Friday, 16 December 2011

www.UPSCPORTAL.com : "Today's Important News: 16 December 2011" plus 9 more

www.UPSCPORTAL.com : "Today's Important News: 16 December 2011" plus 9 more

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Today's Important News: 16 December 2011

Posted: 16 Dec 2011 02:39 AM PST

(IGP) IAS Pre Paper - 2: GS - English Language & Comprehension Skills - Sentence (Part - 2)

Posted: 16 Dec 2011 01:29 AM PST


English Language & Comprehension Skills
Sentence (Part - 2)

The Conjunction

A word that is used to join words or phrases or sentences is called a Conjunction.

Examples

  1. God made the country and man made the town.
  2. She must work hard, or she will fail.
  3. Three and three make six.
  4. Madan and Sonu are brothers.

In (i) and (ii), the conjunctions join two sentences. In (iii) and (iv), the conjunctions join two words only.

Some Facts about Conjunctions

  1. A conjunction is never connected with an object.
  2. A conjunction never qualifies a word.

Classes of Conjunctions

Conjunctions are sub-divided into two main classes

(i) Co-ordinating Conjunctions join words, phrases or clauses of co-ordinate (of equal) rank.
He is guilty as well as you.

(ii) Subordinating Conjunctions join a subordinate or dependent clause to a principal clause (that is, to a clause of higher rank).

Principal Conjunction Subordinate
I will read that book if you recommend it.

(i) Coordinating Conjunctions are of four kinds

(a) Cumulative or copulative which merely add one statement or fact to another; as,
He is not only honest, but also hard working.
We carved not a line, and raised not a stone.
Cumulative conjunctions are- and, both and, as well as, not only but also.

(b) Adversative conjunctions which express opposition or contrast between two statements; as.
He is sad but hopeful.
Adversative conjunctions as but, whereas, while, only, and still.

(c) Disjunctive or Alternative which express a choice between two alternatives; as,
Work hard, else you will repent.
Either he is mad or he feigns madness.
Disjunctives are either.... or, neither.... nor, or, else.

(d) Illative which express an inference; as,
He will die someday, for all men are mortal.

(ii) Subordinating Conjunctions may be classified according to their meaning, as follows :
1. Of Time : When, whenever, while, as, before, ere, after, since, until, till.

Examples

  • Ram has not phoned since he went to Delhi.
  • She returned home after he had gone.

2. Of Place: Where, wherever, whence, whether.

Examples

  • You can go wherever you like.
  • Sita found her frock where she had left it.

3. Of Cause or Reason : Because, since, as, that.

Examples

  • I am glad that you like it.
  • He will pass the examination because he has worked hard.

4. Of Purpose : That (in order that), lest.

Examples

  • We cat that we may live.
  • He worked hard lest he should fail in the examination.

5. Of Result or Consequence: That.

Examples

  • Mina behaved in such a manner that all disliked her.
  • He was so tired that he could scarcely stand.

6. Of Condition : If unless, whether.

Examples

  • Sita will dance if Reema dances.
  • You cannot succeed unless you work hard.

7. Of Comparison : As, than.

Examples

  • Hail is as intelligent as Shyam.
  • Madan is more intelligent than Manoj.

8. Extent or Manner : As.

Examples

  • Men will reap as they sow.
  • You may do as you please.

By Tense, we understand the correspondence between the form of the verb and our concept of time.
Tense shows (a) the time of an action (b) its degree of completeness.
The verb may tell us:

  1. That an action is done at the present time, e.g., I see the blue sky.
  2. That an action was done in the past time, e.g., He saw the blue sky.
  3. That an action will be done in the future time, e.g., He will see the blue sky.
  4. That an action was done at some past time, viewed as future ('uture in the past), e.g., He said that he would be sixteen in three weeks' time.

A verb, then, has three main times or tenses, viz. the Present, the Past and the Future. To each tense, there are four different forms :

Simple which denotes present, past or future time in its simplest form : 'I play', 'I played', 'I shall play'. The action (in present, past or future time) is mentioned simply, without anything being said about the completeness or incompleteness of the action.

Continuous which denotes that the event (in present,. past or future time) is still continuing or not yet completed : 'I ant reading', I was reading', 'I shall be reading'.

Perfect which denotes that the event (in present, past or future time) is in a completed or perfect state : 'I have played', `I had played', `I shall have played'.

Perfect Continuous which combines the meanings of the two preceding forms, 'I have been reading', 'I had been reading', 'I shall have been reading'. The Present Continuous is used to express an action going on at the time of speaking, e.g.,

The boys are flying kites.
He is playing cricket.
I am reading a book.

(a) It also sometimes expresses habit or custom; as, He is attending college very regularly these days.

(b) For a temporary action which may not be actually happening at the time of speaking; as, I am reading David Copperfield. (but I am not reading it at this moment).

(c) For an action that is planned or arranged to take place in the near future; as,
I ant going to my father tomorrow.
She is going to write a book.

The Present Perfect invariably connects a completed event in one sense or the other with the present time.
e.g., I have lived twenty years in Lucknow. (that is, I ant living there still and I began to live there twenty years ago.) I have passed my examination; I passed it two years ago.

He has been to London; he went there in 1948.
The present perfect denotes an action completed at the time of speaking; as,
I have solved all the sums.
He has visited all the Indian temples.
She has read most of Scott's novels.

The verb in this tense is used in its third form.

(1) An affirmative sentence of the present perfect tense is formed

  1. by adding has before the verb if the subject is in the singular number, e.g., He has eaten. It has eaten. Ram has eaten.
  2. by adding have before the verb if the subject is in the plural number or in the singular number of only the first and the second person, e.g., I have eaten. They have eaten. You have eaten. The children have eaten.

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(IGP) IAS Pre Paper - 2: GS - English Language & Comprehension Skills - Sentence (Part - 1)

Posted: 16 Dec 2011 12:23 AM PST


English Language & Comprehension Skills
Sentence (Part - 1)

Language is the major means by which we communicate and interact with others. When we speak or write, we use words. These words are generally used in groups e.g.: A bad workman quarrels with his tools. A group of words arrange din a manner which makes a complete sense is called a Sentence. Based on meaning and sense, the sentence can be classified as :

  1. Declarative or assertive
  2. Imperative
  3. Interrogative
  4. Exclamatory

Parts of Speech

Words are classified into different kinds or groups called Parts of Speech according to their use and function in a sentence. They are eight in number-Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction and Interjection.

Noun

The Noun is a word used as the name of a person, place or thing. The word thing includes (i) all objects that we can see, touch, hear, smell or taste, and (ii) something we can think of but cannot perceive through our senses. There are five different kinds of noun.

They are :

  1. Proper Noun
  2. Common Noun
  3. Collective Noun
  4. Material Noun
  5. Abstract Noun

Kinds of Noun

The following chart will make you familiar with the different kinds of noun :

Noun Nature of Noun Examples
Proper Noun It denotes a particular person, place or thing. Chander, Kolkata, India, the Ganges, the Gita, etc.
Common Noun It is the name given to any and every person or thing of the same class or kind Table, glass, town, king, book, river, country, etc.
Collective Noun It denotes a group or collection of similar individuals or things considered as one complete whole. Army, class, host, jury, mob, crowd, team, parliament, committee, family, fleet etc.
Material Noun It denotes the matter or substance of Wood, clay, rubber, iron, silver, gold, cloth, etc.
Abstract Noun It expresses quality, state or action. Truth, love, soul, mind, greatness, life, poverty,
manhood, pleasure, pain, honesty, etc.

Pronoun

The repetition of a noun in a sentence or a set of sentences is really boring. So, Grammar prescribes that instead of repeating the noun, we may use a word (for that noun) called pronoun. This leads us to a precise definition of Pronoun.

The Pronoun is a word that we use instead of a noun.

Many people commit grammatical mistakes because they lack thorough knowledge regarding the use of pronouns.

The following facts can be stated on the basis of the above definition:

  1. A pronoun must itself be something equivalent to a noun.
  2. As a rule, the pronoun should not be mentioned until the noun has been mentioned.
  3. A pronoun must be of the same number, gender and person as the noun it stands for.

Pronouns have numerous subclasses. Though there are several features that pronouns have in common with nouns, yet there are some features which distinguish them from nouns. They are as follows:

  1. They do not admit determiners;
  2. They often have an objective case;
  3. They often have person distinction;
  4. They often have overt gender contrast;
  5. Singular and plural forms are often not morphologically related.

Kinds of Prnouns

I. Personal Pronouns : A pronoun which is used instead of the name of a person is known as a Personal Pronoun.

Examples:

  • I, my, mine, me, we, our, ours, us.(First Person)
  • Thou, thine, thy, thee.
  • You, your, yours. (Second Person)
  • He, his, him, she, her, hers, it, its,
  • they, their, theirs, them. (Third Person)

II. Reflexive or Emphatic Pronouns : When self is added to my, your, him, her, it and selves to our, your, them, we get Compound Personal Pronouns. When the action done by the subject turns back (reflects) upon the subject, 'self' is added to the pronoun and becomes a Reflexive or Emphatic pronoun.

Examples

  1. I hurt myself
  2. He hurt himself.
  3. They hurt themselves.

III. Demonstrative Pronouns: The pronouns which are used to point out the objects which they refer to are called Demonstrative Pronouns.

Examples:

  1. This is a gift from my father.
  2. These are merely excuses.
  3. Mumbai mangoes are better than those of Bangalore.
  4. That is the fort of Allahabad.

IV. Indefinite Pronouns : All pronouns which refer to persons or things in a general way and do not refer to any particular person or thing are called Indefinite Pronouns.

Examples:

  1. Somebody has stolen my watch.
  2. Few escaped unhurt.
  3. Did you ask anybody to come?
  4. Nobody was there to welcome her.

V. Distributive Pronouns: Each, either, neither are called Distributive Pronouns because they refer to persons or things-one at a time. For this reason, they are always singular and thus followed by the verb in singular.

Examples:

  1. Each of these men received a reward.
  2. Either of you can go.
  3. Neither of the accusations is true.

VI. Relative Pronouns: A Relative Pronoun refers or relates to some noun going before, which is called its Antecedent.

Examples:

  1. I met Hari who used to live here.
  2. I have found the pen which I had lost.
  3. Here is the book that you lent me.

VII. Interrogative Pronouns: These pronouns are used to ask questions.

Examples

  1. Whose book is this?
  2. What will all the neighbors say?
  3. What do you prefer, tea or coffee?

Note: Interrogative pronouns can also be used in asking indirect questions. Consider the following examples:

  1. I asked who was speaking.
  2. Tell me what you have done.
  3. Say which you would like best.

Adjective

An Adjective is a word that qualifies or adds something to the meaning of a noun.

  1. Madan is a good boy.         (Boy of what kind?)
  2. He gave me ten bananas.    (How many bananas'?)
  3. We do not like that girl.      (Which girl?)

In sentence 1, good tells what kind of boy Madan is.
In sentence 2, ten shows how many bananas he gave me.
In sentence 3, that points out which girl is meant.

Some Facts About Adjectives and their Uses

Adjectives can be used in two ways-attributively and predicatively. When an adjective is placed just before the noun, its use is Attributive, but when it is used after the noun or pronoun, the use is called Predicative.

Examples

  1. This is a sweet mango. (Attributive)
  2. This mango is sweet. (Predicative)
  3. Fame is the perfume of heroic deeds. (Attributive)
  4. The judge declared him guilty. (Predicative)
  5. It is a beautiful painting. (Attributive)
  6. The painting is beautiful. (Predicative)
  7. Sita is a pretty girl. (Attributive)
  8. My daughter is pretty. (Predicative)
  9. Each boy of the class was punished yesterday.
  10. There were only two poets. Each poet recited his poem.
  11. Every man is expected to do his duty.
  12. He comes to me every day.
  13. Every man in this world dies.
  14. India wants peace in every corner of the world.

4. (a) Oral means by word of mouth.
(b) Verbal means concerned with words.

Examples

He sent mean oral, message.

There is not much verbal difference between the two statements.
Oral is the opposite of written.

5. (a) Either means one of the two or each of the two.
(b) Neither is the negative of either.

Examples

  1. You may buy either of these two chairs. (One of the two)
  2. Either book will do.
  3. There are shady trees on either side of the road. (Each)
  4. I can speak on either side.
  5. He can write with either hand.
  6. I can speak on neither side.
  7. Neither of them could speak on the stage.
  8. He can write with neither hand.
  9. Neither of the two pens is costly.

6. (a) Sick means slight indisposition.
(b) Ill means unwell, indisposed.

Examples

  1. I am feeling sick.
  2. He has been seriously ill for the past ten days.

Note: Sick and ill both express the idea of being in bad health, affected with disease etc., but sick is more commonly used than ill, which is somewhat formal (I am feeling sick. He is ill with the flu.)

7. (a) Enough is used with both singular and plural number. It conveys the sense of sufficiency.

Examples

  1. There is enough sugar in the pot.
  2. There are enough eggs in the basket.

8. (a) Only means alone of its or their kind; sole.
(b) Nearest means close in distance, time or relation.
It is the superlative of the adjective near.
(c) Next expresses position. It means just before or after in time, space, degree or rank.

Examples

  1. Sudha is the only daughter of her parents.
  2. The nearest shopping complex from our house is two kilometres away.
  3. How far is it to the next petrol pump?
  4. The State Bank of India is the nearest bank.
  5. The next shop is mine.

9. (a) Later expresses late in time.
(b) Latter means second in position or order.
(c) Latest means most recent.
(d) Last means final in position or order.

Note: Later or latter are comparative degrees of late and latest or last are superlative degrees of late.


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Civil Services Examination - Study Material

Posted: 16 Dec 2011 12:07 AM PST

Civil Services Preliminary Examination - Study Material

Posted: 16 Dec 2011 12:00 AM PST

(IGP) IAS Pre: GS - Gist of Indian Year Book - Land and The People (MCQ -1)

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 11:08 PM PST


Gist of Indian Year Book
Land and The People (MCQ - 1)

1. Consider the following statements?
(i) India is the 7th largest country in the world.
(ii) Has a land frontier of about 15,200 km.
(iii) Total length of the coastine is 7516.6 km

Which of the above are correct
(a) i & ii
(b) ii & iii
(c) i, ii & iii
(d) i


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(IGP) IAS Pre: GS - Gist of Indian Year Book - Land and The People

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:50 PM PST


Gist of Indian Year Book
Land and The People

  • It is the 7th largest country in the world.
  • India covers an area of 32,87,263 sq k.
  • The mainland extends between latitudes 804' and 3706' north, lngitudes 6807' and 97025' east and measures about 3,214 km from north to south between the extrem latitudes and about 2,933 km from east to wet between the extreme longitudes.
  • It has a land frontier of about 15,200 km.
  • the total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman & Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.
  • India is the tenth industrialized country in the world.
  • It is the sixth nation to have gone into outer space.
  • India lies entirely in the northern hemisphere.
  • Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by trhe Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
  • India is the world largest, oldest, continuous civilization.
  • India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
  • India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
  • The World's first university wwas established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the gretest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
  • Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.
  • Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization. • The art of Nagivation was born in the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very world Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The world navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.
  • Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun : (5th cenury) 365.258756484 days.
  • The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and the explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He descovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.
  • Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10**53 (10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BC during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera 10*12(10 to the powre of 12).
  • Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like ceasreans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipmentwere used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
  • The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
  • There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.
  • The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.
  • The place value system, the decimal system was developped in India in 100 BC.
  • India is the only English speaking nation in the world.
  • India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.
  • The World's FirstGranite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonner piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.
  • The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.
  • The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.
  • Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
  • Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

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(Current Affairs) Science & Technology, Defence, Environment | December: 2011

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:30 PM PST

Science & Technology, Defense, Environment

  • Agni-IV Successfully Test Fired
  • Clutch Operation
  • Manned Soyuz Spacecraft
  • New Technology to convert Plastic into Petroleum Products
  • Magnetised Moon Rocks May Explained
  • Dracula Therapy in India
  • Gene HTR7
  • Smarter Robot by Honda
  • How Space Flight Impacts Astronauts' Eyes and Vision
  • Cause of Tube Light Flicker
  • Bulbophyllum Nocturnum
  • N-capable Agni-I Missile Testfired
  • Natural killer T follicular helper
  • Gene ABCC9
  • Key brain-heart link in disease identified
  • NASA Studies Fire in Space
  • Robotics Shaves Weeks off Chemical Production
  • White Matter Fibre Pathways
  • Network Proxy
  • Lost Cities of Libya

    • read more

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(Current Affairs) India and The World | December : 2011

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:19 PM PST

India & The World

(Current Affairs) Economic & Energy | December : 2011

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:06 PM PST

Economic & Energy
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