Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions given below them:
Even when getting down from the summit, once the physical exhaustion had gone, I began asking myself the question why I had climbed Everest. Why did the act of reaching the summit have such a hold on my imagination? It was already a thing of the past, something done yesterday. With every passing day, it would become more remote. And then what would remain? Would my memories fade slowly away?
All these thoughts led me to question myself as to why people climb mountains. It is not easy to answer the question. The simplest answer would be, as others have said, “Because it is there.” It presents great difficulties. Man takes delight in overcoming obstacles. The obstacles in climbing a mountain are physical. A climb to a summit means endurance, persistence and willpower. The demonstration of these physical qualities is no doubt exhilarating, as it was for me also.
(1) What question took hold of the writer’s mind?
(2) What is the simplest answer to the question ‘Why people climb mountains?
(3) What does ‘a climb to a summit’ mean?
(4) What is exhilarating, according to the writer?
