Class 9 English Chapter 8 NCERT Solutions |Reach For the Top

Reach for the Top Question And Answer

I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each. (The paragraph numbers within brackets provide clues to the answers.)

Question 1: Why was the ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings surprised? (1)

Answer:

The ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings was surprised because Santosh’s grandmother sought that Santosh’s mother be blessed with a daughter. This was quite astonishing for the holy man because people mostly seek blessings for having a son.

Question 2: Give an example to show that even as a young girl Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable. (2)

Answer:

Even as a young girl, Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable. She was not content with her place in traditional way of life and began living life on her own terms from the start. While other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh used to wear shorts.

Question 3: Why was Santosh sent to the local school? (3)

Answer:

Although Santosh’s parents were rich landowners and could have sent her to the best schools, Santosh was sent to the local school because of the prevailing custom in the family.

Question 4: When did she leave home for Delhi, and why? (4)

Answer:

She left home for Delhi when she was sixteen because she wanted to get a proper education.

Question 5: Why did Santosh’s parents agree to pay for her schooling in Delhi? What mental qualities of Santosh are brought into light by this incident? (4)

Answer:

Santosh’s parents agreed to pay for her schooling in Delhi when she informed them about her plans to earn money by working part time to pay for her education.

By this incident, we get to know that Santosh had a very clear goal of getting properly educated no matter what.

II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words)

Question 1: How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?

Answer:

Kasturba Hostel where Santosh used to stay during her college days, faced Aravalli Hills. She used to watch the villagers go up the hill and vanish after a while. She decided to check out the mountains herself. She asked the villagers if she could join them to which they agreed. This is how Santosh began to climb mountains.

Question 2: What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh’s concern for her team-mates?

Answer:

During the Everest expedition in 1992, Santosh provided special care to a climber who was dying at the South Col. She could not save him but she managed to save another climber, Mohan Singh, by sharing her oxygen with him.

Question 3: What shows her concern for the environment?

Answer:

Santosh collected and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas on her way back from the 1992 Everest expedition. This shows her concern for the environment.

Question 4: How does she describe her feelings at the summit of the Everest?

Answer:

She says that it took her some time for the enormity of the moment to sink in. She unfurled the Indian tricolor and held it aloft on the roof of the world.

She tells that the feeling is indescribable to watch the Indian flag flying on top of the world. She felt proud as an Indian.

Question 5: Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mt Everest. What were the reasons for this?

Answer:

Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mt Everest. The first time she climbed Mt Everest, she got the record of the youngest woman in the world to achieve the feat. The second time she climbed Mt Everest, she became the only woman to climb the Everest twice.

Part- 2 Maria Sharapova

Thinking about the Text

Working in small groups of 4–5 students, go back over the two passages on Santosh Yadav and Maria Sharapova and complete the table given below with relevant phrases or sentences.Thinking about Language

Look at the following sentences. They each have two clauses, or two parts each with their own subject and verb or verb phrase. Often, one part (italicised) tells us when or why something happened.

• I reached the market when most of the shops had closed. (Tells us when I reached.)

• When Rahul Dravid walked back towards the pavilion, everyone stood up. (Tells us when everyone stood up.)

• The telephone rang and Ganga picked it up. (Tells us what happened next.)

• Gunjan has been with us ever since the school began. (Tells us for how long he has been with us.)

I. Identify the two parts in the sentences below by underlining the part that gives us the information in brackets, as shown above.

1. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred shorts. (Contrasts her dress with that of others)

2. She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. (Tells us what happened after the first action.)

3. She decided to fight the system when the right moment arrived. (Tells us when she was going to fight the system.)

4. Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed off to train in the United States. (Tells us when Maria was sent to the U.S.)

Answer:

1. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred shorts. (Contrasts her dress with that of others)

2. She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. (Tells us what happened after the first action.)

3. She decided to fight the system when the right moment arrived. (Tells us when she was going to fight the system.)

4. Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed off to train in the United States. (Tells us when Maria was sent to the U.S.)