Reach for The Top  - Maria Sharapova

Q.1. What is something disarming about Maria Sharapova?

Ans. Maria Sharapova is a girl with a smiling face and glamorous attire. But she is a determined girl who worked excessively hard to win the world number one position in women tennis.

2. Why did Sharapova leave Siberia for the U.S.A.?

Ans. At the age of nine years, Maria Sharapova left Siberia for Florida in the U.S.A. She went there to attend a training camp for women tennis. She undertook hard training for two years. Her father Yuri also went with her.

 3. At the age of nine years, what lesson had Sharapova learnt?

Ans. In the U.S.A. Maria Sharapova had to face a heart wrenching two-year separation from her mother. This separation made her learn an important lesson that tennis excellence would only come at a price.

4. How Was Sharapova treated by the seniors in the training camp?

Ans. Maria Sharapova was just nearly ten years old. The seniors in the training camp treated her badly. They look her up. They asked Maria to tidy up the room and clean it

5. What does Maria Sharapova say about her Russian nationality?

Ans. Maria Sharapova speaks with an Amercan accent, She proudly tells about her Russ ion nationality. Clearing all doubts, she tells her blood is totally  Russian. She will play the Olympics for Russia.

6. What has lifted Maria Sharapova to the top of the world?

 Ans:- Maria’s talent, her unwavering determination, her hunger for success, her willingness to work hard, her readiness to endure challenges, and her sacrifices have lifted her to the top of the world. In addition, monetary gains have motivated her to be on the top.

Packing

I. Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30 − 40 words).

1. How many characters are there in the narrative? Name them. (Don’t forget the dog!).

Ans: There are four characters in the narrative. They are Jerome (the narrator), George, Harris and Montmorency (the dog).

2. Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing?

Ans: The narrator volunteered to do packing because he thought he was the best packer. He felt proud of his packing and wanted to show it.

3. How did George and Harris react to this? Did Jerome like their reaction?

Ans: George and Harris readily accepted Jerome’s suggestion. George smoked a pipe and “spread himself over the easy-chair”, while Harris put his legs on the table and lit a cigar.
No, Jerome was  irritated by their reaction.

4. What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack?

Ans: When Jerome offered to pack, his real intention was to supervise the work. He wanted to show his ability through the supervision.

5. What did Harris say after the bag  was shut and strapped? Why do you think he waited  till then to ask?

Ans: After the bag  was shut and strapped, Harris mentioned that Jerome had not packed the boots.
He had waited  till then to ask because he wanted to make Jerome realise his mistake and ridicule his packing skills.

6. What “horrible idea” occurred to Jerome a little later?

Ans: The “horrible idea” that occurred to Jerome a little later was whether he had packed his toothbrush or not. Whenever he  travelled  he could never remember if he had packed his toothbrush or not. This thought haunted him and made his life a misery.

7. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush?

Ans: Jerome finally found the  tooth brush inside a boot when he was putting the things back one by one after turning them out of the bag.

8. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag?

Ans: Jerome had to reopen the packed bag twice owing to his forgetfulness. Once he had to reopen the bag as he had forgotten to pack the boots. The next time, he unpacked when he  realised  he had packed his toothbrush in.

9. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why?

Ans: George and Harris offered to pack the hampers because It was getting late and they thought that Jerome had taken too much of time. They also wanted to show their skill to Jerome.

II. What does Jerome say was Montmorency’s ambition in life? What do you think of Montmorency and why?

Ans: Jerome says Montmorency’s ambition in life was to get in the way and he sworn at. Montmorency was a mischievous little dog who loved creating troubles for others. I think that Montmorency was a perfect nuisance because whenever he found people busy with their work, he might feel bored and wanted to get involved. He meant no trouble intentionally. But when people shouted at him or threw things at his head, he got discouraged and then went away to sit silently, which the narrator calls as the fulfillment of his conceit.

III.Discuss in groups and answer the following questions in two or three paragraphs (100 −150 words)

1. Of the three, Jerome, George and Harris, who do you think is the best or worst packer? Support your answer with details from the text.

Ans: Of the three, Jerome is the best packer He knew how to arrange things in order. Both Harris and George messed everything. Harris packed the strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashed it. George stepped on the butter. They  were getting constantly irritated by Montmorency.  Till the time Jerome packed, although he took his time, the job. They even kept things behind them and then kept searching for it. They made everything such a mess.

2. How did Montmorency ‘contribute’ to the packing?

Ans: The packing escapade was already a messy job and Montmorency’s contribution made it even more tiresome. He did his level best to be a “perfect nuisance”.
He came and sat down on things, just when  they  were wanted to be packed. He put his leg into the jam and worried the teaspoons. He also pretended that the lemons were rats. So  he got into the hamper and killed three of them before Harris could land him with the frying-pan.

3. Do you find this story funny? What are the humorous elements in it?
(Pick out at least three, think about what happens, as well as how it is described.)

Ans: Yes, this story is definitely funny. Not only is the way in which the three friends pack for their trip quite humourous, but the way the author narrates all the incidents is also entertaining.
The first humorous element is that he offered to pack, George and Harris leaves the whole matter to him. Consequently, he has to do packing though his real intention was to boss the job.
The second humorous element is that George placed the butter on the chair and Harris sat on it and it stuck at his back. When they searched it for packing it was missing. They walk and walk round the room. At last, George saw it at Harris’s back.
The third humorous element is that Montmorency squirms in where he is not wanted. He wants somebody stumble over him and curse him steadily for an hour. He pretends that lemons were rats.

The table below has some proverbs telling you what to do and what not to do. Fill in the blanks and add a few more such proverbs to the table.

	Positive		Negative
(i)	Save for a rainy day.	(i)	Don’t cry over spilt milk.
(ii)	Make hay while the sun shines.	(ii)	Don’t put the cart before the horse.
(iii)	____ before you leap.	(iii)	____ a mountain out of a mole hill.
(iv)	____ and let live.	(iv)	____ all your eggs in one basket.

Ans: (iii) Look before you leap.
Don’t  make  a mountain out of a mole hill.
(iv)  Live  and  let Live.
Don’t  put   all your eggs in one basket.
(v) Mind your own business.
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
(vi)  Be  first  at the feast and last at the fight.
Don’t  count   the days, make the days count!

No Men are Foreign

 (i) “Beneath all uniforms…” What uniforms do you think the poet is speaking about?
(ii) How does the poet suggest that all people on earth are the same?

Ans: (i) The poet is probably speaking about the uniforms that the soldiers wear at the time of war. The word “uniform” here could also mean the traditional dresses of a country.
(ii) The poet suggests that all people on earth are the same as they breathe, buried, wake, sleep, hate, love and labour. The importance of the sun and air and water is equal for everyone. Everyone needs peace and suffers from starvation during wars.

2. In stanza 1, find five ways in which we all are alike. Pick out the words.

Ans: Words which suggest the five ways in which we all are like are:
Each of us has a similar body
All of us breathe
All of us walk
All of us lie
We live and die on the same earth

3. How many common features can you find in stanza 2? Pick out the words.

Ans: There are five common features in stanza 2. These features are the sun, the air, the water, peaceful harvest, hands and the labour.

4. “…whenever we are told to hate our brothers…” When do you think this happens? Why? Who ‘tells’ us? Should we do as we are told at such times? What does the poet say?

Ans: Whenever there is war, leaders tell people to hate the other country. They tell us to do so because of their personal gains. But we should not act as a puppet in their hands and do as they say. We should understand that war is futile and analyse the situation before jumping to conclusions.The poet says that if we fight against them, we kill and condemn ourselves.

Friday, 24 August 2018

Reach for the Top 

 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? (1)

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

3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school? (3)
 4. When did she leave home for Delhi, and why? (4)
 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? (4)

Ans: 1. The ‘holy man’ was surprised because he had assumed that Santosh’s mother wanted a son. But grandmother told him that they did not want a son.

 2. Santosh, from the very beginning, lived life on her own terms. She was not content with the traditional way of life and was not ready to accept anything unreasonable. 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 determined to work very hard to get herself properly educated.

 Page No: 103

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

1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?
 2. What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh’s concern for her team-mates?
3. What shows her concern for the environment?
4. How does she describe her feelings at the summit of the Everest?
5. Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mt Everest. What were the reasons for this?

 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 nobody except a few mountaineers, and she asked if she could join them. They agreed and even motivated her to take to climbing and so she later accompanied them on their climbing expedition. This was how she began climbing mountains.

 2. During the Everest mission, Santosh showed immense concern for her fellow climbers. Though she was unsuccessful in saving the life of one of them, she did manage to save another climber through artificial respiration.

 3. Santosh was a fervent environmentalist. Her concern for the environment is evident from the fact that she collected and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.

 4. Santosh asserted that her 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 and 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. When she scaled the Everest the second time, she became the only woman to have scaled it twice.

 (Do these Qs in the book )

 III. Complete the following statements.
 Ans: 1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to watch villagers going up the hill and suddenly vanish 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’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 with them 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)                      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