Let’ s Begin

You have read about Santosh Yadav, the youngest woman in the world to have conquered Mount Everest in 1992. You must have heard or read about Poorna, who at the age of 13 years 11 months, became the youngest girl in the world to have scaled the Mount Everest in 2014, with sheer determination and willpower. You would have also read about Maria Sharapova who bagged the Women’s Singles crown at Wimbledon in 2004. She was determined, tough, competitive, hard-working with unwavering desire. Both of them had big dreams from the very young age.

1. Do you have the passion to do something other than your studies like these two icons have? (Be it music, dance, theatre, trekking, watersport, painting, football, cricket, etc.)

2. Do you find any difficulty in pursuing your passion?

3. Who gives you support and encouragement to go ahead with your passion?

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passage carefully. Based on your reading, answer the following questions in the space provided.

Text I

On 3 August 1996, Leander Paes became the first Indian to win an individual medal in 44 years when he defeated Fernando Meligeni of Brazil in an exciting match in the Centennial Olympic Games at Atlanta. Paes ranked 31 places below the Brazilian, played with gusto and determination against a player who has two ATP tour titles under his belt, and clinched the bronze medal. He was given a standing ovation when Paes raised his hand in triumph and said a silent prayer.

gusto: enjoyment and enthusiasm

Leander’s father had won a bronze medal in the Munich Olympics 1972 as a member of the Indian hockey team. It is creditable to Leander Paes as he got it in an individual event.

Later he dedicated the medal to his coach and his doubles teammate. “They have helped me out and given me advice and kept me in good frame of mind. This medal doesn’t just show my efforts; it shows the efforts of the whole team.”

prodigy: a young person with exceptional qualities or abilities

Paes was recognised as a prodigy by Vijay Amritraj in the ’80s. Even so, Paes’ true mentor has been Naresh Kumar, the former Indian Davis Cup Captain. His incredible Davis Cup record speaks for itself. While it may be said that some of his Davis Cup victories were achieved because he was playing on his favourite surface, grass and enjoyed home support. But at Atlanta, Paes had none of these advantages except his coach, close family members and the expatriates. While Davis Cup victories bring in good cash rewards and ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) points, there he was playing for just a medal. Paes explains it all when he says, “When I am playing for my country I don’t expect anything.” That straightaway sets him apart.

He succeeds because of his willingness to take his chances, swift reflexes and mental strength, and the fact that he does not accept defeat easily.

expatriate: a person who lives outside their native country

1. Leander’s victory at Atlanta is significant because
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2. His father’s Olympic triumph in 1972 was different from his own because it was
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3. Leander gave credit to his coach and his teammate in doubles for his victory. How did they help him?
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4. If you are required to sum up Leander’s qualities as a player, which one would you like to highlight and why?
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5. In India, while registering his victories in Davis Cup one could say that he won because
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6. At Atlanta he won because
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Fun fact

Commonly misspelt words

Incorrect $ \quad $ Correct

Posession $ \quad $ Possession

Recieve $ \quad \quad $ Receive

Seperate $ \quad \quad $ Separate

Supercede $ \quad $ Supersede

Threshhold $ \quad $ Threshold

Unforseen $ \quad $ Unforeseen

Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.

Text II

Where The Mind Is Without Fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habits;

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action;

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

$- Rabindranath Tagore$

Fun fact

Spelling Error

It is “calendar”, not “calender”.

1. Given here are certain ideas from the poem “Where the mind is without fear” by Rabindranath Tagore. Identify the lines from the poem that refer to these and write the lines in the space given below.

(a) Everybody should be able to learn.
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(b) There ought not be a division among people on the basis of caste, class, creed, religion or any other such basis.
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(c) People should be honest and speak out their heart.
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(d) Actions should stem from logic and not superstitions and beliefs, leading to progress.
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(e) People to be free of fear and oppression.
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(f) The poet is addressing ________________ so that
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2. This poem was written by Rabindranath Tagore much before India attained freedom. What, do you think, is the significance of these lines in the context of his time?
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Vocabulary

Fun fact

Every cloud has a silver lining.

There is some good hidden in bad things also.

1. Suggest a word for each sentence/phrase correctly. Refer to the chapter ‘Reach for the Top, Part I’ given in your textbook, Beehive. The paragraph numbers where these words are used, are given in brackets.

(a) A state of happiness and satisfaction.
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(b) An action or way of behaving that is usual in tradition.
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(c) A word or statement that expresses agreement or confirmation
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(d) The ability to withstand hardship or adversity.
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(e) Final stage of something you’ve been working towards
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2. Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box. These words are taken from the chapter ‘Reach for the Top’ of your textbook, Beehive. You can refer to a dictionary to find out the meanings of these words.

prevails, $ \quad $ positive, $ \quad $ apology, $ \quad $ affluent, $ \quad $ expedition, $ \quad $ culmination

(a) She wears expensive dresses and jewellery. It seems she belongs to an ______________________ family.

(b) At present, political turmoil ______________________ in most parts of the world.

(c) Mr Khanna admitted his mistake by writing a letter of ______________________ to the Head of the Department.

(d) The Director was quite ______________________ while addressing his employees.

(e) The result that you see today is a ______________________ of years of hardwork and dedication.

(f) School children went on a weeklong ______________________ during their summer holidays.

3. Playing with the words: How many words can you make from the words given below?

Vocabulary

4. An idiomatic expression is a group of words with a special meaning. The individual words in the expression do not mean what they otherwise stand for.

Example: Maria Sharapova cannot be ‘pigeon-holed’ or categorised. Her talent, unwavering desire to succeed and readiness to sacrifice have lifted her to the top of the world.

Here pigeon-holed does not mean that there is a hole for the pigeon to its nest. But it means that someone or something belongs to a particular type or group; is categorised, especially without knowing much about them.

Now, consult a dictionary and match the following idiomatic expressions given in Column ’ $A$ ’ with their meanings in Column ‘B’.

Fun fact

Contradictory proverbs

Doubt is the beginning of wisdom.
but
Faith will move mountains.

Great starts make great finishes.
but

It isn’t over till it’s over.

Wise men think alike.
but
Fools seldom differ.

Grammar

Fun fact

Some words that do not have a plural form

Sheep

Furniture

Jewellery

Moose

Shrimp

In the chapter ‘Reach for the Top’ in Beehive, you have read that two clauses in a sentence have their own subject and verb or verb phrase. One part of the sentence (or one clause) tells us why or when something happened.

Examples:

• I read Sherlock Holmes while I was on holiday.
• It was raining heavily when I got home in the evening.
• I will phone you when I go to the clinic.
• Can I borrow your book when you have finished it?

1. Match each of the sentence halves given below to make meaningful sentences.

2. Make one sentence combining the two statements given below.

Example:

It’s getting dark.

Let’s go home before that.

Let’s go home before it gets dark.

(a) She must clean the room.

I won’t enter the room until this is done.
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$\begin{array}{l} \\ \hline \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \end{array}$

(b) I will do the cooking.

Then I will come to your house.
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$\begin{array}{l} \\ \hline \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \end{array}$ after

(c) I will go to the library.

Then I will issue the book for you.
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$\begin{array}{l} \\ \hline \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \end{array}$

(d) Evening came.

They rested.
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(e) The salesman came.

Rita was eating her breakfast.
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(f) We went to see the play with grandfather.

Do you remember?
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Fun fact

a bowl of soup

a tub of margarine

a bar of soap

a carton of milk

Fun fact

Nouns That Are Always Singular

Belongings

Congratulations

Outskirts

Savings

Surroundings

Thanks

Editing

1. In each of the following sentences you have to remove or add a word or a phrase to make the sentence grammatically correct. Write the correct sentences in the space given below.

(a) Maria Sharapova likes to be dancing, singing and fashion.
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(b) She has love for pancakes with chocolate spread and fizzy orange drinks.
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(c) Maria had to be leave her mother behind in Siberia at age of nine.
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(d) She put with insults and humiliation in order to realise dream of becoming a tennis star.
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(e) Her dream was to be number one world tennis.
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2. There are spelling errors in the paragraph given here. Correct the spelling errors and rewrite the paragraph with appropriate punctuation marks in the given space.

$ \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad $ Savitribai Phule

“Awake Arise, and Educate. Smash traditions-Liberate”

First female teacher of Indias first womens school, founder of the modern Marathi poetry at a time when womens potential and celibre were underrestimmated she worked for the uplifftment and educasion of females in the country with her husbands help. she opened a school for untouchable girls Orrthodox individuals from the upper cast used to mock at her eforts and throw stones and dung on her neverttheless she continued with her teaching the British govenment honoured her contribution to eduction later on.

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Listening

Your teacher or a classmate will read the excerpt given below. Listen to it carefully and answer the questions.

Harvard-MIT researcher, Hugh Herr, is familiar with the obstacles faced by amputees. A world-class mountain climber at the age of 17, Herr and a friend were trapped in a snowstorm while ascending New Hampshire’s Mount Washington in 1982. After three days without food or camping gear, the two were rescued, but frostbite cost Herr both his legs, which were amputated just below the knee. Herr was fitted with prostheses, but he soon discovered that they were developed for walking on flat surfaces, and not for taking on advanced functions like climbing or running. With the same determination that he once applied to climbing, he set out to create a better prosthetic leg. He worked with an engineering shop to fashion his own prostheses, tinkering with customised sockets and lighter materials. He even designed artificial feet specially made for climbing rock (built flat and narrow for getting a toehold in cracks and ice featuring sharp spikes).

“I experienced a tremendous amount of pain from prosthetic limbs at first”, Herr says. “So I decided to go back to school and learn about physics and engineering to try to solve these problems.” Herr obtained a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT in 1993 and a doctorate in biophysics from Harvard five years later.

After struggling for a decade to come up with a better prosthetic limb, just getting the knee to market will be a personal triumph for Herr-yet another mountain conquered. “It’s been a long road”, he says. “But I think I’m finally in a position to make a difference.”

amputate: cut off (a limb ) by surgical operation

frostbite: injury to body tissues caused by exposure to extreme old, typically affecting the nose, fingers, or toes

prosthesis: an artificial body part, such as a limb

tinkering: an act of attempting to repair something

1. What happened to Hugh Herr at the age of 17?
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2. What happened to both of his legs?
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3. What were the two things he was unable to do with the prostheses?
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4. Why did he decide to go back to school?
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5. What degrees did he get from MIT and Harvard?
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Fun fact

What’s the difference?

Although Although + subject + verb

Example: Although it rained a lot, we went to the park.

In spite of In spite of+noun/pronoun In spite of $+($ verb -ing)

Example: In spite of the traffic, I got to work on time.

Despite We can also use despite to replace in spite of.

Example: Despite the bad traffic, I got to work on time.

Speaking

1. In a group of three, read aloud the dialogues. You are Kiran and your two partners are Sunita and Sarita. Then fill in the table given below.

Sunita : What kind of things do you like to do in your free time?

Kiran : I like playing basketball. I play on a city team every Saturday afternoon. It helps me stay fit and happy. I have made some good friends!

Sarita : I didn’t know that. How long have you been playing?

Kiran : For about a year now. But it’s not the only thing I like to do. I also enjoy painting. It’s great for relieving stress.

Sunita : Really? Are you good at it?

Kiran : Not too bad. But I’m not a Picasso or Rembrandt. How about you guys? What do you like to do in free time? What’s the difference?

Sarita : Well, a couple of times a month I go up to Widow Mountain with some buddies and go hang gliding.

Sunita : No way! You do? That sounds dangerous! Aren’t you scared?

Sarita : Not at all. It’s fascinating. It’s so beautiful up there. I feel as free as a bird. You should try it sometime.

Sunita : It sounds awesome, but I think I’m too much of a scared cat to try it.

Kiran : Wow! I might want to try it sometime. Do you think I could?

Sarita : Sure, how about this Saturday? I’ll let you know the details later.

Kiran : Sounds great! I can’t believe I’m going to do it. Sunita, by the way, you never told us what you do in your spare time.

Sunita : Well, uh, I like to knit…And you know I can’t go very far… But I am going to convince my parents to let me join Karate classes. It will be great self defence.

2. Work in pairs. Imagine you are Sunita. You are trying to convince your father to let you join the Karate classes.

You can use the given clues for the conversation. Take turns to be Sunita and her father.

You can write the conversation here.

Writing

1. Given below is some information about Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza. You can visit your school library and search the Internet to collect more information and to find out if it is correct. Write a short motivational article for your school magazine using these details. The article can aim towards encouraging girls to take up sports.

3. The chapter ‘Reach for the Top’, Part I ends with the sentence “Santosh collected and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.”

You may have visited different tourist places and picnic spots. However, the beauty of the Nature is spoiled by waste and garbage thrown unmindfully by tourists.

As a conscious and responsible citizen of India, write a letter to the editor of a national newspaper. Therein you may highlight the issue and measures for creating awareness about curbing environmental pollution. Discuss with your classmates how ‘Swachch Bharat Abhiyan’ can be promoted.

Project

1. In January 2018, the President of India awarded 112 amazing “First Ladies” for being first in their respective fields. Find out the achievements of some of them.

• A class board can be prepared with your contributions.
• Make a collage of the “First Ladies”, their struggle, endeavour and achievements. Display it in the class.
• Your group can make PowerPoint presentation of their life, struggle, society, inspiration and achievements.

2. Even now girls have to struggle for getting education and participating in games. They are victims of child marriage, harassment, etc. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is an initiative by the Government of India for ensuring survival, protection and education of the girl child. As a citizen of India what will be your contribution in promoting girls, education and safeguarding their interest?

• Prepare posters, write slogans and draw charts to create awareness in the society.

Notes

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