Part I Santosh Yadov

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?
Answer:
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.

Question 2.
Give an example to show that even as a young girl Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable.
Answer:
Right from the very beginning, Santosh lived life on her own 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

Question 3.
Why was Santosh sent to the local school?
Answer:
Even though Santosh’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.

Question 4.
When did she leave home for Delhi, and why?
Answer:
When she turned sixteen 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.

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?
Answer:
Santosh firmly told her parents that she would work part-time and earn money to pay her fee for her 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).

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

Question 2.
What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh’s concern for her teammates?
Answer:
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 saved the life of another climber Mohan Singh by sharing her oxygen with him.

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

Question 4.
How does she describe her feelings at the summit of the Everest?
Answer:
Santosh literally felt on the top of the world. She unfurled the Indian tricolour. She says that her feeling was indescribable. It was a spiritual moment for her. She felt proud of being 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. When she conquered Mt Everest for the first time at the age of 20, she became the youngest woman in the world to do so. When she climbed it for the second time, she became the only woman in the world to achieve this feat.

III. Complete the following statements.

Question 1.
From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to
Answer:
From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to watch villagers going up the hill and suddenly vanish after a while.

Question 2.
When she finished college, Santosh had to write a letter of apology to her father because
Answer:
When she finished college, Santosh had to write a letter of apology to her father because she had got herself enrolled at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of Mountaineering without his permission.

Question 3.
During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her while endeared her to fellow climbers.
Answer:
During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her climbing skills, physical fitness and mental strength while her concern for others and desire to work together with them 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 (3):
4. a strong desire arising from within (5):
5. the power to endure, without falling ill (7):
Answer:
1. Assumed
2. Rational
3. Custom
4. Urge
5. Resistance

Part II Maria Sharapova

Question 1.
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.

Answer

Reach for the Top 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.

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

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

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

Question 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.A.)
Answer:
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.

Question 1.
Grandfather told me about the old days. All books were printed on ………… paper then.
Answer:
Grandfather told me about the old days when all books were printed on paper.

Question 2.
What do you do after you finish the book? Perhaps you just throw it away.
Answer:
After finishing the book, perhaps you just throw it away.

Question 3.
He gave the little girl an apple. He took the computer apart.
Answer:
He gave the little girl an apple and took the computer apart.

Question 4.
You have nothing. That makes you very determined.
Answer:
Having nothing makes you very determined.

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

Reach for the Top NCERT Workbook Questions

Question 1.
Suggest a word for each sentence/phrase correctly. Refer to the chapter ‘Reach for the Top, Part I’ given in your textbook, Beehive. The paragraph numbers where these words are used, are given in brackets. ,
(a) A state of happiness and satisfaction. ………. (2)
Answer:
contentment

(b) An action or way of behaving that is usual in tradition. ………. (3)
Answer:
custom

(c) A word or statement that expresses agreement or confirmation. …………. (5)
Answer:
affirmative

(d) The ability to withstand hardship or adversity………… (7)
Answer:
resistance

(e) Final stage of something you’ve been working towards. ………….(7)
Answer:
culmination