Class 9 English - Beehive - Chapter Reach for the Top NCERT Solutions | I. Answer these questions in one or two

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?

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.
2. What do you do after you finish the book? Perhaps you just throw it away.
3. He gave the little girl an apple. He took the computer apart.
4. You have nothing. That makes you very determined.
5. I never thought of quitting. I knew what I wanted.

Identify the two parts in the sentences below by underlining the part that gives us the information in brackets, as shown above.
1. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred shorts. (Contrasts her dress with that of others)
2. She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi.(Tells us what happened after the first action.)
3. She decided to fight the system when the right moment arrived.(Tells us when she was going to fight the system.)
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.)

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):________

How old are Margie and Tommy?

The (shehnai, pungi ) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’

Given below are some emotions that Kezia felt. Match the emotions in Column A ​with the items in Column B. 

1. Here are some headings for paragraphs in the text. Write the number(s) of the paragraph(s) for each title against the heading. The first one is done for you.
(i) Einstein’s equation____
(ii) Einstein meets his future wife____
(iii) The making of a violinist____
(iv) Mileva and Einstein’s mother_____
(v) A letter that launched the arms race_____
(vi) A desk drawer full of ideas_____
(vii) Marriage and divorce_____

I. Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30–40 words).
1. “The sound was a familiar one.” What sound did the doctor hear? What did he think it was? How many times did he hear it? (Find the places in the text.) When and why did the sounds stop?

2. What two “important” and “earth-shaking” decisions did the doctor take while he was looking into the mirror?

3. “I looked into the mirror and smiled,” says the doctor. A little later he says, “I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself.” What is the doctor’s opinion about himself when: (i) he first smiles, and (ii) he smiles again? In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?

I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each.

1. Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
2. What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.
3. Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
4. How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
5. Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
 

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!).
2. Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing?
3. How did George and Harris react to this? Did Jerome like their reaction?
4. What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack?
5. What did Harris say after the bag was shut and strapped? Why do you think he waited till then to ask?
6. What “horrible idea” occurred to Jerome a little later?
7. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush?
8. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag?
9. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why?
10. While packing the hamper, George and Harris do a number of foolish and funny things. Tick the statements that are true.
(i) They started with breaking a cup.
(ii) They also broke a plate.
(iii) They squashed a tomato.
(iv) They trod on the butter.
(v) They stepped on a banana.
(vi) They put things behind them, and couldn’t find them.
(vii) They stepped on things.
(viii) They packed the pictures at the bottom and put heavy things on top.
(ix) They upset almost everything.
(x) They were very good at packing.

I. Given in the box are some headings. Find the relevant paragraphs in the text to match the headings.

          An Orphaned Cub; Bruno’s Food-chart; An Accidental Case of Poisoning;
          Playful Baba; Pain of Separation; Joy of Reunion; A Request to the Zoo;
          An Island in the Courtyard

I. Answer these questions.
1. “At last a sympathetic audience.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does he say it?
(iii) Is he sarcastic or serious?

2. Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?

3. “I said it with bullets.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) What does it mean?
(iii) Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?

4. What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer.

5. “You’ll soon stop being smart.”
(i) Who says this?(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
(iii) What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?

6. “They can’t hang me twice.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?

7. “A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?

8. “This is your big surprise.”
(i) Where has this been said in the play?
(ii) What is the surprise?

I. Answer these questions in one or two words or in short phrases.
1. Name the two temples the author visited in Kathmandu.
2. The writer says, “All this I wash down with Coca Cola.” What does ‘all this’ refer to?
3. What does Vikram Seth compare to the quills of a porcupine?
4. Name five kinds of flutes.

(III).                                  Punctuation
Use capital letters, full stops, question marks, commas and inverted commas wherever necessary in the following paragraph.

an arrogant lion was wandering through the jungle one day he asked the tiger who is stronger than you you O lion replied the tiger who is more fierce than a leopard asked the lion you sir replied the leopard he marched upto an elephant and asked the same question the elephant picked him up in his trunk swung him in the air and threw him down look said the lion there is no need to get mad just because you don’t know the answer

Some verbs of reporting are given in the box. Choose the appropriate verbs and fill in the blanks in the following sentences. were complaining shouted replied remarked ordered suggested
(i) “I am not afraid,”_____ the woman.
(ii) “Leave me alone,” my mother .______
(iii) The children______ that the roads were crowded and noisy.
(iv) “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,” ______the master.
(v) “Let’s go and look at the school ground,______” the sports teacher.
(vi) The traffic police______ all the passers-by to keep off the road.

Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?
 

“I wouldn’t throw it away.”
(i) Who says these words?
(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?
(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?

III. Answer the following questions in not more than 100–150 words each.
1. Compare and contrast the atmosphere in and around the Baudhnath shrine with the Pashupatinath temple.
2. How does the author describe Kathmandu’s busiest streets?
3. “To hear any flute is to be drawn into the commonality of all mankind.” Why does the author say this?

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

Study these sentences:
• My parents were regarded as an ideal couple.
• I was asked to go and sit on the back bench.
• Such problems have to be confronted.

The italicised verbs in these sentences are made up of a form of the verb be and a past participle. (For example: were + regarded, was + asked, be + confronted) These sentences focus on what happens, rather than who does what. Notice that the doer of the action is not included in the sentences. If necessary, we can mention the doer of the action in a by-phrase. For example:
• The tree was struck by lightning.
• The flag was unfurled by the Chief Guest.

III. Tick the right answer.
1. When something is revived, it (remains dead/lives again).
2. When a government bans something, it wants it (stopped/started).
3. When something is considered auspicious, (welcome it/avoid it).
4. When we take to something, we find it (boring/interesting).
5. When you appreciate something, you (find it good and useful/find it of no use).
6. When you replicate something, you do it (for the first time/for the second time).
7. When we come to terms with something, it is (still upsetting/no longerupsetting).

Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
 

When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?