Chapter 8 of Class 9 English textbook – Beehive – is a prose piece titled Reach for the Top. It is separated into two halves and details the fascinating lives of two remarkable women: Santosh Yadav and Maria Sharapova. Here is a prose summary of the CBSE Class 9 English Prose Notes – Reach for the Top in the CBSE English Notes Class 9 format that students may refer to in order to get a better grasp of the chapter. Additionally, this prose summary is written in plain language for CBSE Class 9 students to reference while they prepare for their examinations.
Students may also learn how to write an excellent essay during the test by reading the writings at SkillYogi
CBSE Class 9 English notes will assist students in studying the topic thoroughly and clearly.
These CBSE Class 9 English notes were written by subject experts who made the study material very basic, both in terms of language and format.
Introduction
SANTOSH’S EARLY LIFE
Santosh was born in the small village of Joniyawas in the Haryana district of Rewari. In her village, the birth of a female child was frowned upon.
Prior to her birth, a ‘holy man’ was about to bestow the blessing of a son on her mother, but her grandmother insisted on a daughter. Santosh is the only sibling in a family of five brothers.
Her family named her ‘Santosh’ after the Sanskrit word for contentment, indicating their joy at her birth.
Santosh was not typical of the village girls during her youth. She was dressed in shorts, while the other village girls wore traditional Indian dresses.
At sixteen, the majority of girls in her village married, but she refused because she desired to study.
SANTOSH’S EDUCATION
Despite their wealth, her parents enrolled her in a village school. She decided to rebel against the system and enrolled in a Delhi school against her parents’ wishes.
After completing her secondary education, she moved to Jaipur to pursue further studies.
SANTOSH’S DREAM OF MOUNTAINEERING
Santosh used to watch people climb the Aravalli Hills from her hostel room in Jaipur.
She developed an interest in mountaineers and went to meet them one day. She inquired as to whether she could join them.
They concurred and encouraged her to enrol in mountaineering classes. She enrolled in a course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi and never looked back.
She informed her parents and apologised for enrolling without their permission.
SANTOSH AS REMARKABLE CLIMBER
Each year, Santosh embarked on an expedition and developed an extraordinary tolerance for cold and altitude.
Her fighting spirit and toughness aided her significantly. She possessed the necessary physical stamina and mental strength for climbing.
SANTOSH’S DREAM COMES TRUE
Conquering Mt Everest is a goal shared by all climbers. Santosh achieved this success in 1992, at the age of twenty.
She became the world’s youngest woman to summit Mt. Everest. Within a year, she scaled Mt Everest once more, becoming the world’s only female mountaineer to do so.
Additionally, she saved the life of Mohan Singh, a fellow climber.
SANTOSH AS TRUE ENVIRONMENTALIST
Santosh expresses her excitement at the prospect of hoisting the national flag atop the world. She describes the moment she unfurled the Indian tricolour on Everest as a proud, spiritual, and unimaginable experience.
She gathered and transported 500 kilogrammes of garbage from the Himalayan region.
HONOUR BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT
Santosh Yadav was presented with one of India’s highest honours, the Padmashri, in recognition of her achievements.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: ATTAINS TOP POSITION IN WORLD TENNIS
Maria Sharapova, a teenage sensation, became the world’s number one female tennis player on August 22, 2005. She accomplished her goal in just four years.
The journey began nine years ago when she was sent to the United States for formal training.
MARIA’S TRAINING IN AMERICA
Maria was born in Siberia, Russia, but her father, Yuri, brought her to America to train as a professional tennis player.
She was almost two years apart from her mother when she was only ten years old.
Her father worked as hard as he could to ensure that she could continue with her tennis training.
MARIA’S TOUGH TIMES MAKE HER STRONG
Maria was lonely and longed for her mother. The other athletes compelled her to tidy up and clean the room. Her adversity forged her into a strong and determined woman.
Additionally, she learned how to care for herself. Her motto was to work diligently to achieve her goals.
MARIA AS A TRUE PATRIOT
Maria lives in America but continues to identify as a Russian. Although the United States plays a significant role in her life, she is a Russian at heart.
She aspires to compete in the Olympics for Russia if they allow her to do so. It demonstrates unequivocally that she is a true patriot.
HOBBIES AND INTERESTS OF MARIA
Maria is a singer and dancer who is extremely passionate about both. She is an avid reader of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle.
She possesses an uncanny ability to dress impeccably. She enjoys chocolate and orange juice-dipped pancakes.
Outro
SOLVED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS NCERT SOLVED QUESTIONS
PART – 1
1. Why was the ‘holy man’, who gave Santosh’s mother his blessing, surprised?
Answer: The ‘holy man’ was taken aback when Santosh’s grandmother informed him that they were not interested in having a son. They desired a child. This was completely incompatible with traditional society.
2. Give an example to show that even as a young girl Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable.
Answer: Santosh was never willing to accept anything unreasonable, even as a young girl. While the other village girls wore traditional Indian attire, Santosh preferred shorts.
3. Why was Santosh sent to the local village school?
Answer: Santosh was sent to the local village school due to the prevailing custom in the family.
4. When did she leave home for Delhi and why?
Answer: When Santosh reached the age of sixteen, her parents desired that she marry. Santosh threatened her parents that if she did not receive an adequate education, she would never marry. As a result, she left home to study at a Delhi school.
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?
Answer: Santosh’s parents agreed to fund her education after she informed them that she would work part-time and pay her school fees. This demonstrates Santosh’s determination to succeed.
Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).
1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?
Answer: While Santosh was in Jaipur for her higher studies, she observed people ascending the Aravalli Hills and disappearing after a while from her room in Kasturba Hostel. She was inquisitive. She travelled there and encountered several mountaineers. They enticed her to learn to climb. This is how she began her mountaineering career.
2. What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh’s concern for her team-mates?
Answer: Santosh assisted a dying climber on the Everest mission but was unable to save him. Mohan Singh, another climber, would almost certainly have died if Santosh had not shared her oxygen with him. These incidents demonstrate her concern for the safety of her teammates.
3. What shows her concern for the environment?
Answer: Santosh was an outspoken advocate for the environment. She gathered and transported 500 kilogrammes of garbage from the Himalayas while on the Everest mission.
4. How does she describe her feelings at the summit of the Everest?
Answer: Santosh stated that the sensation at the Everest summit was indescribable and took some time to sink in. Her spiritual moment was hoisting the Indian flag, and she felt proud to be an Indian.
5. Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mt Everest. What were the reasons for this?
Answer: When Santosh Yadav first ascended Mt. Everest, she became the world’s youngest woman to do so. She became the only woman to have conquered Everest twice the second time.
Complete the following statements.
1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to………..
Answer: Santosh used to watch villagers ascend the Aravalli hills and then vanish after a while from her room at Kasturba Hostel.
2. When she finished college, Santosh had to write a letter of apology to her father because…………
Answer: When Santosh graduated from college, she was forced to write an apology letter to her father for enrolling herself without his permission at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of Mountaineering.
3. During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her…… while……. endeared her to fellow climbers.
Answer: Throughout the Everest expedition, her teammates admired her climbing abilities, physical fitness, and mental fortitude, while her concern for others and willingness to collaborate endeared her to fellow climbers.
PART – 2
1. As you read, look for the answers to these questions
(i) Why was Maria sent to the United States?
Answer: Maria was sent to the United States for her tennis training.
(ii) Why didn’t her mother go with her?
Answer: Her mother could not go with her because of visa restrictions.
(iii) What are her hobbies? What does she like?
Answer: Her hobbies are fashion, singing and dancing. She likes reading the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle. She is also fond of sophisticated evening gowns, pancakes with chocolate spread and fizzy orange drinks.
(iv) What motivates her to keep going?
Answer: Apart from money, the motivation to become the number one in the world keeps her going.