Class 9, Chapter 8: Reach for the Top

Chapter 8 in "Beehive" is **"Reach for the Top"**. This chapter has two parts:

* **Part I: Santosh Yadav**

* **Part II: Maria Sharapova**

Chapter 8: Reach for the Top

**Part I: Santosh Yadav**

**Thinking about the Text**

**I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each (the paragraph numbers within brackets tell you where to look for the answers).**

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

    * **Answer:** The ‘holy man’ was surprised because Santosh's grandmother told him that they did not want a son, but a daughter, which was unusual in that society.

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 preferred to wear shorts when other girls in her village wore traditional Indian dresses, showing she was not ready to accept unreasonable customs.

3. **Why did Santosh leave home for Delhi, and why? (3)**

    * **Answer:** Santosh left home for Delhi to get a proper education. She threatened her parents that she would never marry if she did not get a proper education, and then got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi when she turned sixteen.

4. **Why did Santosh’s parents agree to pay for her schooling in Delhi? What mental quality of Santosh is brought into light by this incident? (4)**

    * **Answer:** Santosh’s parents agreed to pay for her schooling in Delhi when she informed them of her plans to earn money by working part-time to pay her school fees. This incident shows Santosh's determination and her strong will power.

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

1. **How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?**

    * **Answer:** Santosh began to climb mountains when she watched some climbers from her Kasturba Hostel room in Jaipur going up the Aravalli Hills and disappearing. One day, she decided to check it out herself and asked if she could join them, which they affirmed.

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

    * **Answer:** During the 1992 Everest expedition, Santosh Yadav provided special care to a climber who lay dying at the South Col but couldn't save him. However, she managed to save another climber, Mohan Singh, by sharing her oxygen with him.

3. **What shows her concern for the environment?**

    * **Answer:** Santosh's concern for the environment is shown by the fact that she collected and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.

4. **How does she describe her feelings at the summit of the Everest?**

    * **Answer:** She describes her feelings at the summit as "indescribable." Unfurling the Indian tricolour was a spiritual moment for her, and she felt proud as an Indian.

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

    * **Answer:**

        * **First time:** She became the youngest woman in the world to scale Mt Everest.

        * **Second time:** She became the only woman to have scaled Mt Everest twice.

**III. Complete the following statements.**

1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to **watch villagers going up the hill and suddenly vanishing after a while.**

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

3. During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her **climbing skills, physical fitness and mental strength, while also being impressed by her concern for others and desire to work together with them.**

4. Her concern for the environment is evident when **she collected and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.**

**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): **blessing** (or more broadly, assumed based on the holy man's words)

    * *(More precise: the text doesn't directly give a synonym for this in paragraph 1, but the grandmother "told him that their desire was... " suggesting they stated their wish, not that the holy man "took it to be true without proof". Perhaps the intended word is closer to how the blessing itself was perceived.)*

    * A better interpretation could be focusing on how Santosh herself operated: **made up her own mind / paved her own path.**

    * If it relates to the holy man, he "assumed" they wanted a son.

2. based on reason; sensible; reasonable (2): **rational**

3. the usual way of doing things (3): **custom**

4. a strong desire arising from within (5): **urge**

5. the power to endure, without falling ill (7): **resistance / endurance** (text says "remarkable resistance to cold and the altitude" and "iron will, physical endurance")

**V. Match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B.**

| A | B |

| :---------------- | :---------------------------------------------------- |

| 1. Indomitable | (i) easily disappointed or hurt |

| 2. Considerate | (ii) most important |

| 3. Unwavering | (iii) that which cannot be conquered or defeated |

| 4. Touching | (iv) thinking about the feelings or wishes of others |

| 5. Paramount | (v) not changing or becoming weaker in any way |

**Answer:**

1. Indomitable – **(iii) that which cannot be conquered or defeated**

2. Considerate – **(iv) thinking about the feelings or wishes of others**

3. Unwavering – **(v) not changing or becoming weaker in any way**

4. Touching – **(i) easily disappointed or hurt** *(This meaning for 'touching' isn't the primary one and doesn't fit the context of positive attributes well. 'Touching' usually means emotionally moving. If "touchy" was intended, then (i) would fit. Given the list, this seems to be a slightly awkward pairing unless interpreted as 'sensitive' leading to being easily affected).*

    * A better meaning for "touching" in a positive attribute list would be "arousing strong emotions of sympathy, appreciation, or gratitude." None of the options fit this well.

5. Paramount – **(ii) most important**

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**Part II: Maria Sharapova**

**Thinking about the Text**

**Working in small groups of 4–5 students, go through the text and discuss the following questions. Write down the answers in your notebooks.**

1. **Why was Maria sent to the United States?**

    * **Answer:** Maria was sent to the United States to undergo training in tennis. Her father recognized her potential and was willing to make sacrifices to help her achieve her dream of becoming a top tennis player.

2. **Why didn’t her mother go with her?**

    * **Answer:** Her mother, Yelena, could not go with her due to visa restrictions.

3. **What are her hobbies? What does she like?**

    * **Answer:** Her hobbies include fashion, singing, and dancing. She likes reading the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle, sophisticated evening gowns, pancakes with chocolate spread, and fizzy orange drinks.

4. **What motivates her to keep going?**

    * **Answer:** Her dream of becoming number one in the world of tennis is what motivates her to keep going. The determination to succeed and the sacrifices she and her parents made also drive her.

5. **Why does Maria call tennis a business and a sport?**

    * **Answer:** Maria calls tennis a business because it has made her wealthy and it is a profession that requires strategic thinking, dedication, and produces monetary returns. She calls it a sport because it is what she plays for passion and it requires physical skill, competition, and brings her joy and success in terms of rankings and titles.

**Thinking about Language**

**(This section involves looking at compound words and collocations.)**

**I. 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 always rings *when I am having a bath*.

* Sometimes parents and children find it hard to talk about important things *because their ideas are different*.

    **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.)

    * **Answer:** *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.)

    * **Answer:** *She left home* and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. (The second part tells what happened after)

    * OR: She left home *and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi*. (The italicized part is the consequence of the first action) - *The phrasing "Tells us what happened after the first action" makes the second clause the focus.*

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*.

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:** 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, using ‘if’, ‘unless’ or ‘when’.**

1. Grandfather told me about the old days. We were walking along the Marina beach.

    * **Answer:** When we were walking along the Marina beach, Grandfather told me about the old days.

2. Pollution will continue to increase. We don’t take strong measures to check it.

    * **Answer:** Pollution will continue to increase unless we take strong measures to check it.

3. You must work very hard. You want to succeed in life.

    * **Answer:** You must work very hard if you want to succeed in life.

    * OR: You must work very hard when you want to succeed in life. (Less common for general advice)

4. The players must play as a team. They will not win the match.

    * **Answer:** The players must play as a team if they want to win the match.

    * OR: Unless the players play as a team, they will not win the match.

5. Some children in my neighbourhood play marbles. They have no other games to play.

    * **Answer:** Some children in my neighbourhood play marbles when they have no other games to play.

    * OR: Some children in my neighbourhood play marbles if they have no other games to play.