NCERT Textbook - Reach for the Top | English Class 9 PDF Download

 Page 1


84 / Beehive
Part I
Santosh Yadav
B B B B BEFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE Y Y Y Y YOU OU OU OU OU R R R R READ EAD EAD EAD EAD
• Think for a while and make a list of three to five persons you
idolise, or admire very much for their achievements. Your
idols may be from any sphere of life — sports, medicine,
media, or art and culture.
• Your teacher will then discuss your choices with you to find
out who the top five idols of your class are.
1. The only woman in the world who
has scaled Mt Everest twice was
born in a society where the birth of
a son was regarded as a blessing,
and a daughter, though not
considered a curse, was not
generally welcome. When her mother
was expecting Santosh, a travelling
‘holy man’, giving her his blessing,
assumed that she wanted a son.
But, to everyone’s surprise, the
unborn child’s grandmother, who
was standing close by, told him that
they did not want a son. The ‘holy
man’ was also surprised!
Nevertheless, he gave the requested
blessing ... and as destiny would
have it, the blessing seemed to work.
Santosh was born the sixth child in
a family with five sons, a sister to
7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the Top op op op op
2024-25 2024-25
Page 2


84 / Beehive
Part I
Santosh Yadav
B B B B BEFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE Y Y Y Y YOU OU OU OU OU R R R R READ EAD EAD EAD EAD
• Think for a while and make a list of three to five persons you
idolise, or admire very much for their achievements. Your
idols may be from any sphere of life — sports, medicine,
media, or art and culture.
• Your teacher will then discuss your choices with you to find
out who the top five idols of your class are.
1. The only woman in the world who
has scaled Mt Everest twice was
born in a society where the birth of
a son was regarded as a blessing,
and a daughter, though not
considered a curse, was not
generally welcome. When her mother
was expecting Santosh, a travelling
‘holy man’, giving her his blessing,
assumed that she wanted a son.
But, to everyone’s surprise, the
unborn child’s grandmother, who
was standing close by, told him that
they did not want a son. The ‘holy
man’ was also surprised!
Nevertheless, he gave the requested
blessing ... and as destiny would
have it, the blessing seemed to work.
Santosh was born the sixth child in
a family with five sons, a sister to
7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the Top op op op op
2024-25 2024-25
Reach for the Top / 85
five brothers. She was born in the small village of
Joniyawas of Rewari District in Haryana.
2. The girl was given the name ‘Santosh’, which means
contentment. But Santosh was not always content
with her place in a traditional way of life. She began
living life on her own terms from the start. Where
other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh
preferred shorts. Looking back, she says now, “From
the very beginning I was quite determined that if I
chose a correct and a rational path, the others
around me had to change, not me.”
3. Santosh’s parents were affluent landowners who
could afford to send their children to the best
schools, even to the country’s capital, New Delhi,
which was quite close by. But, in line with the
prevailing custom in the family, Santosh had to
make do with the local village school. So, she decided
to fight the system in her own quiet way when
the right moment arrived. And the right moment
came when she turned sixteen. At sixteen, most of
the girls in her village used to get married.
Santosh was also under pressure from her parents
to do the same.
4. A marriage as early as that was the last thing on
her mind. She threatened her parents that she
would never marry if she did not get a proper
education. She left home and got herself enrolled
in a school in Delhi. When her 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. Her parents then agreed to pay
for her education.
5. Wishing always to study “a bit more” and with her
father slowly getting used to her urge for more
education, Santosh passed the high school
examinations and went to Jaipur. She joined
Maharani College and got a room in Kasturba Hostel.
Santosh remembers, “Kasturba Hostel faced the
the last thing: the
least important thing
in line with: following
or in accordance
with; according to
2024-25 2024-25
Page 3


84 / Beehive
Part I
Santosh Yadav
B B B B BEFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE Y Y Y Y YOU OU OU OU OU R R R R READ EAD EAD EAD EAD
• Think for a while and make a list of three to five persons you
idolise, or admire very much for their achievements. Your
idols may be from any sphere of life — sports, medicine,
media, or art and culture.
• Your teacher will then discuss your choices with you to find
out who the top five idols of your class are.
1. The only woman in the world who
has scaled Mt Everest twice was
born in a society where the birth of
a son was regarded as a blessing,
and a daughter, though not
considered a curse, was not
generally welcome. When her mother
was expecting Santosh, a travelling
‘holy man’, giving her his blessing,
assumed that she wanted a son.
But, to everyone’s surprise, the
unborn child’s grandmother, who
was standing close by, told him that
they did not want a son. The ‘holy
man’ was also surprised!
Nevertheless, he gave the requested
blessing ... and as destiny would
have it, the blessing seemed to work.
Santosh was born the sixth child in
a family with five sons, a sister to
7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the Top op op op op
2024-25 2024-25
Reach for the Top / 85
five brothers. She was born in the small village of
Joniyawas of Rewari District in Haryana.
2. The girl was given the name ‘Santosh’, which means
contentment. But Santosh was not always content
with her place in a traditional way of life. She began
living life on her own terms from the start. Where
other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh
preferred shorts. Looking back, she says now, “From
the very beginning I was quite determined that if I
chose a correct and a rational path, the others
around me had to change, not me.”
3. Santosh’s parents were affluent landowners who
could afford to send their children to the best
schools, even to the country’s capital, New Delhi,
which was quite close by. But, in line with the
prevailing custom in the family, Santosh had to
make do with the local village school. So, she decided
to fight the system in her own quiet way when
the right moment arrived. And the right moment
came when she turned sixteen. At sixteen, most of
the girls in her village used to get married.
Santosh was also under pressure from her parents
to do the same.
4. A marriage as early as that was the last thing on
her mind. She threatened her parents that she
would never marry if she did not get a proper
education. She left home and got herself enrolled
in a school in Delhi. When her 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. Her parents then agreed to pay
for her education.
5. Wishing always to study “a bit more” and with her
father slowly getting used to her urge for more
education, Santosh passed the high school
examinations and went to Jaipur. She joined
Maharani College and got a room in Kasturba Hostel.
Santosh remembers, “Kasturba Hostel faced the
the last thing: the
least important thing
in line with: following
or in accordance
with; according to
2024-25 2024-25
86 / Beehive
Aravalli Hills. I used to watch villagers from my room,
going up the hill and suddenly vanishing after a
while. One day I decided to check it out myself. I
found nobody except a few mountaineers. I asked if
I could join them. To my pleasant surprise, they
answered in the affirmative and motivated me to
take to climbing.”
6. Then there was no looking back for this determined
young girl. She saved money and enrolled in a
course at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of
Mountaineering. “My college semester in Jaipur was
to end in April but it ended on the nineteenth of
May. And I was supposed to be in Uttarkashi on
the twenty-first. So, I did not go back home; instead,
I headed straight for the training. I had to write a
letter of apology to my father without whose
permission I had got myself enrolled at Uttarkashi.”
7. Thereafter, Santosh went on an
expedition every year. Her climbing
skills matured rapidly. Also, she
developed a remarkable resistance to
cold and the altitude. Equipped with
an iron will, physical endurance and
an amazing mental toughness, she
proved herself repeatedly. The
culmination of her hard work and
sincerity came in 1992, just four years
after she had shyly asked the Aravalli
mountaineers if she could join them.
At barely twenty years of age, Santosh
Yadav scaled Mt Everest, becoming the
youngest woman in the world to
achieve the feat. If her climbing skills,
physical fitness, and mental strength
impressed her seniors, her concern for
others and desire to work together with
them found her a special place in the
hearts of fellow climbers.
check it out: find out
(the truth)
Iron will, physical endurance and
mental toughness characterise
Santosh Yadav.
headed straight for :
went towards
2024-25 2024-25
Page 4


84 / Beehive
Part I
Santosh Yadav
B B B B BEFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE Y Y Y Y YOU OU OU OU OU R R R R READ EAD EAD EAD EAD
• Think for a while and make a list of three to five persons you
idolise, or admire very much for their achievements. Your
idols may be from any sphere of life — sports, medicine,
media, or art and culture.
• Your teacher will then discuss your choices with you to find
out who the top five idols of your class are.
1. The only woman in the world who
has scaled Mt Everest twice was
born in a society where the birth of
a son was regarded as a blessing,
and a daughter, though not
considered a curse, was not
generally welcome. When her mother
was expecting Santosh, a travelling
‘holy man’, giving her his blessing,
assumed that she wanted a son.
But, to everyone’s surprise, the
unborn child’s grandmother, who
was standing close by, told him that
they did not want a son. The ‘holy
man’ was also surprised!
Nevertheless, he gave the requested
blessing ... and as destiny would
have it, the blessing seemed to work.
Santosh was born the sixth child in
a family with five sons, a sister to
7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the Top op op op op
2024-25 2024-25
Reach for the Top / 85
five brothers. She was born in the small village of
Joniyawas of Rewari District in Haryana.
2. The girl was given the name ‘Santosh’, which means
contentment. But Santosh was not always content
with her place in a traditional way of life. She began
living life on her own terms from the start. Where
other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh
preferred shorts. Looking back, she says now, “From
the very beginning I was quite determined that if I
chose a correct and a rational path, the others
around me had to change, not me.”
3. Santosh’s parents were affluent landowners who
could afford to send their children to the best
schools, even to the country’s capital, New Delhi,
which was quite close by. But, in line with the
prevailing custom in the family, Santosh had to
make do with the local village school. So, she decided
to fight the system in her own quiet way when
the right moment arrived. And the right moment
came when she turned sixteen. At sixteen, most of
the girls in her village used to get married.
Santosh was also under pressure from her parents
to do the same.
4. A marriage as early as that was the last thing on
her mind. She threatened her parents that she
would never marry if she did not get a proper
education. She left home and got herself enrolled
in a school in Delhi. When her 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. Her parents then agreed to pay
for her education.
5. Wishing always to study “a bit more” and with her
father slowly getting used to her urge for more
education, Santosh passed the high school
examinations and went to Jaipur. She joined
Maharani College and got a room in Kasturba Hostel.
Santosh remembers, “Kasturba Hostel faced the
the last thing: the
least important thing
in line with: following
or in accordance
with; according to
2024-25 2024-25
86 / Beehive
Aravalli Hills. I used to watch villagers from my room,
going up the hill and suddenly vanishing after a
while. One day I decided to check it out myself. I
found nobody except a few mountaineers. I asked if
I could join them. To my pleasant surprise, they
answered in the affirmative and motivated me to
take to climbing.”
6. Then there was no looking back for this determined
young girl. She saved money and enrolled in a
course at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of
Mountaineering. “My college semester in Jaipur was
to end in April but it ended on the nineteenth of
May. And I was supposed to be in Uttarkashi on
the twenty-first. So, I did not go back home; instead,
I headed straight for the training. I had to write a
letter of apology to my father without whose
permission I had got myself enrolled at Uttarkashi.”
7. Thereafter, Santosh went on an
expedition every year. Her climbing
skills matured rapidly. Also, she
developed a remarkable resistance to
cold and the altitude. Equipped with
an iron will, physical endurance and
an amazing mental toughness, she
proved herself repeatedly. The
culmination of her hard work and
sincerity came in 1992, just four years
after she had shyly asked the Aravalli
mountaineers if she could join them.
At barely twenty years of age, Santosh
Yadav scaled Mt Everest, becoming the
youngest woman in the world to
achieve the feat. If her climbing skills,
physical fitness, and mental strength
impressed her seniors, her concern for
others and desire to work together with
them found her a special place in the
hearts of fellow climbers.
check it out: find out
(the truth)
Iron will, physical endurance and
mental toughness characterise
Santosh Yadav.
headed straight for :
went towards
2024-25 2024-25
Reach for the Top / 87
8. During the 1992 Everest mission, Santosh Yadav
provided special care to a climber who lay dying at
the South Col. She was unfortunately unsuccessful
in saving him. However, she managed to save
another climber, Mohan Singh, who would have
met with the same fate had she not shared her
oxygen with him.
9. Within twelve months, Santosh found herself a
member of an Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition
that invited her to join them. She then scaled the
Everest a second time, thus setting a record as the
only woman to have scaled the Everest twice, and
securing for herself and India a unique place in the
annals of mountaineering. In recognition
of her achievements, the Indian government
bestowed upon her one of the nation’s top honours,
the Padmashri.
10. Describing her feelings when she was literally ‘on
top of the world’, Santosh has said, “It took some
time for the enormity of the moment to sink
in... Then I unfurled the Indian tricolour and held it
aloft on the roof of the world. The feeling is
indescribable. The Indian flag was flying on top of
the world. It was truly a spiritual moment. I felt
proud as an Indian.”
Also a fervent environmentalist, Santosh collected
and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from
the Himalayas.
Thinking about the T Thinking about the T Thinking about the T Thinking about the T Thinking about the Te e e e ext xt xt xt xt
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?
(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)
top honours: highest
awards
the enormity of the
moment: a very great
moment
sink in: be
understood
held it aloft: held it
up high
fervent: having
strong and sincere
feelings
2024-25 2024-25
Page 5


84 / Beehive
Part I
Santosh Yadav
B B B B BEFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE EFORE Y Y Y Y YOU OU OU OU OU R R R R READ EAD EAD EAD EAD
• Think for a while and make a list of three to five persons you
idolise, or admire very much for their achievements. Your
idols may be from any sphere of life — sports, medicine,
media, or art and culture.
• Your teacher will then discuss your choices with you to find
out who the top five idols of your class are.
1. The only woman in the world who
has scaled Mt Everest twice was
born in a society where the birth of
a son was regarded as a blessing,
and a daughter, though not
considered a curse, was not
generally welcome. When her mother
was expecting Santosh, a travelling
‘holy man’, giving her his blessing,
assumed that she wanted a son.
But, to everyone’s surprise, the
unborn child’s grandmother, who
was standing close by, told him that
they did not want a son. The ‘holy
man’ was also surprised!
Nevertheless, he gave the requested
blessing ... and as destiny would
have it, the blessing seemed to work.
Santosh was born the sixth child in
a family with five sons, a sister to
7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the T 7. Reach for the Top op op op op
2024-25 2024-25
Reach for the Top / 85
five brothers. She was born in the small village of
Joniyawas of Rewari District in Haryana.
2. The girl was given the name ‘Santosh’, which means
contentment. But Santosh was not always content
with her place in a traditional way of life. She began
living life on her own terms from the start. Where
other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh
preferred shorts. Looking back, she says now, “From
the very beginning I was quite determined that if I
chose a correct and a rational path, the others
around me had to change, not me.”
3. Santosh’s parents were affluent landowners who
could afford to send their children to the best
schools, even to the country’s capital, New Delhi,
which was quite close by. But, in line with the
prevailing custom in the family, Santosh had to
make do with the local village school. So, she decided
to fight the system in her own quiet way when
the right moment arrived. And the right moment
came when she turned sixteen. At sixteen, most of
the girls in her village used to get married.
Santosh was also under pressure from her parents
to do the same.
4. A marriage as early as that was the last thing on
her mind. She threatened her parents that she
would never marry if she did not get a proper
education. She left home and got herself enrolled
in a school in Delhi. When her 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. Her parents then agreed to pay
for her education.
5. Wishing always to study “a bit more” and with her
father slowly getting used to her urge for more
education, Santosh passed the high school
examinations and went to Jaipur. She joined
Maharani College and got a room in Kasturba Hostel.
Santosh remembers, “Kasturba Hostel faced the
the last thing: the
least important thing
in line with: following
or in accordance
with; according to
2024-25 2024-25
86 / Beehive
Aravalli Hills. I used to watch villagers from my room,
going up the hill and suddenly vanishing after a
while. One day I decided to check it out myself. I
found nobody except a few mountaineers. I asked if
I could join them. To my pleasant surprise, they
answered in the affirmative and motivated me to
take to climbing.”
6. Then there was no looking back for this determined
young girl. She saved money and enrolled in a
course at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of
Mountaineering. “My college semester in Jaipur was
to end in April but it ended on the nineteenth of
May. And I was supposed to be in Uttarkashi on
the twenty-first. So, I did not go back home; instead,
I headed straight for the training. I had to write a
letter of apology to my father without whose
permission I had got myself enrolled at Uttarkashi.”
7. Thereafter, Santosh went on an
expedition every year. Her climbing
skills matured rapidly. Also, she
developed a remarkable resistance to
cold and the altitude. Equipped with
an iron will, physical endurance and
an amazing mental toughness, she
proved herself repeatedly. The
culmination of her hard work and
sincerity came in 1992, just four years
after she had shyly asked the Aravalli
mountaineers if she could join them.
At barely twenty years of age, Santosh
Yadav scaled Mt Everest, becoming the
youngest woman in the world to
achieve the feat. If her climbing skills,
physical fitness, and mental strength
impressed her seniors, her concern for
others and desire to work together with
them found her a special place in the
hearts of fellow climbers.
check it out: find out
(the truth)
Iron will, physical endurance and
mental toughness characterise
Santosh Yadav.
headed straight for :
went towards
2024-25 2024-25
Reach for the Top / 87
8. During the 1992 Everest mission, Santosh Yadav
provided special care to a climber who lay dying at
the South Col. She was unfortunately unsuccessful
in saving him. However, she managed to save
another climber, Mohan Singh, who would have
met with the same fate had she not shared her
oxygen with him.
9. Within twelve months, Santosh found herself a
member of an Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition
that invited her to join them. She then scaled the
Everest a second time, thus setting a record as the
only woman to have scaled the Everest twice, and
securing for herself and India a unique place in the
annals of mountaineering. In recognition
of her achievements, the Indian government
bestowed upon her one of the nation’s top honours,
the Padmashri.
10. Describing her feelings when she was literally ‘on
top of the world’, Santosh has said, “It took some
time for the enormity of the moment to sink
in... Then I unfurled the Indian tricolour and held it
aloft on the roof of the world. The feeling is
indescribable. The Indian flag was flying on top of
the world. It was truly a spiritual moment. I felt
proud as an Indian.”
Also a fervent environmentalist, Santosh collected
and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from
the Himalayas.
Thinking about the T Thinking about the T Thinking about the T Thinking about the T Thinking about the Te e e e ext xt xt xt xt
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?
(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)
top honours: highest
awards
the enormity of the
moment: a very great
moment
sink in: be
understood
held it aloft: held it
up high
fervent: having
strong and sincere
feelings
2024-25 2024-25
88 / Beehive
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)
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?
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.
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): 
2024-25 2024-25