Lesson 2: Why are machinists important?
READING:
Think of all the important machines in our lives: cars, trucks, buses, airplanes, trains, refrigerators, stoves, radios, televisions, cameras, and hundreds of others. All of these machines have metal parts in them. Machinists made these parts. Machinists are helping to make our lives more easy and happy.
Every day new products are made and sold in markets around the world. Machinists must continue to learn new ways to make better products. The machinist must learn about computers and other new techniques to make parts.
The United States has strong competition from other countries, like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Germany, France, and Great Britain. All these countries make machines and products like the U.S.A. This country needs skilled machinists to make quality products we can sell.
CAREERS IN THE METALWORKING TRADES
Vocabulary Notes:
A career is different from just having a job. A career usually lasts for a lifetime. It begins with a first job at lower pay; this kind of job does not require as much skill as later; it is called an entry-level job. As the person learns more, he/she moves up to a better job with more responsibility and more pay, The person may move through many jobs in a lifetime, but all the jobs are in the same trade. This is a career.
Comprehension Check
There are several words we can use to talk about working in a machine shop:
the machinist trade
the machine trade
machine shop trade
the machining industry
machine shop work
- A trade (or industry) is a kind of work that requires special training. Some examples of trades are: machinist, carpenter, welder, auto mechanic, typist, beautician, and barber.
- A trade union is a worker’s association that helps the workers get better pay, benefits, and working conditions. Many machinists join trade unions, but not as often as they did in the past.
- A tradesperson, a tradesman, a tradeswoman–each is a person who works in a trade.
Vocabulary Check
End-of-Lesson
Directions: Read each sentence. Decide if it is true or false.
