SEBA Class 9 English Lesson - 8: Reach for the Top Part (II) Maria Sharapova Question and Answer

Maria Sharapova

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Thinking about the Text

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

Ans: 1.Their humble beginning : Santosh Yadav: born in a small village of Joyniwas in Haryana. Maria Sharapova: born in Siberia, Russia.

2. Their parents’ approach: Santosh Yadav: against the idea of her going for higher studies or mountaineering.

Maria Sharapova : supportive.

3. Their will power and strong desire to succeed:

Santosh Yadav

(i) left home to study further when parents started pressurizing her to get married.

(ii) Saved money and got enrolled at Uttarkashi’s mountaineering institute.

Maria Sharapova :

(i) Was not even ten years old when she had to leave her mother behind, and go to Florida with her father for training.

(ii) Faced humiliation by her seniors and became quietly determined and mentally tough.

4. Evidence of their mental toughness: Santosh Yadav:

(i) Protested against gender bias right from her childhood.

(ii) Left her village and came to Delhi at the age of 16, when parents started pressurising her to get married.

(iii) When her parents refused to pay for her schooling, informed them of her decision to work part time and pay her own fees.

(iv) Knowing her parents might be against the idea, saved money and got enrolled in mountaineering institute without informing her parents.

Maria Sharapova : (i) As a 10 year old child, spent two years separated from her mother after shifting to Florida for her training.

(ii) Seniors used to wake her up from sleep and make her clean the room, but she faced it all and endures it to consistently follow her dream.

5. Their patriotism: Santosh Yadav :

(i) feels proud to be an Indian.

(ii) describes the feeling of pride at unfurling the tricolour and holding it atop Mount Everest.

Maria Sharapova : (i) Proudly parades her Russian nationality.

(ii) Even though the U.S. has been a big part of her life and career, she still maintains her Russian citizenship.

(iii) Feels she is a Russian by blood and wants to represent Russia in the Olympics, if given the opportunity.

Thinking about Language

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 as 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.

1. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred shorts. (Contrasts her dress with that of others)

2. She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. (Tells us what happened after the first action.)

3. She decided to fight the system when the right moment arrived. (Tells us when she was going to fight the system.)

4. Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed off to train in the United States. (Tells us when Maria was sent to the U.S.)

Ans: 1. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses. Santosh preferred shorts.

2. She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi.

3. She decided to fight the system when the right moment arrived.

4. Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed off to train in the United States.

II. Now rewrite the pairs of sentences given below as one sentence.

1. Grandfather told me about the old days. All books were printed on paper then.

2. What do you do after you finish the book? Perhaps you just throw it away.

3. He gave the little girl an apple. He took the computer apart.

4. You have nothing. That makes you very determined.

5. I never thought of quitting. I knew what I wanted.

Ans: 1. Grandfather told me about the old days when all books were printed on paper.

2. Perhaps you just throw away the book after you have finished it.

3. He gave the little girl an apple and then took the computer apart.

4. Having nothing makes you more determined.

5. I never thought of quitting because I knew what I wanted.

Dictation

Read the passage once. Then close your books. Your teacher will dictate the story to you. Write it down with the correct punctuation and paragraphing.

The Raincoat

After fours years of drought in a small town in the Northeast, the Vicar gathered everyone together for a pilgrimage to the mountain, where they would pray together and ask for the rain to return.

The priest noticed a boy in the group wearing a raincoat.

“Have you gone mad?” he asked, “It hasn’t rained in this region for five years, the heat will kill you climbing the mountain.”

“I have a cold, father. If we are going to ask God for rain, can you imagine the way back from the mountain? It’s going to be such a downpour that I need to be prepared.”

At that moment a great crash was heard in the sky and the first drops began to fall. A boy’s faith was enough to bring about a miracle that not even those most prepared truly believed in.

(translated by JAMES MULHOLLAND)

Speaking

Imagine that you are Santosh Yadav, or Maria Sharapova. You have been invited to speak at an All India Girls’ Athletic Meet, as chief guest. Prepare a short speech to motivate the girls to think and dream big and make an effort to fulfil their dreams, not allowing difficulties or defeat to discourage them. The following words and phrases may help you.

self confident/confidence/ sure of yourself self assured/assurance/belief in yourself

morale/boost morale/raise morale

giving somebody a boost/fillip/lift

demoralising/unsure of yourself/insecure/lack confidence

Suggested Answer

Dear girls, as I stand before you today and watch your young. smiling faces, I cannot help but dream that all of you will one day become great personalities yourself. Now many of you might have heard my words but with a grain of doubt. Let me assure you all that if you establish your goals and then set your hearts on achieving them, nothing and no one will be able to stop your progress. You just have to make sure that you know where you want to see yourself when you grow up, and once you have done that, do not.. I repeat.. DO NOT let minor setbacks demoralise you. The path to success is never easy but if you keep walking on it, irrespective of any obstacle you might encounter, you are sure to reach your destination sooner than later. Believe in yourself that you can do it and before you know, you will have done it and achieved success. So friends, I know that each one of you is special and has something wonderful to offer to your country, the question is-Do you believe in yourself like I did? Give yourself a chance and work wholeheartedly towards your goal and before you know it-you will have reached the pinnacle of success and glory. I wish you all the best in life.

Thank you.

Writing

Working in pairs, go though the table below that gives you information about the top women tennis players since 1975. Write a short article for your school magazine comparing and contrasting the players in terms of their duration at the top. Mention some qualities that you think may be responsible for their brief or long stay at the top spot.

Top-Ranked Women Players

I. The roll of honour of women who enjoyed life at the summit since everybody’s favourite player. Chris Evert, took her place in 1975.

Suggested Answer:

Women’s tennis is a tough sport with fierce competition so it is only the very best of the lot who have managed to reach the top most position. In recent years Maria Sharapova became the world number one but amidst fierce competition from players such as sisters Venus and Serena Williams, she could not hold on to the spot for more than a week. The sister duo of Serena and Venus have each held the top slot for 57 and 11 weeks respectively. But the credit for maintaining the top position for the longest time goes to Steffi Graf from Germany, who managed to stay as world number one for an astounding 377 weeks. It is the player’s determination and competitive spirit that results in the listings of the top ten players being shuffled constantly. But still some extraordinary players, by dint of their hard work and talent manage to reside at the top spot more than the others. This list includes notable players such as Chris Evert who reigned for an impressive 362 weeks, Martina Navratilova who was world number one for an amazing 331 weeks, and Martina Hingis who also stayed as the number one player for 209 weeks. There were others too. who came and held their own at the top but not for as long as these ladies. Some of the names worth mentioning are: Monica Seles (178 weeks), Lindsay Davenport (82 weeks), and Justine Henin-Hardenne (45 weeks). Other top ranked players since 1975 are Tracy Austin, Jennifer Capriati, Anantxa Sanchez, Kim Clijsters, and Amelie Mauresmeo.

II. Which of these words would you use to describe Santosh Yadav ? Find reasons in the text to support your choices, and write a couple of paragraphs describing Santosh’s character.

Suggested Answer :

The words which best describe Santosh Yadav are:

Determined: She believed that if she chose and stuck to the right and rational path, the others around her were bound to change. So she started protesting against gender bias from an early age itself and still continues to do so.

Resourceful: Decided to take part time job to pay for her schooling when her parents refused to fund her education.

Polite: She informed her parents of her decision to work politely,

Adventurous: Watching the villagers climb the Aravalli Hills fascinated her and she went up to check the Aravalli Hills by herself.

Considerate: Cared for injured climbers and even shared her oxygen during a climbing expedition.

Independent: Went to study in Delhi, was willing to work to pay. her own fees. Moreover saved money and got enrolled in a mountaineering institute.

Patient: Took mountaineering training for four years

Persevering: Never backed down under her parent’s

pressure or social norms and achieved what she had wanted to.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

Answer the following questions :

1. What is the one dream of Maria that kept her going ?

Ans: The dream of becoming the best player of women’s tennis and achieving the number one spot is the one dream of Maria that kept her going.

2. Which sport does Maria Sharapova play ? In which year did she become world No. 1 in her sport for the first time ?

Ans: Maria Sharapova plays lawn tennis. She became the world number one in women’s lawn tennis in the year for the first time on 22nd August, 2005.

3. What lesson did Maria learn as a child ? How ?

Ans: An important lesson that Maria learnt as a child was that tennis excellence would only come at a price.

She learnt that if she pursued her dream of becoming an expert tennis player, she would have to stay a continent away from her mother who was unable to accompany her to the U.S..

4. Why did Maria feel lonely in the United States ?

Ans: As a child Maria felt lonely in the United States because her mother was back home in Russia and her father who came with her to the U.S. was busy working day and night to keep Maria’s tennis training going.

5. What made Maria mentally tough as a child ?

Ans: Young and lonely Maria used to be woken up the other tennis pupils late at night, clean and tidy up the room. This incident made Maria mentally tough even as a child.

6. What does Maria Sharapova have to say about her monetary gains from tennis ?

Ans: Maria accepts the business side of the sport of tennis. She feels that the money she earns serves to motivate her towards her goals.

Reference to the context

1.”Poised beyond her years, the Siberian born teenager took just four years as a professional to reach the pinnacle.”

(a) Who is the ‘Siberian born teenager’ ?

Ans: Maria Sharapova is the ‘Siberian born teenager referred to here.

(b) Which sport does she play ?

Ans: Maria Sharapova plays lawn tennis.

(c) When did she reach the pinnacle of her sport ?

Ans: Maria Sharapova reached the pinnacle of her sport on 22nd August, 2005.

(d) Give the meaning of the word ‘pinnacle’.

Ans: The word “pinnacle means the top’.

(e) Explain the phrase ‘poised beyond her years’.

Ans: “Poised beyond her years’ means that she was more calm, confident and in control than other people of her age usually are.

2. “I used to be lonely… I missed my mother terribly.”

(a) Who says this ?

Ans: Maria Sharapova, tennis legend is the speaker of the above quoted words.

(b) Why was the speaker lonely ?

Ans: Maria Sharapova was lonely because she had to relocate to the United States to pursue her dream of becoming a tennis player. She was separated from her mother who had to stay back in Russia because of Visa restrictions. Her father who had accompanied her was working day and night, to pay for her tennis training. So as a child, Maria was often lonely.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The other tennis pupils would wake Maria Sharapova up at night.

(a) to practice tennis with them.

(b) to tidy up the room and clean it.

(d) so that she would become tough.

Ans: (b) to tidy up the room and clean it.

2. Maria speaks with a pronounced.

(a) Russian accent.

(b) Scottish lisp.

(d) American accent.

Ans: (d) American accent.

3. The names of Maria Sharapova’s father and mother are :

(a) Yuri and Mileva.

(b) Maja and Yelena.

(d) Shara and Yuri.

Ans: (c) Yuri and Yelena.

4. Maria won the women’s singles crown in Wimbledon in the year :

(a) 2004

(b) 2005

(d) 2001

Ans: (a) 2004

THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE (Additional Exercises)

Combine the following sentences into a single sentence.

1. I know the gentleman. He was the chief guest at the function.

Ans: I know the gentleman who was the chief guest at the function.

2. He went out. It was raining heavily.

Ans: It was raining heavily when he went out.

3. He may drive very fast. He cannot reach there in time.

Ans: However fast he may drive, he cannot reach there in time.

4. He was selected. He speaks the truth.

Ans: He was selected because he speaks the truth.

5. She earned something. She spent it.

Ans: She spent what she earned.

6. Our team played well. Our team won the match.

Ans: Out team played well and won the match.

SEBA Class 9 English Lesson - 8: Reach for the Top Part (II) Maria Sharapova Question and Answer