NCERT Solutions Class 8, English, Honeydew, Prose, Chapter- 5, The Summit Within.
Comprehension Check
1. Standing on Everest, the writer was
(i) overjoyed.
(ii) very sad.
(iii) jubilant and sad.
Choose the right item.
The correct option is : (iii) jubilant and sad.
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.
The correct option is : (ii) humility and a sense of smallness.
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.
Solution: (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) are not relevant.
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?
Solution:
The three qualities that ensured the success of the author were ‘endurance, persistence and will power’.
(ii) Why is adventure, which is risky, also pleasurable?
Solution:
Mountain climbing is a great adventure but is also risky. It is a great challenge and a doing challenging job is in itself pleasurable. It gives immense joy to the doers.
(iii) What was it about Mount Everest that the author found irresistible?
Solution:
Everest drew him towards itself by its beauty, aloofness, might, ruggedness and the difficulties encountered on the way. That is why he found it irresistible.
(iv) One does not do it (climb a high peak) for fame alone. What does one do it for, really?
Solution:
Climbing a peak means endurance, persistence, and will power. The demonstration of these physical qualities is exhilarating for a climber. The experience, apart from being merely physical, is also emotional and spiritual. It surely presents great difficulties. However, a man takes delight in overcoming obstacles. Therefore, it is not for fame alone that one climbs a mountain. It is actually for the feelings of exhilaration and satisfaction.
(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?
Solution: That emotion is ‘humility’.
(vi) What were the “symbols of reverence” left by members of the team on Everest?
Solution:
On Everest, a picture of Guru Nanak was left by the author; a picture of Goddess Durga was left by Rawat; a relic of the Buddha was left by Phu Dorji. Apart from these ‘symbols of reverence’ there was also the cross that had been buried by Edmund Hillary.
(vii) What, according to the writer, did his experience as an Everester teach him?
Solution:
According to the writer, his experience as an Everester provided him with the inspiration to face life’s ordeals determinedly. It taught him that the conquest of the internal summit is as worthwhile as climbing the mountain. He also concluded that perhaps the internal summits are higher than Everest.
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. One who has been to the mountains is never the same again.
(ii) Man takes delight in overcoming obstacles. ________
(iii) Mountains are nature at its best. _________
(iv) The going was difficult but the after-effects were satisfying. ________
(v) The physical conquest of a mountain is really a spiritual experience. _________
Solution:
(ii) Man takes delight in overcoming obstacles. The demonstration of endurance, persistence and will power in overcoming great difficulties is delightful.
(iii) Mountains are nature at its best. The beauty and majesty of the mountains pose a great challenge for a climber and they are a means of communion with God.
(iv) The going was difficult but the after-effects were satisfying. Climbing the mountains was difficult, but reaching the summit gives one a feeling of satisfaction and deep fulfillment.
(v) The physical conquest of a mountain is really a spiritual experience. The physical act of climbing to the summit of a mountain is similar to the act of climbing the mountain within yourselves which is a spiritual and deeply satisfying experience and either climb will certainly change you giving you a sense of being in communion with God.
