SEBA Class 9 English Lesson - 8: Reach for the Top Part (I) Santosh Yadav Question and Answer

Santosh Yadav

Thinking about the Text

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: The ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings thought they would want a son, as a daughter was not too welcome in those parts. But then Santosh’s grandmother told him that they wanted a daughter so, he was surprised.

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

Ans: While the other girls of her village wore traditional dresses, Santosh wore shorts. Similarly, unlike the other girls her age she refused to be married off at the early age of sixteen and instead left for Delhi to finish her education. These examples prove that even as a young girl Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable.

3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school ?

And: Though Santosh’s affluent parents could afford to send her to Delhi, Santosh was sent to the local school because it was the prevailing custom in her family.

4.When did she leave home for Delhi, and why ?

Ans: At the age of sixteen, when her family started pressurizing her to marry and settle down, Santosh left for Delhi to continue her education and enrolled herself in a school there.

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 ?

Ans: Initially Santosh’s parents were miffed by her decision not to marry and to leave the village for Delhi, so they refused to pay for her education. However, when Santosh informed them of her plans to pay for her education by working part time, her parents relented and agreed to pay for her schooling. This incident brings to light mental qualities of Santosh such as: resilience determination and will power. It also shows that she was strongly independent and ready to put in hard-work.

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

1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains ?

Ans: While studying in Jaipur, Santosh was fascinated to see, from her hostel window, villagers climb and vanish over the Aravalli Hills. Intrigued she went to check it out and found a few mountaineers preparing to climb. They agreed to let her join them. This was how Santosh began climbing mountains.

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

Ans: During the Everest expedition in 1992, Santosh provided special care to a climber who lay dying at the South Col. Santosh also shared her oxygen with Mohan Singh saving him from imminent death. Incidents such as these show Santosh’s concern for her team mates.

3. What shows her concern for the environment ?

Ans: Santosh’s concern for the environment is demonstrated by the fact that she collected and brought down about 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas during her various expeditions.

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

Ans: To describe how Santosh felt at the summit of Everest she says that it took some time before the enormity of the moment sank in, and when it did she unfurled the Indian flag and held it up. She says it is impossible to describe the feeling she had as she saw the tricolour flying literally on top of the world. It was a spiritual moment 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 ?

Ans: The first time Santosh climbed Mount Everest she made history by becoming the youngest woman to do so at the age of only twenty years. And the second time when she climbed Everest, Santosh went into the record books as the only woman to have climbed Mount Everest twice.

III. Complete the following statements :

1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to ______.

2. When she finished college, Santosh had to write a letter of apology to her father because ____.

3. During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her ______ while ______ endeared her to fellow climbers.

Ans: 1.From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to watch the 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 enrolled herself for a course 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 her concern for others and desire to work 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.)

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. took to be true without proof: assumed 2. based on reason; sensible; reasonable: rational

3. the usual way of doing things: custom

4. a strong desire arising from within : urge

5. the power to endure, without falling ill: resistance.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

Answer the following questions :

1. How many siblings did Santosh have ?

Ans: Santosh had five siblings, all elder brothers.

2. Why did Santosh’s parents refuse to pay for her education ?

Ans: When she reached the age of sixteen, Santosh’s parents expected her to get married just like the others girls of her village. But for Santosh, marriage at that early age was the last thing on her mind, and so she left for Delhi to continue her studies. This decision of hers displeased her parents and so they refused to pay for her schooling.

3. Where was Santosh born ?

Ans: Santosh was born in the small village of Joniyawas in Rewari District in Haryana.

4. Which qualities of Santosh managed to impress her seniors ?

Ans: The qualities of Santosh which managed to impress her seniors were: her climbing skills, physical fitness, and mental strength.

5. Why did Santosh have a special place in the hearts of her fellow climbers ?

Ans: Santosh’s concern for others and her desire to work together with her fellow climbers, earned her a special place in their hearts.

6. How did Santosh get interested in mountaineering ?

Ans: Santosh got interested in mountaineering by watching villagers climb the Aravalli Hills from her hostel window. So fascinated was she that she decided to check it out for herself. She went and met a few mountaineers who were getting ready to go on a climb. Santosh asked them if she could join them and was overjoyed to receive a positive reply. There was no looking back after this incident and soon Santosh took admission in a mountaineering institute and worked towards becoming an accomplished mountaineer.

7. List some of the qualities of Santosh that you admire after reading the text.

Ans: There are many qualities of Santosh which I admire, some of them being-her determination and will power to fight against prevailing negative customs, her strength to stand up for what she believes is right, her power of thinking rationally, her capacity to work hard to achieve her goals. Her physical fitness, mental toughness, her ability to work as a team etc.

Reference to the context

1. “The holy man was also surprised…he gave the requested blessing.”

(a) Why was the holy man surprised ?

Ans: The holy man was surprised because unlike most other people who wanted a son, the grandmother of the unborn child asked him to give blessings for a granddaughter and not a grandson.

(b) Did the blessing come true ? How.

Ans: Yes, apparently his blessing worked because Santosh Yadav was then born to her mother.

2. “She decided to fight the system in her own quiet way when the right moment arrived.”

(a) Who does the author refer to as ‘she’ here?

Ans: Santosh Yadav is referred to as ‘she’ in the given sentence.

(b) When did the right moment come for her ?

Ans: The right moment came when she turned sixteen and her parent’s began pressurizing her to get married.

(c) How did she fight the system at the right moment ?

Ans: She decided to fight the system by refusing to get married at the early age of sixteen and instead choosing to focus on her studies. Santosh left home against her parents’ wishes and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi.

3. “It was truly a spiritual moment. I felt proud as an Indian.”

(a) Who is the speaker ?

Ans: The speaker is Santosh Yadav.

(b) What is the spiritual moment referred to here by the speaker ?

Ans: The moment when she unfurled the Indian tricolor on top of the Mount Everest is remarked as spiritual by Santosh Yadav in the above quoted words.

(c) Why do you think the speaker felt proud at that particular moment ?

Ans: Being an Indian, Santosh felt proud to see the Indian Tricolor flying on top of the world.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Santosh was born in a society where _____.

(a) the birth of a son was regarded as a blessing and the birth of a daughter was not generally welcome.

(b) The birth of a son was considered a curse.

birth of a daughter was regarded as a better blessing.

(d) the birth of a daughter was welcomed by all.

Ans: (a) the birth of a son was regarded as a blessing and the birth of a daughter was not generally welcome

2. How many siblings did Santosh have?

(a) Two.

(b) Six.

(d) Five.

Ans: (d) Five

3. What did Santosh collect and bring down from the Himalayas ?

(a) 500 kilograms of garbage.

(b) who had died climbers.

(d) 500 kilograms of plastic.

Ans: (a) 500 kilograms of garbage.

4. Santosh climbed the Mount Everest a second time as part of _____

(a) a group of Aravalli villagers.

(b) an Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition team.

(d) a team from Maharani College.

Ans: (b) an Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition team.

5.Santosh Yadav’s parents were _____

(a) poor village people.

(b) farmers in an Himalayan village.

(d) landowners in Delhi.

Ans: (c) affluent landowners in Haryana.

SEBA Class 9 English Lesson - 8: Reach for the Top Part (I) Santosh Yadav Question and Answer