NCERT Class 8 English Chapter 5 The Summit Within
NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 5 The Summit Within
Comprehension check
Question 1.
Standing on Everest, the writer was
i. overjoyed.
ii. very sad.
iii. jubilant and sad.
Choose the right item.
iii. jubilant and sad.
Question 2.
The emotion that gripped him was one of
i. victory over hurdles.
ii. humility and a sense of smallness.
iii. greatness and self-importance.
iv. joy of discovery.
Choose the right item.
ii. humility and a sense of smallness.
Question 3.
“The summit of the mind” refers to
i. great intellectual achievements.
ii. the process of maturing mentally and spiritually.
iii. overcoming personal ambition for common welfare.
iv. living in the world of thought and imagination.
v. the triumph of mind over worldly pleasures for a noble cause.
vi. a fuller knowledge of oneself.
Mark the item(s) not relevant.
vi. a fuller knowledge of oneself.
Working with the text
1. Answer the following questions.
i. What are the three qualities that played a major role in the author’s climb?
Answer:
The three qualities that played a major role in the author’s climb were endurance, persistence and will power.
ii. Why is adventure, which is risky, also pleasurable?
Answer:
Adventure is pleasurable because man takes delight in overcoming obstacles. It is a symbol of overpowering one’s weaknesses.
iii. What was it about Mount Everest that the author found irresistible?
Answer:
Mount Everest is the highest, the mightiest and has defied many previous attempts. It takes the last ounce of one’s energy. Climbing the summit would bring immense joy and exhilaration to the writer. When the summit is climbed, there is the joy of having done something, the sense of a battle fought and won. There is a feeling of victory and of happiness. It is this that the author found irresistible.
iv. One does not do it (climb a high peak) for fame alone. What does one do it for, really?
Answer:
Climbing a mountain is followed by a sense of fulfilment. There is the satisfaction of a deep urge to rise above one’s surroundings. It is the eternal love for adventure in man. The experience is not merely physical. It is emotional and spiritual.
v. “He becomes conscious in a special manner of his own smallness in this large universe. ” This awareness defines an emotion mentioned in the first paragraph. Which is the emotion?
Answer:
This awareness refers to the humility one feels on climbing a mountain. One realizes the small position that one occupies in such a vast universe.
vi. What were the “symbols of reverence ” left by members of the team on Everest?
Answer:
The writer left a picture of Guru Nanak on Everest. His teammate Rawat left a picture of Goddess Durga. Phu Dorji left a relic of the Buddha. Edmund Hillary had buried a cross under a cairn (a heap of rocks and stones) in the snow. These are all symbols of reverence.
vii. What, according to the writer, did his experience as an Everester teach him?
Answer:
According to the writer, his experience as an Everester has provided him with the inspiration to face life’s ordeals resolutely.
Question 2.
Write a sentence against each of the following statements. Your sentence should explain the statement. You can pick out sentences from the text and rewrite them. The first one has been done for you.
i. The experience changes you completely.
Answer:
One who has been to the mountains is never the same again.
ii. Man takes delight in overcoming obstacles.
Answer:
Overcoming obstacles bring happiness to man because everyone likes challenges.
iii. Mountains are nature at its best.
Answer:
Mountains are like a communion with nature.
iv. The going was difficult but the after-effects were satisfying.
Answer:
The journey was not an easy one, but what it offered is beyond words.
v. The physical conquest of a mountain is really a spiritual experience.
Answer:
Climbing a mountain peak is in reality a spiritual experience.
MCQs Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1.
How did the narrator feel while standing on top of Mt. Everest?
(a) proud
(b) humble
(c) dominant
(d) none of these
Answer:
(b) humble
Question 2.
What is the main quality that played a major role in the author’s climb ?
(a) physical power
(b) strong muscles
(c) endurance
(d) none of the above
Answer:
(c) endurance
Question 3.
Which word in the passage means ‘highest point ?
(a) overwhelmed
(b) top of a tree
(c) none of the above
(d) summit
Answer:
(d) summit
Question 4.
What has the author left on Mr. Everest as a ‘symbol of reverence’?
(a) a pic. of Durga
(b) a cross
(c) a pic. of Guru Nanak
(d) a relic of Buddha.
Answer:
(c) a pic. of Guru Nanak
Question 5.
Which word in the text means ‘very exciting’?
(a) exhaustion
(b) persistence
(c) exhilarating
(d) endurance.
Answer:
(c) exhilarating