NCERT Solutions for class 9th English Chapter 8 Reach for the Top

TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED

I. THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT

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

  1. Why was the ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings surprised? (1)
  2. Give an example to show that even as a young girl Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable. (2)
  3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school? (3)
  4. When did she leave home for Delhi, and why? (4)
  5. Why did Santosh’s parents agree to pay for her schooling in Delhi? What mental qualities of Santosh are brought to light by this incident? (4)

Ans.

  1. The ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings was surprised because her grandmother sought blessings for a daughter. In this society most of the people ask the seers to bless for a son. So he got surprised.
  2. She used to wear shorts and not the traditional dresses meant for girls.
  3. She was sent to the local school in line with the prevailing custom in the family.
  4. She left home for Delhi to get proper education. She was sixteen at that time.
  5. Her parents got ready because she informed them of her plans to earn money by working part time to pay her school fees.

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

  1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?
  2. What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh’s concern for her team-mates?
  3. What shows her concern for the environment?
  4. How does she describe her feelings at the summit of the Everest?
  5. Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mt. Everest. What were the reasons for this?

Ans.

  1. She began to climb mountains when she watched villagers from her room, going up the hill and suddenly vanishing after a while. One day, she decided to check it out herself. She found nobody except a few mountaineers. Later she saved money and enrolled in a course at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of Mountaineering.
  2. Santosh Yadav provided special care to a climber who lay dying at the South Pole in 1992 Everest Mission. She saved Mohan Singh, who would have lost his life had she not shared her oxygen with him.
  3. Santosh was really concerned for the environment. She collected and brought down 500 Kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.
  4. She said that it took some time for the enormity of the moment to sink in. She was delighted at this moment and proudly unfurled the Indian tricolour.
  5. She is the youngest woman who scaled the Everest. She is the only woman who climbed the Everest twice.

III. Complete the following statements:

  1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to_____ .
  2. When she finished college, Santosh had to write a letter of apology to her father because____.
  3. During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her ____while ___endeared her to fellow climbers.

Ans.

1…. see the villagers going up the hill and suddenly vanishing after a while.
2…. she was going directly for training and not home which she should have done.
3…. climbing skills, physical fitness and mental strength while working together endeared her to fellow climbers.

IV. Pick out words from the text that mean the same as the following words or expressions. (Look in the paragraphs indicated.)

  1. took to be true without proof (1): _–
  2. based on reason; sensible; reasonable (2): _
  3. the usual way of doing things (para 3): _
  4. a strong desire arising from within (5): _
  5. the power to endure, without falling ill (7): __

Ans. 1. blessing 2. rational 3. in her own quiet way 4. urge 5. resistance/endurance

II.

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 US.)

Ans.

  1. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses Santosh preferred shorts.
  2. She got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi when she left home.
  3. When the right moment arrived, she decided to fight.
  4. Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed off to train in the United States.

II. Now rewrite the pairs of sentences given below as one sentence.

  1. Grandfather told me about the old days. All books were printed on paper then.
  2. What do you do after you finish the book? Perhaps you just throw it away.

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 US.)

Ans.

  1. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses Santosh preferred shorts.
  2. She got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi when she left home.
  3. When the right moment arrived, she decided to fight.
  4. Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed off to train in the United States.

II. Now rewrite the pairs of sentences given below as one sentence.

  1. Grandfather told me about the old days. All books were printed on paper then.
  2. What do you do after you finish the book? Perhaps you just throw it away.
  3. He gave the little girl an apple. He took the computer apart.
  4. You have nothing. That makes you very determined.
  5. I never thought of quitting. I knew what I wanted.

Ans.

  1. Grandfather told me about the old days when all books were printed on paper.
  2. I throw the book away after I read it.
  3. After giving the little girl an apple, he took the computer apart.
  4. You have nothing that makes you very determined.
  5. I never thought of quitting as I knew what I wanted.

DICTATION

Read the passage once. Then close your books. Your teacher will dictate the story to you. Write it down with the correct punctuation and paragraphing.

The Raincoat

After four years of drought in a small town in the Northeast, the Vicar gathered everyone together for a pilgrimage to the mountain, where they would pray together and ask for the rain to return.

The priest noticed a boy in the group wearing a raincoat. ‘‘Have you gone mad ?’’ he asked. ‘‘It hasn’t rained in this region for five years, the heat will kill you climbing the mountain.’’

‘‘I have a cold, father. If we are going to ask God for rain, can you imagine the way back from the mountain? It’s going to be such a downpour that I need to be prepared.’’

At that moment a great crash was heard in the sky and the first drops began to fall. A boy’s faith was enough to bring about a miracle that not even those most prepared truly believed in. (translated by James Mulholland)

Ans. The Raincoat

After four years of drought in a small town in the Northeast, the Vicar gathered everyone together for a pilgrimage to the mountain, where they would pray together and ask for the rain to return.

The priest noticed a boy in the group wearing a raincoat. ‘‘Have you gone mad ?’’ he asked. ‘‘It hasn’t rained in this region for five years. The heat will kill you climbing the mountain.’’

‘‘I have a cold, father. If we are going to ask God for rain, can you imagine the way back from the mountain? It’s going to be such a downpour that I need to be prepared.’’

At that moment a great crash was heard in the sky and the first drops began to fall. A boy’s faith was enough to bring about a miracle that not even those most prepared truly believed in.

SPEAKING

Imagine that you are Santosh Yadav, or Maria Sharapova. You have been invited to speak at an All India Girls’ Athletic Meet, as chief guest. Prepare a short speech to motivate the girls to think and dream big and make an effort to fulfil their dreams, not allowing difficulties or defeat to discourage them. The following words and phrases may help you.

  • Self confident/confidence/sure of yourself
  • self assured/assurance/belief in yourself
  • morale/boost morale/raise morale
  • giving somebody a boost/fillip/lift
  • demoralising/unsure of yourself/insecure/lack confidence

Ans. Good Morning Everybody!

I am glad to see all the participants on this platform. Your life solely depends on the sincere efforts you are ready to make. Your indomitable faith in your potential, strong determination, and hard work can help you in bringing glory to your family, nation, and yourself. One must not lose confidence in the trying circumstances. Those who devote themselves completely to their goods attain considerable success within a short span of time. Their achievements become a source of fascination to others. My advice to you is to maintain the spirit of sportsmanship and do miracles in whatever field you are in.

Thanks.

WRITING

Working in pairs, go through the table below that gives you information about the top women tennis players since 1975. Write a short article for your school magazine comparing and contrasting the players in terms of their duration at the top. Mention some qualities that you think may be responsible for their brief or long stay at the top spot.

Top-Ranked Women Players

I. The roll of honour of women who enjoyed life at the summit since everybody’s favourite player, Chris Evert, took her place in 1975.

II. Which of these words would you use to describe Santosh Yadav? Find reasons in the text to support your choices, and write a couple of paragraphs describing Santosh’s character.

contented determined resourceful polite adventurous considerate weak-willed fearful independent pessimistic patient persevering

Ans. Santosh Yadav was determined, considerate, polite, and hard-working. She was a rebel who did not want to follow the traditional ways of living. She developed a remarkable resistance to cold and altitude required for mountaineering. She proved herself repeatedly because of her iron will, physical endurance, and amazing mental toughness. She was a fervent environmentalist who brought 500 kgs of garbage from the Himalayas.

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