the cement. Look at those men over there. |
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MARTIN: |
The
ones beside the gate? |
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FOREMAN: |
Yes. They are putting the steel up. Then the other men put the forms
around the steel. Then others pour the cement into the forms. |
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MARTIN: |
How
tall is the building going to be? |
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FOREMAN: |
Nineteen stories. |
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MARTIN: |
How
tall is it now? How many stories have you finished? |
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FOREMAN: |
We're not finished, of course. Those men and women on the top are on
the tenth floor. |
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MARTIN: |
What are they doing? |
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FOREMAN: |
They are putting in the floor. First, they put in a floor, then they
put up the walls for the next story. |
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MARTIN: |
Are
the floors cement? |
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FOREMAN: |
They are cement in this building. |
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MARTIN: |
Can
we go to the top floor? |
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FOREMAN: |
Sure. Follow me. We'll take the elevator. |
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MARTIN: |
Do
you have an elevator already? |
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FOREMAN: |
It's a temporary one. See that blue thing on the end of the
building. That's the elevator. |
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MARTIN: |
Does it go all the way to the top? |
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FOREMAN: |
Sure. It grows with the building. We can build the elevator up to 40
stories. |
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MARTIN: |
That's amazing. I've never watched a tall building going up. How
long have you been working in construction? |
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FOREMAN: |
Twenty-two years now. I started after high school. I worked in
construction in the summer and went to college in the winter. |
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MARTIN: |
What did you study in college? |
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FOREMAN: |
I
was going to be an architect. I didn't finish college. One summer I
was working on an interesting project. When college started in the
fall, I didn't go back. Here's the elevator. Get in. |
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FOREMAN: |
How
do you like the view? |
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MARTIN: |
I
like it. What are those people doing down there? |
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FOREMAN: |
Which people? |
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MARTIN: |
The
ones standing beside that red truck. |
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FOREMAN: |
I
think they're unloading steel. Are you ready to go back down? |
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MARTIN: |
Yes, thanks. |
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