NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English (Beehive) Chapter 8 Reach for the Top

Ans : DIY 

Ans : 1. The 'holy man' was surprised because he had assumed that Santosh's mother wanted a son. However, the unborn child's grandmother told him that they did not want a son. 
2. Santosh began living life on her own terms from the start. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred shorts. 
3. Even though Santosh's parents could afford to send their children to the best schools, she was sent to the local village school due to the prevailing custom in the family. 
4. When she turned sixteen and was under pressure to get married, Santosh threatened her parents that she would never marry if she did not get a proper education. Therefore, she left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. 
5. When Santosh's 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. Then, her parents agreed to pay for her schooling in Delhi. This shows that Santosh was a mentally-strong girl and was ready to work very hard to get herself properly educated. 

Ans : 1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, she watched people going up the Aravalli Hills and vanishing after a while. On investigating, she found certain mountaineers, whom she later accompanied in their climbing expedition. This was how she began climbing mountains. 
2. During the Everest mission, Santosh helped a dying climber, but she was unsuccessful in saving him. However, she managed to save another climber, Mohan Singh, by sharing her oxygen with him. These incidents show her concern for her team-mates. 
3. Santosh was a fervent environmentalist. She collected and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.
4. Santosh says that the feeling at the summit of the Everest was indescribable. Unfurling the Indian flag on the top of the world was a spiritual moment for her. She felt proud as an Indian. 
5. When Santosh Yadav first scaled Mt Everest, she became the youngest woman in the world to achieve the feat. On repeating this feat, she became the only woman to have scaled the Everest twice. 

Ans : 1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to watch 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 got herself enrolled at Uttarkashi 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 with them endeared her to fellow climbers. 

Ans : 1. took to be true without proof (1): Assumed 
2. based on reason; sensible; reasonable (2): Rational 
3. the usual way of doing things (3): Custom 
4. a strong desire arising from within (5): Urge 
5. the power to endure, without falling ill (7): Resistance