NCERT Solutions Class 9 English Beehive Prose – Chapter 7 Reach for the Top guide students in understanding the inspiring journeys of two remarkable women, Santosh Yadav and Maria Sharapova. This chapter highlights their courage, dedication, and determination to achieve success despite challenges. Santosh Yadav, the first woman to scale Mount Everest twice, showed immense willpower and broke traditional barriers. Maria Sharapova, the world-famous tennis star, proved that hard work and discipline can take anyone to great heights.
These NCERT Solutions provide well-structured answers to textbook questions, explain the important points, and make revision more effective. By practicing these solutions, students not only prepare well for exams but also learn valuable life lessons about confidence, persistence, and never giving up on one’s dreams.
Download NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7 – Reach for the Top. Access detailed answers, clear explanations, and a free PDF to boost comprehension and enhance exam preparation effectively.
This Chapter Reach for the Top is all about a quiz battle between two schools for cash and a trophy. It really gets into how hyped and competitive these contests can be, plus how everyone treats each other, whether they win or lose and it teaches you to value learning, getting ready, teamwork, and staying positive.
Key takeaways:
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?
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. She sought blessings for a grand daughter. Most women wish a son to be born to them. So this surprised the holy man.
2. Give an example to show that even as a young girl Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable.
Ans. Right from the very beginning, Santosh lived life on her own terms. She was not contented with the traditional way of life and was not ready to accept anything unreasonable. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred to wear shorts.
3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school?
Ans. 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.
4. When did she leave home for Delhi, and why?
Ans. 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.
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? Santosh's parents agreed to pay for her schooling in Delhi when Santosh got.
Ans. 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)
1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?
Ans. 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 and suddenly vanishing after a while. Out of curiosity she joined them and found that they were mountaineers. She joined them and they motivated her 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 Col, the lowest point on a mountain ridge. She saved the life of another climber Mohan Singh by sharing her oxygen with him. Hence she saved him from sure death.
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 feelings at the summit of the Everest?
Ans. 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.
5. Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mt Everest. What were the reasons for this?
Ans. 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.
1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to __________ .
Ans. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to watch villagers going up the hill and suddenly vanish after a while.
2. When she finished college, Santosh had to write a letter of apology to her father because _________ .
Ans. 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.
3. During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her _________ while _________ endeared her to fellow climbers.
Ans. 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) :
Ans.
1. Assumed
2. Rational
3. Custom
4. Urge
5. Resistance
(Session 2025 - 26)