NCERT Solutions For Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Reach for the Top (2025-26)

Thinking about the Text

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? 

Ans: The ‘holy man’ was surprised since he had believed that Santosh’s mother wanted a son. But grandmother told him that they did not need a son.

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

Ans: Santosh, from the very starting, lived life on her own terms. 

She was not satisfied with the traditional method of life and was not willing to accept anything unreasonable. Where other children were wearing traditional Indian dresses, Santosh chose shorts.

3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school? 

Ans: Although Santosh’s parents could have sufficient money to send their kids to the best schools, she was sent to the nearby village school because of the predominant tradition in the family.

4. When did she leave home for Delhi, and why? 

Ans: When she turned sixteen and was under pressure to get married, Santosh threatened her parents that she was never going to marry if she did not get a proper education. Consequently, she left home and joined a school in Delhi.

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? 

Ans: When the parents of Santosh rejected the payment for her education, she politely informed them of her plans to earn money by working part-time to reimburse her school fees. Then, her parents decided to pay for her schooling in Delhi. This reveals that Santosh was a mentally strong girl and decided to work very hard to get herself properly educated.

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

1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?

Ans: From her room in Kasturba Hostel, she looked at the people going up the Aravalli Hills and vanishing after some time. On the inquiry, she found nobody except a few mountaineers, and she asked if she could join them. They agreed and even encouraged her to take climbing and so she later joined them on their climbing expedition. This was how she started climbing mountains.

2. What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh’s concern for her teammates?

Ans: During the Everest mission, Santosh showed enormous concern for her fellow climbers. Although she failed in rescuing the life of one of them, she did manage to rescue another mountaineer by artificial respiration.

3. What shows her concern for the environment?

Ans: Santosh was a passionate environmentalist. Her interest in the environment is obvious from the fact that she collected and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.

4. How does she describe her feelings at the summit of Everest?

Ans: Santosh asserted that her feeling at the top of Everest was “indescribable”.  Unfurling the Indian flag on the highest of the world was a marvelous second for her and she felt proud as an Indian.

5. Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mt Everest. What were the reasons for this?

Ans: When Santosh Yadav first climbed Mt Everest, she became the youngest woman in the world to reach the feat. When she climbed Everest the second time, she became the only woman to have climbed it twice.

III. Complete the following statements.

1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to  

Ans: From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh looked at villagers climbing up the mountain and then unexpectedly vanished after some time. 

2. When she finished college, Santosh had to write a letter of apology to her father because  

Ans: When she completed college, Santosh had to write a letter of regret to her father since she had got herself joined Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of Mountaineering without his approval.

3. During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her while endeared her to fellow climbers.

Ans: During the Everest trip, her seniors in the team appreciated her climbing skills, physical condition, and psychological strength at the same time as her concern for others and a wish to work together with the men challenged 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 

Ans: Assumed.

2. Based on reason; sensible; reasonable 

Ans: Rational.

3. The usual way of doing things 

Ans:  Custom.

4. A strong desire arising from within

Ans:  Urge.

5. The power to endure, without falling ill 

Ans: Resistance.

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.

Ans:

Thinking about the Language

I. Identify the two parts in the sentences below by underlining the part that gives us the information in brackets.

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

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

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

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

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

Ans: 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. (Tells us when Maria was sent to the U.S.)

Ans: 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.

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

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

Ans: After finishing the book, perhaps you just throw it away.

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

Ans: He gave the little girl an apple and took the computer apart.

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

Ans: Having nothing makes you very determined.

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

Ans. I never thought of quitting as I knew what I wanted.

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7 - Reach for the Top

What Are the Chapters in Class 9 English Beehive Textbook?

The prose chapters of the English Beehive textbook Class 9 include The little girl, Packing, The sound of music, My childhood, The bond of love and many more. Whereas the poems include Wind, No men are foreign, The road not taken, On killing a tree and more.

Reach For The Top Short Summary

The biographical story “Reach For The Top” tells us about the lives of two women, Santosh Yadav and Maria Sharapova. In the story, the achievements of these two strong ladies are celebrated as the ladies have achieved success despite hardships. One common thing found in both the ladies was that they resited all hardships to pursue their passion and succeeded in it. With this story, the students will learn how hard work and determination can help you to fulfill your dreams. Moreover, you will also observe that in order to achieve success, determination, training, and sacrifice are the utmost requirements. It made us learn that the path to success is not easy but the results are satisfying. Hence, this chapter serves as an inspiration for students looking to get some motivation to pursue their dreams. 

Introduction to Reach for the Top Class 9 Part 2

Reach for the Top Part-2 describes the world-famed Tennis player Maria Sharapova who rose to the top with her hard work. The secret behind her phenomenal success is her immense sacrifice and struggles of her parents and herself. Born in Siberia, Russia in 1987, she led a charge of Russian players in the women's game where they later achieved great success. 

Her humble background made her more determined and mentally strong. Maria's mental strength, along with her competitive nature, hard work and sacrifice made her win the number one position in the world in women's tennis. She has also come up with her glamour brand for tennis known for designing unique outfits for tennis.

What are the Benefits of Referring to Class 9 English Beehive NCERT Solutions?

Class 9 English Beehive NCERT Solutions are great for understanding the textbook's solutions. It is beneficial in solving English previous year questions and sample papers of Class 9. The CBSE board prepares the NCERT syllabus and textbooks. All students who are under the CBSE board have the best solution materials here at Vedantu. Class 9 is also an introductory class for the students, as the education level increases from secondary to higher secondary.

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Solved Examples

Question: State an example to show how a young girl was not ready to accept what was unreasonable.

Answer: Being a young girl, Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable. She was not satisfied with her place in the traditional way of life and began living life on her terms from the start. While others wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh chose to wear shorts, unlike other girls.

Conclusion

Class  9 English Chapter 7 - “Reach For The Top” is an important chapter that lays the foundation for the future in English. Vedantu's Class 9 English Chapter 7 Reach For The Top Solutions is a comprehensive and informative resource that will help students to understand the concepts, solve problems, and improve their analytical skills. Practicing more questions is essential for success in exams. Vedantu's Class 9 English Chapter 7 Reach For The Top Solutions includes a large number of practice questions with solutions, which will help students to prepare for their exams. Students can also download a free PDF of Vedantu's Class 9 Chapter 7 Solutions for easy access and offline use.

Important Study Material Links for Class 9 Chapter 7

Chapters-wise NCERT Class 9 English Beehive

Chapters-wise NCERT Class 9 English Beehive (Poem)

Study Material for NCERT Class 9 English:

Now that you have a thorough understanding of the NCERT Syllabus for Class 9 English, you can take a look at some of the material that will take your preparation to the next level. These can be used as supplementary material to your main study routine: