English(Beehive) Class 9 : Lesson 8 - Reach for the Top (Part 1 + Part 2)

In this page you get NCERT Solution Class 9 English Beehive Lesson 8 Reach for the Top being given. English have two parts. English Beehive Class 9th has been set by the CBSE Board. The speciality of this page is that here you can download pdf of NCERT Solution Class 9 English Beehive. I expect that the given Class 9 English Beehive solution Lesson 8 Reach for the Top will be immensely useful to you. 

Lesson 8
Reach for the Top

Part I
Santosh Yadav

Thinking about the Text
I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each.

1. Why was the 'holy man' who gave Santosh' s mother his blessing surprised?
Ans: One day a holy man visited Santosh's house. He blessed her pregnant mother to have a son but he was surprised when Santosh's grandmother told him that she did not want to have a grandson.


2. Give an example to show that even as a young girl Santhosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable?
Ans: Right from the very beginning Santosh lived life on her on terms.She was not content with the traditional way of life and was not ready to accept anything unreasonable where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses,Santosh preferred shorts.


3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school?
Ans: Even though Santhosh's parents could afford to send their children to the best schools she was sent to the local village school because of the customs in the family.


4. When did she leave home for Delhi and why?
Ans: When she turned 16 and was under pressure to get married,Santosh threatened her parents that she would never marry if she did not get a proper education. Therefore she left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi.


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?
Ans: Santosh firmly told her parents that she would work part- time and earn money to pay her fee for education. Seeing her firm determination and interest in studies they agreed to pay for her schooling in Delhi.

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

1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?
Ans: Santosh was residing in Kasturba Hostel in Jaipur. It was located in the Aravali Hills. She used to watch the the villagers going up the hills.Out of curiosity she joined them and found that they were mountaineers.She joined them and they motivated to take up climbing.


2. What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh's concern for her team-mates?
Ans: During the 1992 Everest mission,she provided special care to a climber who was dying at the South. The lowest point on a mountain ridge she is saved the life of another climber Mohan Singh by sharing oxygen with him.


3. What shows her concern for the environment?
Ans: She brought down 500 kg of garbage from the Himalayas.This shows her concern for the environment.


4. How does she describe her feeling at the summit of the Everest?
Ans: Santosh literally felt on the top of the world. She unfurled the Indian tricolor. She says that her feeling was incredible.It was a spiritual moment for her.She felt proud of being an Indian.


5. Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mount Everest.What were the reasons for this?
Ans: Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mount Everest.When she conquered Mount Everest for the first time at the age of 20, she became the youngest woman in the world to do so. When she climbed for the second time she became the only woman in the world to achieve this feat.

Extra Questions

1. Why was Maria sad while going to Florida?
Ans: Maria was sad while going to Florida as she had to spend two years, separated from her mother. Because of some visa related issue she did not get the permission to go to Florida with Maria and this is the reason behind her sadness.


2. Write the two reasons of depression of Maria, was Maria really depressed?
Ans: Maria was upset as her mother was not with her and her father was always busy to earn money to continue the tennis training of Maria. Again at training centre the seniors always ordered Maria to clean the room.
But all these incidents did not make Maria depressed. Instead of being depressed she became determined and mentally tough. She understood that she should be more focused to achieve her dream.

3. What are the likings of Maria Sharapova apart from tennis?
Ans: Apart from tennis Maria’s Favourite pastime are fashion, singing and dancing. She likes to read novels writer by Arthur Conan Doyle. She likes to wear fashionable and sophisticated evening gowns and though she is a sports person, she love to eat pancakes with chocolate spreading and orange drinks.


4. What are, other than tennis, Maria’s likings?
Ans: Other than Tennis, Maria Sharapova has some hobbies like fashion, singing and dancing. In leisure time, she loves to dive into the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle. Sophisticated evening gowns are known as one of her favourite outfits. Pancakes with chocolate spread and fizzy orange drinks are listed as her tasty treats.

5. How did Maria’s father contribute to the success of Maria?
Ans: Maria was a Russian girl. Her father took her to USA when she was 9. Her mother couldn’t join them due to visa problem. She had to stay at foreign country for years being detached to her mother. Her father worked hard at USA to manage cost of tennis training, so he couldn’t see his daughter frequently. Maria used to stay at hostel.

Part II
Maria Sharapova

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.)
Ans: Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred shorts.


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


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


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.)
Ans: 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.
Ans: Grandfather told me about the old days when all books were printed on paper.


2. What do you do after you finish the book? Perhaps you just throw it away.
Ans: Perhaps you just throw the book away after reading it.


3. He gave the little girl an apple. He took the computer apart.
Ans: After giving the little girl an apple, he took the computer apart.


4. You have nothing. That makes you very determined.
Ans: You have nothing which makes you very determined.


5. I never thought of quitting. I knew what I wanted.
Ans: I never thought of quitting as I knew what I wanted.

Extra Questions

1. What is the most important achievement of my dear Sharapova so far?
Ans: Maria Sharapova's first major achievement was to win the women's single crown at Wimbledon in the year 2004. Another significant achievement of Maria was on 22nd August 2005 when she reached the the number one position in the world women tennis.


2. What was the secret of Maria's success?
Ans:Strong determination and mental toughness were the secret of Maria success. She was highly competitive and worked hard at whatever she did. She was never depressed all the adverse conditions made her more alert and mentally sound.


3. How was Maria treated by her fellow students at Florida?
Ans: Maria was the youngest trainee.She was just 9 years old she would go to her bed at 8 p.m. but her seniors would return at 11:00 p.m. they used to wake her up and forced to do their work she had to clean the room for them .She was insulted by them.


4. What are other than tennis, Maria's likings?
Ans: Maria Sharapova most of her time in playing tennis. But she has some other likings too. Her hobbies are fashion, singing and dancing. She is fond of wearing pretty evening gowns. She likes pancakes with chocolate spread and fizzy orange drinks.