Tureen

tureen [ too'-REEN ]
[ noun ]

MEANING :
1. a large covered bowl used for serving soup or stew
2. a large and deep dish which has a cover

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The butler served the guests with soup from a huge tureen.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
Silver platters of sushi, cold meats and delicately cut sandwiches were constantly replenished, along with tureens of beef and broccoli, grilled salmon or scallops.

Enrapture

enrapture [ en-RAP-cher ]
[ transitive verb ]

MEANING :
1. (tr. v.) to fill with delight
2. (tr. v.) to enchant
3. (tr. v.) to enthrall or entrance

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The audience was enraptured by the stellar performance of the Russian Ballet troupe.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
By the end of the evening they had most of the crowd squeezed onto the dance floor enraptured by the performance.

Germinal

germinal [ JUR-muh'-nl ]
[ adjective ]

MEANING :
1. occurring in the earliest stage of development
2. relating to a germ or germs or germ cell

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
They were provided with a germinal concept and had to build a plan of action around it.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
We surmise that cells of the adult forebrain germinal zone might be potential candidate cells to be transplanted for the replacement of non-renewable hair cells.

Gobble

gobble [ GOB-uh'l ]
[ intransitive verb, transitive verb ]

MEANING :
1. (tr. v.) to eat greedily
2. (intr. v.) to eat quickly and greedily
3. (intr. v.) to utter a guttural, chortling sound like a male turkey

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The hungry urchins gobbled up the food they were given and then asked for more.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannise their teachers.

Dossier

dossier [ DOS-ee-ey; Fr. daw-SEYE ]
[ noun ]

MEANING :
1. a file of documents on a particular subject
2. a collection or a complete file containing details about a person or subject

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The incriminating dossier of the company had mysteriously disappeared.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
Lawyers for the last man to be sentenced to death in Northern Ireland are to seek access to a secret dossier in a bid to overturn his conviction.

Sextant

sextant [ SEK-stuh'nt ]
[ noun ]

MEANING :
1. an instrument used to determine latitude and longitude at sea by measuring the altitudes of the stars or other celestial bodies

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
In the old days, before the discovery of radar the sextant was used in the navigation of ships.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
Last week, a sextant -- an instrument used by navigators to measure the angular distance of the sun from the horizon -- with the inscription "Mercier" was found near "the fault".

Circumspect

circumspect [ SUR-kuh'm-spekt ]
[ adjective ]

MEANING :
1. (adj.) cautious or watchful and discreet
2. (adj.) mindful of the circumstances and consequences
3. (adj.) prudent

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The confident trickster had never been caught because of his circumspect behaviour.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
Defense Secretary Robert Gates praises former President Reagan for being "circumspect" about putting American troops at risk.

Motif

motif [ moh-TEEF ]
[ noun ]

MEANING :
1. a recurrent theme in an artistic or literary work
2. a distinctive and recurring shape appearing in a design
3. a dominant concept, feature or central idea

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The decorative motif on the curtains was very eye-catching.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
Journalists shown around the compound earlier this week noted cushions emblazoned with diamante skulls, and walls decorated with a flame motif.

Degenerate

degenerate [ v. di-JEN-uh'-reyt; adj., n. di-JEN-er-it ]
[ noun, verb, adjective ]

MEANING :
1. (adj.) having lost the qualities appropriate to humankind
2. (adj.) having sunk below the desired level of moral qualities
3. (n.) a person who has fallen from a normal standard of moral character
4. (tr. v.) to sink below the normal standard in mental, physical or moral qualities
5. (intr. v.) to bring about deterioration

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
He was shunned by society because he was a degenerate person

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
The Hamas-organized rally began peacefully but degenerated into violence with hundreds of Palestinians throwing rocks across the border wall.

Orient

orient [ n., adj. AWR-ee-uh'nt, -ee-ent, OHR-; v. AWR-ee-ent ]
[ noun, verb, adjective ]

MEANING :
1. (n.) the east; also the eastern region of the heavens
2. (n.) Asian countries
3. (adj.) exceptionally lustrous or iridescent
4. (tr. v.) to adjust to or become familiar with
5. (tr. v.) to place or position so as to face the east
6. (tr. v.) to align with respect to a point of reference

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
Businessmen tour the orient in search of lucrative trade opportunities.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
But Brazil still needs market oriented reforms of taxation, pensions and education

Remove Virus in XP that Disables "Show Hidden Files"

There is a certain virus that prevents XP users from viewing the hidden files.

The virus meddles with the ’Show hidden files and folders’ option in the Folder Options and the option keeps bouncing back to ‘Do not show hidden files and folders’, despite repeated trials.

Here is how you can set this problem right:

Navigate to the windows registry:
Go to Start menu
Click Run
Type regedit in the text box and then click Enter.

When the Registry Editor opens, perform the following steps:

Go to the following registry key:

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and then open Software.Under this navigate to:

Microsoft -> Windows -> Current Version -> Explorer Then go to Advanced -> Folder -> Hidden -> SHOWALL

Delete the value CheckedValue.

(Its type should be REG_SZ and data should be 2 or 0.)

Modify the value data to 1 (0×00000001).This should enable you to select the ‘Show hidden files and folders’ option without much problem.

How to Remove Autorun Virus from Hard Disk Drives

  1. Open command prompt. Go to Windows, then Run, and type "cmd" . Press enter
  2. Type "cd\" and press enter to get to the root directory of c:\ .
  3. Type "attrib -h -r -s autorun.inf" and press enter.
  4. Type "del autorun.inf" and press enter.
  5. Repeat the same process with other drives, type "d:" and do the same thing. then next "e:".and restart your computer.
  6. Restart your computer and it's done. Enjoy the freedom to open hard drives on a double click.

Slipshod

slipshod [ SLIP-shod ]
[ adjective ]

MEANING :
1. untidy or careless
2. slovenly
3. shabby in appearance

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
He was denied entry into the five star restaurant because of the slipshod way he was dressed.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
The surprise, and disappointment, of "The Da Vinci Code" is how slipshod and hokey the religious detective story now seems.

Indoctrinate

indoctrinate [ in-DOK-truh'-neyt ]
[ transitive verb ]

MEANING :
1. to instruct in a principle or ideology
2. to teach or impress upon
3. to influence with an ideological point of view

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The militants were indoctrinated against western culture.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
But Ryan Kent, the lawyer who filed suit on behalf of Harrelson and 26 other former employees in May, said Dahn Yoga leaders indoctrinate followers, then "take advantage of you and take all your money."

Prologue

prologue [ PROH-lawg ]
[ noun, verb ]

MEANING :
1. (n.) an introductory part or preface to a literary piece or speech
2. (n.) the actor who delivers an introduction
3. (v.) to introduce with

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
After reading the prologue which was not to his liking he returned the book to the library without reading it.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
The prologue, by the first of many narrators, explains that the story takes place in “that golden age which nobody noticed… at the time”: between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the attack on the World Trade Center.

Sullen

sullen [ SUHL-uh'n ]
[ adjective ]

MEANING :
1. sulky or silent resentment
2. somber or gloomy
3. sluggish

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The child was in a sullen mood because he could not have his way.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
My son is 15 years old and moody, uncommunicative, sullen and rude.

Philanthropist

philanthropist [ fi-LAN-thruh'-pist ]
[ noun ]

MEANING :
1. a person who is charitable in an effort to increase the well-being of humankind
2. a person who has a great love of humankind

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
A philanthropist funded the research and development of the new vaccine which has saved many lives.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
He said Sir Allen was the most significant philanthropist Northern Ireland has ever known.

Gate 2010 Aptitude Solved Paper (Mining Engineering)

1. The closest meaning of the word EXHORT is
a) Urge
b) restrain
c) condemn
d) scold
Answer:a

2. PREAMBLE: CONSTITUTION
a) Amendment: Law
b) Prologue: Play
c) Episode: Serial
d) plot: story
Answer:b

3. Fill in the blanks
The committee wrote a ...............report extolling only the strength of the proposal
a) Reasonable
b) supportive
c) biased
d) fragmented
Answer:c

4. If the country has to achieve real prosperity, it is ............. that the fruits of progress reach all in equal measures.
a) Inevitable
b) Contingent
c) Oblivious
d) Imperative
Answer:d

5. A person invest Rs. 1000 at 10% CI compounded annually for 2 years .At the end of 2 years the whole amount is invested at an annual SI of 12 % pa for 5 years. The total value of investment finally is
a) 1776
b) 1760
c) 1920
d) 1936
Answer:d

6. "The ban on smoking in designated public places can save a large number of well known effects of environmental tobacco smoke, and the passive smokers are the worst affected from it”. Which of the following sentences sums up the meaning of the above passage?
a) Effects of tobacco are well known
b) The ban of smoking in public places protects the non smokers
c) Passive smoking is bad for your health.
d) The ban of smoking in public places excludes passive smokers.
Answer:b

7. Consider the set of integers (1, 2, 3..............,5000) the number of integers that is divisible by neither 3 nor 4 is :
a) 1668
b) 2084
c) 2500
d) 2916
Answer:c

8. Given the sequence A, BB, CCC, DDDD...........and so on , the 240th letter in the sequence will be:
a) V
b) U
c) T
d) W
Answer:a

9. A positive integer m in base 10 when represented in base 2 has the representation p and the base 3 has the representation q , We get p-q= 990, where the subtraction is done in base 10 , Which of the following is necessarily true:
a)14
b) 9
Answer:b

10. Given the following functions
f1 (n) =n100 f2 (n) =1.2n f3 (n) =2n/2 f4 (n) = 3n/3 Which function will have the largest value for sufficiently large value of n as (n→∞)
a) f1
b) f2
c) f3
d) f4
Answer:d

Electrical Engineering GATE 2010 Answer Key

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.B

5.B

6.A

7.B

8.D

9.D

10.A

11.C

12.D

13.C

14.C

15.A

16.A

17.A

18.C

19.C

20.C

21.B

22.B

23.A

24.C

25.A

26.D

27.C

28.B

29.B

30.D

31.D

32.C

33.B

34.C

35.A

36.A

37.C

38.C

39.A

40.C

41.D

42.B

43.A

44.B

45.A

46.A

47.D

48.B

49.B

50.D

51.A

52.B

53.D

54.D

55.A

56.D

57.D

58.A

59.B

60.C

61.B

62.D

63.C

64.B

65.C

Expected Cut Off for IITs is 35 Marks or 95 Percentile

Write your marks through comments.....Solution will be published soon...

Eigenvalues of 2×2 matrices by Trace and determinant

An analytic solution for the eigenvalues of 2×2 matrices can be obtained directly from the quadratic formula: if

A = \begin{bmatrix} a  & b \\ c & d \end{bmatrix}


The characteristics polynomial is

\rm det \begin{bmatrix} a-\lambda & b \\ c & d-\lambda \end{bmatrix}=(a-\lambda)(d-\lambda)-bc=\lambda^2-(a+d)\lambda+(ad-bc)


so the solutions are

 \lambda = \frac{a + d}{2}  \pm \sqrt{\frac{(a + d)^2}{4} + bc - ad} = \frac{a + d}{2}  \pm \frac{\sqrt{4bc + (a - d)^2  }}{2}


Notice that the characteristic polynomial of a 2×2 matrix can be written in terms of the TRACE tr(A) = a + d and determinant det(A) = adbc as

{\rm det} \begin{bmatrix} a-\lambda & b \\ c & d-\lambda \end{bmatrix}   = {\rm det} \left[ A - \lambda I_{2}\right]    = \lambda^2- \lambda {\rm tr}(A)+ {\rm det}(A)


where I2 is the 2×2 identity matrix The solutions for the eigenvalues of a 2×2 matrix can thus be written as

  \lambda = \frac{1}{2} \left({\rm tr}(A) \pm \sqrt{{\rm tr}^2 (A) - 4 {\rm det}(A)} \right)