*********Hanging Gardens of Babylon ***********

1. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one of the wonders that may have been purely legendary.

2. They were purportedly built in the ancient city-state of Babylon, near present-day Al Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq.

3. The Hanging Gardens were not the only World Wonder in Babylon; the city walls and obelisk attributed to Queen Semiramis were also featured in ancient lists of Wonders.

4. The gardens were attributed to the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled between 605 and 562 BC. He is reported to have constructed the gardens to please his homesick wife Amytis of Media, who longed for the plants of her homeland.

5. The gardens were said to have been destroyed by several earthquakes after the 2nd century BC

6. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are documented by ancient Greek and Roman writers, including Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Quintus Curtius Rufus.

7. However, no cuneiform texts describing the Hanging Gardens are extant, and no definitive archaeological evidence concerning their whereabouts has been found.

*********Records of Burj Khalifa 2*********

Ahead of its opening on January 4, Emaar, developer of the Burj Khalifa tower, has released some of the massive numbers and world records that make up the world’s tallest building.


• 31,400 – the amount of steel rebar in metric tonnes used in the structure of Burj Dubai

• 28,261– the number of glass cladding panels making up the exterior of tower and its two annexes

• 15,000 – the amount of water in litres collected from the tower’s cooling equipment that will be used for landscaping irrigation

• 12,000 – the numbers of workers on site during peak of construction

• 5,500 – the capacity in kilograms of the tower’s service lift

• 3,000 – the number of underground parking spaces

• 1,044 – the total number of residential apartments inside Burj Dubai

• 900 – the length in the feet of the world’s tallest performing fountain, The Dubai Fountain, that lies at the foot of the tower

• 605 – the vertical height in metres to which concrete was pumped in the construction of Burj Dubai, a world record for concrete pumping

• 504 – the distance traveled, or ‘rise’ in metres of Burj Dubai’s main service lift, the most of any elevator

******Records of Burj Khalifa********

• Tallest existing structure: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast – 628.8 m/2,063 ft)

• Tallest structure ever built: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously Warsaw radio mast – 646.38 m/2,121 ft)

• Tallest freestanding structure: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously CN Tower – 553.3 m/1,815 ft)

• Tallest skyscraper (to top of spire): 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 509.2 m/1,671 ft)

• Tallest skyscraper to top of antenna: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower – 527 m/1,729 ft)

• Building with most floors: 163 (previously Willis (formerly Sears) Tower – 108)

• Building with world's highest occupied floor

• World's highest elevator installation (situated inside a rod at the very top of the building)

• World's fastest elevators: 64 km/h (40 mph) or 18 m/s (59 ft/s) (previously Taipei 101 – 16.83 m/s)

• Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 606 m (1,988 ft)

• First world's tallest structure to include residential space

• World's second highest outdoor observation deck: 124th floor at 452 m (1,483 ft) When it first opened, the observation deck was the highest outdoor observation deck in the World, but it has since been surpassed by Cloud Top 488 on top of Canton Tower.

• World's highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade: 512 m (1,680 ft)

• World's highest nightclub: 144th floor

• World's highest restaurant (At.mosphere): 122nd floor at 442 m (1,450 ft) (previously 360, at a height of 350 m/1,148 ft in CN Tower)

• World's highest New Year display of fireworks.

• World's second highest swimming pool: 76th floor(world's highest swimming pool is located on 118th floor of Ritz-Carlton Hotel at International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong).

*****INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE AMAZON RIVER****

• The source of the Amazon River is Lago Villafro in the Andes Mountains, Peru.

• The Amazon River is the principle path of transportation for people and produce with transport ranging from balsa rafts and dugout canoes to hand-built wooden rivercraft and modern steel hulled craft.

• The Amazon is the major South American river based in the Amazon basin. It surrounds the Amazon Rainforest and covers territory belonging to nine nations: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

• It is characterized by extensive forested areas that become flooded every rainy season.

• It is the second longest river in the World approximately 6400 kilometres (4000 miles) – only the Nile, in Africa, is longer.

• Because it is so vast, it is sometimes called The River Sea.

• Anaconda snake is found in shallow waters in the Amazon Basin.

• Vicente Yanez Pinzon was the first European to sail into the waters in 1500. The first European to travel the length of the Amazon River was Francisco de Orellana in 1542.

• It has over 1,100 tributaries, 17 of which are over 1,500 kilometres long. A tributary is a stream, or smaller river, that flows into a main river.

• The Amazon River fact is home to the piranha – a deadly meat eating fish.

*********Facts Of NIAGARA FALLS********

• The Niagara River is about 58 kilometres (36 mi.) in length and is the natural outlet from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.

• The elevation between the two lakes is about 99 metres (326 ft.), half occurring at the Falls themselves.

• The total area drained by the Niagara River is approximately 684,000 square kilometres (264,000 sq. mi.).

• The average fall from Lake Erie to the beginning of the upper Niagara Rapids is only 2.7 metres (9 ft.)

• Below the Chippawa-Grass Island Pool control structure, the river falls 15 metres (50 ft.) to the brink of the Falls.

• The deepest section in the Niagara River is just below the Falls. It is so deep it equals the height of the Falls above, 52 metres (170 ft.).

• The Upper Niagara River extends 35 kilometres (22 mi.) from Lake Erie to the Cascade Rapids, which begin 1 kilometre (0.6 mi.) upstream from the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.

• At Grand Island, the Niagara River divides into the west channel, known as the Canadian or Chippawa Channel, and the east channel, known as the American or Tonawanda Channel.

• The Chippawa Channel is approximately 17.7 kilometres (11 mi.) in length and varies from 610 to 1220 metres (2,000 to 4,000 ft.) in width. Water speed ranges from 0.6 to 0.9 metres per second (2 to 3 ft. per second). This channel carries approximately 60% of the total river flow.

• The Tonawanda channel is 24 kilometres (15 mi.) long and varies from 460 to 610 metres (1,500 to 2,000 ft.) in width above Tonawanda Island. Downstream, the channel varies from 460 to 1220 metres (1,500 to 4,000 ft.) in width. Speed ranges from 0.6 to 0.9 metres per second (2 to 3 feet per second).

• The Niagara Gorge extends from the Falls for 11 kilometres (7 mi.) downstream to the foot of the escarpment at Queenston.

GK Test -1

GK : 1

The large anount of sugar present in human blood is

a. sucrose
b. glucose
c. fructose
d. lactose

GK : 2

which of the following is a viral disease in man ?

a. mumps
b. cholera
c. plague
d. syphilis

GK : 3

The major constituent of gobar gas is

a. carbon dioxide
b. methane
c. butane
d. isobutane

GK : 4

Bee keeping is known as

a. sericuluture
b. apiculuture
c. aquaculuture
d. agriculuture

GK : 5

pick the odd 1 out based on crop season

a. rice
b. wheat
c. maize
d. cotton

GK : 6

coldest among the following is

a. mars
b. pluto
c. earth
d. mercury

GK : 7

Brass is an alloy of copper &

a. tin
b. iron
c. zinc
d. nickel

GK : 8

who discovered x rays ?

a. Goldstein
b. Thomson
c. Rontgen
d. Eien

GK : 9

The 1st mid-term election for loksabha were held on

a. 1962
b. 1977
c. 1980
d. 1971

GK : 10

Japan's parliament is known as

a. Diet
b. Yuan
c. Dail
d. Shora

GK : 11

RBI was nationlised in

a. 1947
b. 1949
c. 1951
d. 1948

GK : 12

The currency of Thailand is

a. Bhat
b. Yuan
c. Yen
d. Rupiah

GK : 13

Indian penal code came into operation in

a. 1958
b. 1960
c. 1959
d. 1962

Gk : 14

Dolly , the world's 1st cloned animal was a

a. sheep
b. goat
c. cow
d. pig

English Test -1

Eng : 1
choose the opposite meaning.
APPARENT

a. illegible
b. hidden
c. mysterious
d. remote

Eng : 2

Synonym for INDIGNATION

a. hatred
b. anger
c. disapproval
d. contempt

Eng : 3
Synonym for METICULOUS

a. interfere
b. agreement
c. courage
d. careful

Eng:  4
Synonym for RESCIND

a. change
b. revoke
c. repeat
d. reconsider

Eng : 5
Synonym for ANTIPATHY

a. dishonesty
b. disturbance
c. demonstration
d. dislike

Eng : 6
Opposite of ALIEN

a. native
b. natural
c. domiciled
d. resident

Eng : 7

Opposite of FUTILE

a. upright
b. eminent
c. costly
d. worthy

Eng : 8

Opposite of ANDACIOUS

a. meek
b. cowardly
c. mild
d. gentle

Eng : 9

Opposite of ARROGANT

a. simple
b. timid
c. civilized
d. modest

Eng : 9

The patient is _________ of stomachache.

a. suffering
b. experiencing
c. complaining
d. afficting

Eng : 10
A good teacher should ____________ responses from the students.

a. elicit
b. provoke
c. infer
d. command

Eng : 11

Had he taken his degree 5 years ago _________ got a promotion by now.

a. might
b. will be
c. was
d. would have

Eng : 12

He drove the car very fast _______.

a. did he ?
b. didn't he ?
c. does he ?
d. was he ?

Eng :13

He _______ wants to succeed in life must be prepared to work hard.

a. whoever
b. who
c. whom
d. whose

Eng :14

it is time to _________ home .

a. go
b. went
c. come
d. reach

Eng :15

_________ a walk in the morning will improve your health

a. going to
b. go to
c. go for
d. going for

Eng : 16

Govt. must  _______ the rise in prices.

a. cheque
b. cease
c. seize
d. check