The NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7 – “Packing” provide detailed and insightful answers to all the questions in the chapter. This humorous extract from Jerome K. Jerome’s novel Three Men in a Boat describes the comical misadventures of three friends as they attempt to pack for a trip. The solutions help students understand the humor, irony, and character interactions in the story. These solutions enhance students’ comprehension skills and their ability to analyze humorous writing. Expertly prepared according to the latest NCERT guidelines, these solutions are designed to help students perform well in their exams.
Here Are The NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
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?
Answer: 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.
Answer: Santosh has always lived her life on her own.
She was dissatisfied with the old way of life and refused to tolerate anything inappropriate. Santosh chose shorts over traditional Indian clothes, while other youngsters wore them.
3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school?
Answer: Santosh’s parents could afford to send their children to the best schools, but she was sent to a local rural school according to family tradition.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
4. When did she leave home for Delhi, and why?
Answer: When she turned sixteen and was under pressure to marry, Santosh threatened her parents that she would never marry unless she received a proper education. As a result, she left home to attend 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 to light by this incident?
Answer: 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 cover her school costs. Then, her parents opted to pay for her education in Delhi. This demonstrates that Santosh was a psychologically strong girl who resolved to work hard to obtain a proper education.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).
1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?
Answer: From her accommodation at Kasturba Hostel, she watched people ascending the Aravalli Hills and then vanish. She discovered that there were only a few mountaineers, so she inquired if she might join them. They agreed and even urged her to try climbing, so she eventually joined them on their excursion. This is how she began climbing mountains.
2. What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh’s concern for her teammates?
Answer: During the Everest mission, Santosh showed enormous concern for her fellow climbers. Although she failed to rescue the life of one of them, she did manage to rescue another mountaineer by artificial respiration.
3. What shows her concern for the environment?
Answer: 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.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
4. How does she describe her feelings at the summit of Everest?
Answer: 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?
Answer: 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.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
III. Complete the following statements.
1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to
Answer: 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
Answer: 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 and endeared her to fellow climbers.
Answer: 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.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
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
Answer: Assumed.
2. Based on reason; sensible; reasonable
Answer: Rational.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
3. The usual way of doing things
Answer: Custom.
4. A strong desire arising from within
Answer: Urge.
5. The power to endure, without falling ill
Answer: Resistance.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
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.
| S.No | Points of Comparison/Contrast Sharapova | Santosh Yadav | Maria Sharapova |
| 1. | Their humble beginning | ||
| 2. | Their parents’ approach | ||
| 3. | Their willpower and strong desire to
Succeed. |
||
| 4. | Evidence of their mental toughness | ||
| 5. | Their patriotism |
Answer:
| S.No | Points of Comparison/Contrast | Santosh Yadav | Maria Sharapova |
| 1. | Their humble beginning | “In Rewari District of Haryana, she was born in the tiny village of Joniya.” |
“The Siberian-born youngster” |
| 2. | Their parents’ approach | “Based on the modern tradition in the family, Santosh had joined a neighboring village school.”“In her village, almost all the girls get married at the age of sixteen. Santosh was also forced by her parents to do the same thing.” “Her parents refused to reimburse for her daughter’s education.” “Her father is gradually getting used to her wish.” |
“She was packed off to train in the United States.”“Trip to Florida with her father Yuri started her on the path to victory and prominence.” “My father was hired as far as he could to keep my tennis coaching going.” |
| 3. | Their willpower and a strong desire to succeed. | “Need always to study a little more”“Her wish for more education” “She moved away from the house and joined a Delhi school.” “She saved money and joined in a course at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of Mountaineering.” “I went for training.” |
“Rather than permittingthat depresses me, I become more quietly determined and mentally difficult.” “Unwavering willingness to succeed and a willingness to sacrifice.” “I work very hard at anything I do.” “The major thing is to grow to be number one in the world. That’s the ambition that kept me going.” |
| 4. | Evidence of their mental toughness. | “From the beginning, she has started to live a life based on her own terms.”“Just from the start, I was fairly agreed that if I selected an accurate and realistic path, the other people around me had to make a change, not myself.” “She told them of her plans to earn income by doing part-time to repay her school fees.” “Each year Santosh went on an expedition.” “An amazing mental strength.” “Psychological strength excited her seniors.” |
“I learned just how to take care of myself. I neverthought of leaving because I knew what I wanted.” “I would have set up with much more embarrassment and affronted than that to constantly chase my dream.” |
| 5. | Their patriotism | “Then I unfurled the Indian tricolor flag and held it up on the top of the world. The feeling is unspeakable. The Indian flag was flying over the top of the world. It was truly a spiritual moment. I felt delighted as an Indian.” |
“I’m Russian. The U.S. is actually an important part of my entire life. But I have Russian citizenship. My blood is Russian. If they need me, I will play in the Olympics for Russia.” |
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
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)
Answer: 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.)
Answer: She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
3. She decided to fight the system when the right moment arrived. (Tells us when she was going to fight the system.)
Answer: 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.)
Answer: Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed off to train in the United States.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
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.
Answer: 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.
Answer: After finishing the book, perhaps you just throw it away.
3. He gave the little girl an apple. He took the computer apart.
Answer: He gave the little girl an apple and took the computer apart.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
4. You have nothing. That makes you very determined.
Answer: Having nothing makes you very determined.
5. I never thought of quitting. I knew what I wanted.
Answer. I never thought of quitting as I knew what I wanted.
NCERT Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7- Reach for the Top
For the Next Chapter Solution Click Below
CHAPTER 2 – The Sound of Music
CHAPTER 4 – A Truly Beautiful Mind
CHAPTER 5 – The Snake and The Mirror