NCERT Solutions Class 8 English (Honeydew) Chapter 5 The Summit Within

NCERT Solutions Class 8 English (Honeydew) 

The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 8 English (Honeydew) Chapter – 5 The Summit Within has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise. 

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English (Honeydew)

• Chapter – 1 : The Best Christmas Present in the World
• Chapter – 2 : The Tsunami
• Chapter – 3 : Glimpses of the Past
• Chapter – 4 : Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory
• Chapter – 6 : This is Jody’s Fawn
• Chapter – 7 : A Visit to Cambridge
• Chapter – 8 : A Short Monsoon Diary
• Chapter – 9 : The Great Stone Face 1
• Chapter – 10 : The Great Stone Face 2

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.
Answer – (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.
Answer – (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.
Answer – The following item(s) not relevant:
(i) great intellectual achievements.
(iii) overcoming personal ambition for common welfare.
(iv) living in the world of thought and imagination.

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 are endurance, persistence and willpower.

(ii) Why is adventure, which is risky, also pleasurable?
Answer – A risky adventure presents great difficulties. It is human nature to feel pleasure in overcoming difficulties. That is why an adventure which is risky is also pleasurable.

(iii) What was it about Mount Everest that the author found irresistible?
Answer – Mount Everest offers great challenges to a climber. The call to face these challenges is the thing which was irresistible.

(iv) One does not do it (climb a high peak) for fame alone. What does one do it for, really?
Answer – One climbs a mountain not for fame alone. There is a sense of fulfilment. The desire to rise above one’s surroundings is satisfied. It is the eternal love of adventure in man. The experience is really 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 – “He becomes conscious in a special manner of his own smallness in this large universe.” This awareness defines an emotion of humility in a person.

(vi) What were the “symbols of reverence” left by members of the team on Everest?
Answer – The author left on Everest a picture of Guru Nanak. Rawat left a picture of Goddess Durga. Phu Durga left a relic of the Buddha. Edmund Hillary, being a Christian, buried a Cross under the rock. All these were symbols of reverence for God.

(vii) What, according to the writer, did his experience as an Everester teach him?
Answer – The experience of having conquered Mount Everest changed him completely. It made him realize his own smallness.

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.
_________________________________________
Answer –
(ii) The obstacles in climbing a mountain are physical. A climb to a summit is a test of endurance and will power. It is a challenge that is difficult to resist.

(iii) Everest is the highest and the mightiest and has defied many previous attempts.

(iv) When the summit is climbed, there is the joy of having done something, one has the feeling of victory and of happiness.

(v) Mountains are a means of communion with God.

Working with language

1. Look at the italicised phrases and their meanings given in brackets.
Mountains are nature (nature’s best form and appearance) at its best.
Your life is at risk. (in danger; you run the risk of losing your life.)
He was at his (it was his best/worst performance.) best/worst in the last meeting.
Fill in the blanks in the following dialogues choosing suitable phrases from those given in the box.

Answer –
(i) Teacher: You were away from school without permission. Go to the principal at once and submit your explanation.
Pupil: Yes, Madam. But would you help me write it first?
(ii) Arun: Are you unwell?
Ila: No, not at all Why do you ask?
Arun: If you were unwell, I would send you to my uncle. He is a doctor.
(iii) Mary: Almost every Indian film has an episode of love at first sight.
David: Is that what makes them so popular in foreign countries?
(iv) Asif: You look depressed. Why are your spirits at a low ebb today? (Use such in the phrase)
Ashok: I have to write ten sentences using words that I never heard before.
(v) Shieba: Your big moment is close at hand.
Jyoti: How should I welcome it?
Shieba: Get up and receive the trophy.

2. Write the noun forms of the following words adding -ance or -ence to each.
(i) endure ________________ (ii) persist ________________
(iii) signify ________________ (iv) confide ________________
(v) maintain ________________ (vi) abhor ________________
Answer –
(i) endure endurance
(ii)persist persistence
(iii) signify significance
(iv) confide confidence
(v) maintain maintenance
(vi) abhor abhorrence

3. (i) Match words under A with their meanings under B.