Extracts of Reach for the Top | Class 9 | English | NCERT |

Extracts of Reach for the Top | With Answers | Class 9 | English | NCERT |

Extract 1

The only woman in the world who has scaled Mt Everest twice was born in a society where the birth of a son was regarded as a blessing, and a daughter, though not considered a curse, was not generally welcome. When her mother was expecting Santosh, a travelling ‘holy man’, giving her his blessing, assumed that she wanted a son. But, to everyone’s surprise, the unborn child’s grandmother, who was standing close by, told him that they did not want a son. The ‘holy man’ was also surprised!

Q1. What is the name of the chapter?

Ans:  The name of the chapter is ‘Reach for the top’.

Q2. Which Woman is being referred to in the first line?

Ans: Santosh Yadav is being referred to in the first line.

Q3. What remarkable thing has she done?

Ans: She has conquered Mt. Everest twice.

Q4. What kind of society was she born in?

Ans: She was born in a society where the birth of a son was considered a blessing and a daughter was generally not welcomed.

Q5. What did the holy man assume?

Ans: The holy man assumed that the mother wanted a son.

Related

Extract 2

Santosh’s parents were affluent landowners who could afford to send their children to the best schools, even to the country’s capital, New Delhi, which was quite close by. But, in line with the prevailing custom in the family, Santosh had to make do with the local village school. So, she decided to fight the system in her own quiet way when the right moment arrived. And the right moment came when she turned sixteen. At sixteen, most of the girls in her village used to get married. Santosh was also under pressure from her parents to do the same.

Q1. Why was Santosh sent to the local school?

Ans: It was a family custom those days not to send the girls away from home.

Q2. Why do you think Santosh did not have any objection, when she was sent to the local school?

Ans: She waited for the right time to come.

Q3. What did Santosh decide to do?

Ans: She decided to go against the custom of making the girls study in the local schools.

Q4. When did the right moment come according to Santosh?

Ans:  The right moment came when she turned sixteen.

Q5. What do you mean by the word ‘affluent’?

Ans: Having an abundance of wealth, property, or other material goods.

Related

Extract 3

A marriage as early as that was the last thing on her mind. She threatened her parents that she would never marry if she did not get a proper education. She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. When her parents refused to pay for her education, she politely informed them of her plans to earn money by working part time to pay her school fees. Her parents then agreed to pay for her education.

Q1. How did Santosh threaten her parents?

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

Q2. Why did she leave her home?

Ans: She left her home because she didn’t want to get married so early and she wanted to study further.

Q3. What did she tell her parents when they refused to pay for her education?

Ans: She said that she herself would earn money by working part-time to pay her fees.

Q4. What opinion do you form about Santosh Yadav from the above given passage?

Ans: She came to know that she was a girl of strong determination.

Q5. What is the meaning of the word ‘threatened’?

Ans:  To warn that you may hurt, kill or punish somebody if he/she does not do what you want.

We would love your reading of  Formal Letters, Notice Writing, Formal & Informal Invitation, Classified Advertisement, Debate Writing, Speech Writing, Article Writing, Report Writing, Note Making, Poster Making, Short Story Writing, Leave Application Writing, Descriptive Paragraph Writing for scoring higher in upcoming examination.

Extract 4

Then there was no looking back for this determined young girl. She saved money and enrolled in a course at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. “My college semester in Jaipur was to end in April but it ended on the nineteenth of May. And I was supposed to be in Uttarkashi on the twenty-first. So, I did not go back home; instead, I headed straight for the training. I had to write a letter of apology to my father without whose permission I had got myself enrolled at Uttarkashi.”

Q1. Where was her college?

Ans: Her college was in Jaipur.

Q2. Why was she going to Uttarkashi?

Ans: She was going to Uttarkashi to attend a course of mountaineering.

Q3. Why didn’t she go back home?

Ans:  She didn’t time to go back to her home.

Q4. Why did she has to write a letter of apology to her father?

Ans: She had to write a letter of apology to her father because she had enrolled herself at Uttarkashi without taking his permission.

Extract 5

Within twelve months, Santosh found herself a member of an Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition that invited her to join them. She then scaled the Everest a second time, thus setting a record as the only woman to have scaled the Everest twice, and securing for herself and India a unique place in the annals of mountaineering. In recognition of her achievements, the Indian government bestowed upon her one of the nation’s top honours, the Padmashri.

Q1. Who conquered the Everest a second time?

Ans: Santosh Yadav conquered the Everest a second time.

Q2. What record did she set?

Ans: She became the only woman to have conquered the Everest twice.

Q3. How did the Indian government recognize her achievements?

Ans:  She was awarded the Padmashri.

Q4. Which word in the passage means ‘History’?

Ans: Annals

We would love your reading of extracts of The Last Leaf, A House is not a Home, The Beggar, Packing, On Killing a Tree, The Bond of Love, Weathering the Storm in Ersama & If I were You

Do share this post if you liked Extracts of Reach for the Top. For more updates, keep logging on BrainyLads.