Reach for the Top Class 9 | Chapter 8 | Beehive | English |

Reach for the Top Class 9 | Chapter 8 | Beehive | English |

Brief Introduction of Reach for the Top

Reach for the Top Class 9 English : This chapter has been divided into two parts. Each part narrates the story of a different woman. These women rose to the top of the world at a very young age. The secret of their success was strong determination and hard work. One of them was Santosh Yadav . She was born in a small village of Rewari, Haryana.  She became the first woman in the world who scaled Mt. Everest twice. The other woman who had reached at the top of the world was Maria Sharapova. She became the world’s number one player of tennis. She had to leave her home at very young age of nine to get training of Tennis.  She had so many obstacles on the way to the success but she had never given up. She is reaping the riches of her hard work.

 Summary of Reach For the Top

                                                                          Part-1 (Santosh Yadav)

Santosh Yadav is the only woman in the world who has conquered Mt. Everest twice. She was born at a place where the birth of a son was considered to be a blessing whereas the birth of a daughter was considered to be a curse. But Santosh’s family was a little different. They already had five sons. So they welcomed the birth of a daughter. She was born in a small village of Rewari, Haryana. She was from a well-to-do family. They were landowners.  Santosh was the only sister of five brothers.

Even as a child she wanted to live her life in her own ways. She didn’t like to follow the traditions of her family and society. While the other girls in the village wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh loved to wear shorts. Her parents had enough money to send her to the best schools of Delhi but their customs didn’t allow sending girls away from the home. So she was sent to the village school. When she turned sixteen, her parents decided to have her married.  Santosh was not in the favor to get married at this early stage of the life. She stood firmly against it. Santosh said that she would never get married if she doesn’t get proper education.

Santosh left her home and joined a school in Delhi. Initially her parents refused to pay for her education but when Santosh said that she would work part-time, they agreed to pay for her education. After passing her high school exams, she joined Maharani College at Jaipur. She was given a room in Kasturba hostel. This hostel faced the Aravali Hills. From her room Santosh could see villagers going up the hills and then vanishing suddenly. Once she herself decided to find who these people were. She came to know that they were mountaineers. A strong desire took birth in her to become a mountaineer. The other mountaineers motivated her. Now there was no looking back for her.

Santosh Yadav saved money and enrolled herself at Uttarkashi Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. After doing this course, she started going on climbing expedition every year. Her climbing skills matured rapidly. Her will power was as strong as iron and her mental toughness was amazing. within a time frame of four years she conquered the Mount Everest. At that time she was hardly twenty years old. She became the youngest woman to achieve this feat. She did it a second time after a year. Thus she set a record to scale Mt. Everest twice. For her achievement she was awarded with one of the top honors of India “The Padma Shri Award”.

Santosh Yadav was liked by her seniors a lot not only because of her climbing skills but also by her desire to help her fellow climbers. During the 1992 Everest mission, she shared her oxygen with a fellow climber and thus saved his life. She is true environmentalist also. Once she collected 500 Kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas and brought it down.

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Textual Questions of Reach for the Top Part 1

Q1. Why was holy man who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings surprised?

Ans: In those days, the birth of a daughter was considered to be a curse. They holy man was taken aback(Surprised) when he saw the family wanted a daughter not a son.

Q2. Give an example to show that even as a young girl, Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable.

Ans: The girls in the village wore traditional Indian dresses but Santosh loved to wear shorts. She found nothing wrong in it.

Q3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school?

Ans:  According to their society’s custom, the girls were not sent away from their homes. Thus she was sent to the local school.

Q4. When did she leave home for Delhi?

Ans: She left home when she was just sixteen. She had completed her studies in the village school and wanted to join a school in Delhi.

Q5. 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’s parents had refused to pay for her education in Delhi. Santosh told her parents politely that she would work part-time to pay her school fees. At this, the parents agreed to pay for her schooling. This incident shows that Santosh was a girl of iron (strong) Determination.

Q6.  How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?

Ans: Santosh had joined Maharani College in Jaipur. She used to live in Kasturba hostel. This hostel faced the Aravali Hills. Once Santosh met some mountaineers there. They encouraged her to climb.  Santosh saved money and joined a course of mountaineering at Uttarkashi Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. After completion of the course, Santosh went on climbing expedition every year.

Q7. What incidents during the Everest expedition show  Santosh’s  concern for her teammates?

Ans: one of the climbers lay dying at the south col. Santosh gave him special care. She did all she could do to save his life. Unfortunately, she couldn’t save him. There was another climber named Mohan singh. He too would have died if Santosh had not saved him by sharing her oxygen with him.

Q8. What shows Santosh’s concern for the environment?

Ans: Santosh had a great concern for the environment. Once she collected 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas. She brought it down to save the beauty of the Himalayas.

Q9.  How does Santosh describe her feelings at the summit of the Everest?

Ans: She felt herself on the top of the world. It was a spiritual moment for her. She unfurled the Indian flag there. She held it aloft. She felt proud as an Indian.

Q10.  Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she conquered the Mt. Everest? What  were the reasons for this?

Ans:  The first time, She was the youngest woman to conquer the Mt. Everest. The Second time, she was the only woman to do it twice.

Short Answer Type Questions of Reach for the Top

Q1. What is the meaning of word ‘ Santosh’?

Ans: It means satisfaction/contentment.

Q2. What was her opinion about getting married?

Ans: She told her parents that she would never get married if she didn’t get proper education.

Q3. Why did Santosh Leave her home?

Ans: She left her home to get education in Delhi’s school.

Q4.  When did Santosh Yadav scale the Mt. Everest for the first time?

Ans: She scaled it in 1992 for the first time.

Q5.  Write  a brief sketch of Santosh’s Family.

Ans:  Her parents were wealthy landowners. She was the sister of five brothers.

Q6. How did Santosh always contradict to her name?

Ans:  The girl was given a name Santosh. Which means Satisfaction. But she was not always satisfied with the things. She started living life on her own conditions.

Long Answer Type Questions of Reach for the Top

Q1.  Write a brief character-sketch of Santosh Yadav.

Ans:  She was born in a family which was full of traditions. She was born in a small village called Joniyawas of Rewari district of Haryana. Although her name means satisfaction but she was not at all satisfied. She wanted to live her life in her own ways.  She didn’t like to follow the traditions. She didn’t like to go the local schools of village. Thus she decided to make her own rules. She started wearing shorts where other girls used to wear traditional cloths. She fled away from home to take admission in a school of Delhi. When her parents refused to pay her school fee she decided to work part -time to earn her school fee. This shows that she had iron will. All of a sudden she developed interest for mountaineering and got herself enrolled in Uttarkashi Nehru Institute of Mountaineering without taking permission from her parents. She scaled the Mt. Everest twice. This is the achievement of her heroic character.

Q2. Determination and correct choice of path always lead to success. Do you agree? Elaborate with reference to the success story of Santosh Yadav.

Ans:  Santosh Yadav was quite determined to choose a correct path. Born in a traditional family, she had to face many difficulties and opposition from her own family. Her parents wanted her to get married at the age of sixteen. She firmly opposed it and warned that she would never get married unless she got proper education. She went to Delhi and got herself enrolled without her father’s consent. She decided to work part-time to meet her educational expenses. She had also joined Institute of mountaineering without her father’s permission. Her hard work and strong determination made her reach on the top of the world. She proved that nothing is impossible in this world if we are determined enough.

Q3.  Santosh Yadav saved life of one of her fellows on expedition. It is an example of team spirit. What would you do under such a condition?

Ans: Santosh Yadav was on her expedition when one of the six members, Mohan singh, exhausted his oxygen cylinder. All the team members were worried about Mohan Singh as there was no extra source of oxygen. It was a question of life and death for them. Santosh Yadav could not see a team member dying like that. She had a sense of sacrifice and team spirit. Like a true Indian and a proud daughter of the country she decided to help her fellow climber, Mohan Singh. She risked her life and shared her oxygen with him.  Yes, it was the real team spirit that every sportsman must showcase. I would also have done the same in such a situation.

Q4. Santosh had all the qualities of a good mountaineer. Elaborate.

Ans: Mountaineering is a task which requires a great level of physical and mental strength. She was made for mountaineering because she was already equipped with all the qualities like fearlessness, boldness, faith in her abilities. Within a time span of four years of her training in climbing she successfully climbed the Mt. Everest. She repeated this master stroke in less than a year and became the only woman to climb the Mt. Everest twice. This all had become feasible just because of her physical fitness, her strong determination and mental toughness. She had resistance to cold and altitude which had become an added advantage for her.  All these qualities topped up with a team spirit made her not only a good mountaineer but also a popular one among her seniors.

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