She is the youngest woman who scaled the Everest. She is the only woman who climbed the Everest twice.
III. Complete the following statements:
From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to ………………
When she finished college, Santosh had to write a letter of apology to her father because ………………
During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her ……………… while ……………… endeared her to fellow climbers.
Answers:
… see the villagers going up the hill and suddenly vanishing after a while.
… she was going directly for training and not home which she should have done.
… climbing skills, physical fitness and mental strength while working together 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.)
took to be true without proof
………………………………
based on reason; sensible; reasonable
………………………………
the usual way of doing things (para 3):
………………………………
a strong desire arising from within (5):
the power to endure, without falling
ill (7): …………………….
Answers:
blessing
rational
custom
urge
resistance/endurance
Thinking about the text
(Page 107)
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.
Points of Comparison/Contrast
Santosh Yadav
Maria Sharapova
1.
Their humble beginning
2.
Their parents’ approach
3.
Their will power and strong desire to succeed
4.
Evidence of their mental toughness
5.
Their patriotism
Answer:
Santosh Yadav
Maria Sharapova
1.
Santosh’s parents were affluent landowners who could afford …
My father was working as much as he could to keep ….
2.
Wishing always to study ‘a bit more’, and with her father slowly getting used to her urge …
The latter (her mother) was compelled to stay back in Siberia …. [My father working as much … either.]
3.
Equipped with an iron will, physical endurance and an amazing mental…
Instead of letting that depress me, I became more quietly determined and mentally tough.
4.
The culmination of her hard work and sincerity came in 1942 …
And that something in her lifted her on Monday, 22 August 2005 to the world number one position in women’s tennis.
5.
Then I unfurled the Indian tricolour and held it….. indescribable…… I felt proud as an Indian …
My blood is totally Russian. I will play the Olympics for Russia if they want me.
Thinking about language
(Page 107)
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, as shown above.
Overview: Reach for the Top
Part I: Santosh Yadav, from a small Haryana village, defied social norms that expected her to marry young. She chose education, joined a mountaineering institute, and became the youngest woman to climb Everest — and the only woman to do it twice. She also collected 500 kg of garbage from the Himalayas. Part II: Maria Sharapova, sent from Siberia to the USA at age 9, endured years of loneliness, homesickness, and bullying before winning Wimbledon at 17.
Key Points
- Part I: Santosh Yadav from Joniyawas village, Haryana
- Defied social norms — chose education over early marriage
- Joined Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi
- Youngest woman to climb Mount Everest
- Only woman to scale Everest twice
- Collected 500 kg garbage from Himalayas — environmentally conscious
- Part II: Maria Sharapova — born in Siberia, Russia
- Sent to USA at age 9 for tennis training
- Endured loneliness, homesickness, bullying by older girls
- Won Wimbledon at age 17
- Both stories celebrate determination and breaking barriers
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Santosh Yadav break social barriers?
What sacrifices did Maria Sharapova make?
Common Mistakes
- Not reading the text carefully before attempting questions.
- Giving vague answers without specific textual references.
- Confusing characters, events, or themes from different chapters.
- Writing too much for short-answer questions (should be 30-40 words).
Scoring Tips
- For extract-based MCQs: read the passage carefully; eliminate wrong options systematically.
- For short answers: be concise (30-40 words), use key vocabulary from the text.
- For long answers: structure with introduction, body, conclusion. Quote from the text.
- Always identify the chapter/poem name and author when answering.