NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Unit 5 – The Summit Within is provided here at CoolGyan’S for Class 8 students. Presenting the NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Unit 5 link given below, which is solved by our panel of subject-matter experts, in accordance with the updated CBSE guidelines.
This unit has a story “The Summit Within” which mentions the successful Indian expedition of Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia to Mount Everest in 1965. This story reveals his experiences, feelings and challenges that he had faced while accomplishing this adventurous feat.
Class 8 students can check and refer to the English textbook NCERT Solutions, which are answered as per the latest CBSE English curriculum. The download link is updated below. Besides, students can also explore the different subjects of NCERT Solutions of Class 8 in PDF format here and enjoy an interesting and fulfilling learning experience.
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The Summit Within
Comprehension Check (Page 79)
Question 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 – The author mentioned that he had already done the ‘ultimate’ in climbing and there would be nothing higher to climb and all roads would lead down thereafter.
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.
Answer:
(ii) humility and a sense of smallness – The author mentions that anyone who reaches the peak of Everest can enjoy the panoramic view and look over miles from it and feel the sheer scale of smallness in front of nature’s beautiful creation.
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.
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.
(v) the triumph of mind over worldly pleasures for a noble cause.
Working with the text (Page 80)
Question 1:
Answer the following questions.
(i) What are the three qualities that played a major role in the author’s climb?
(ii) Why is adventure, which is risky, also pleasurable?
(iii) What was it about Mount Everest 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?
(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?
(vi) What were the “symbols of reverence” left by members of the team on Everest?
(vii) What, according to the writer, did his experience as an Everester teach him?
Answer:
(i) The three qualities that played a major role in the author’s climb are endurance, persistence and will power.
(ii) Although adventure is risky, it is pleasurable too. This implies that climbing a mountain is a great challenge filled with difficulties, but overcoming those hurdles boosts the confidence, endurance and will power of the climber. The author gives the example of the mighty Mount Everest and reaching its summit is an achievement in itself. There is a great sense of exhilaration, joy and fulfillment to being able to scale such greater heights. There is a feeling of victory and happiness. Hence, the experience is not merely physical. It is indeed both emotional and spiritual.
(iii) Being one of the mightiest and highest mountains in the world, Mouth Everest has its own special charm and beauty. The author found it irresistible due to its beauty, ruggedness and the obstacles that he encountered while climbing its summit. Every ounce of his energy was utilized in climbing the mountain covered with rock and ice. One who decides to climb the Everest cannot give up his/her dream by returning half way even when one’s life is at stake. This is because when a person climbs to the summit of a mountain, one is filled with a great sense of exhilaration, joy and fulfillment for being able to scale such greater heights. This gives him/her a sense of extreme joy and happiness and a feeling of victory and satisfaction. These were some of the reasons why the author found the Mount Everest to be extremely irresistible.
(iv) Climbing a mountain and reaching its peak successfully requires one’s endurance, persistence and will power. Therefore, the experience is not merely physical. It is indeed both emotional and spiritual. It satisfies a climber’s eternal love for adventure which gives one a sense of fulfillment, satisfaction and a deep urge to rise over and above the surroundings.
(v) “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) The author left on Mount Everest a picture of Guru Nanak. Rawat left a picture of Goddess Durga. Phu Dorji left a relic of the Buddha and Edmund Hillary had buried a cross under a cairn (a heap of rocks and stones) in the snow. These were merely not symbols of conquest but of reverence.
(vii) As an Everester, the author experienced a great sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. It encouraged him to face the ordeals of life in a determined manner. It taught him that the conquest of internal summit is also equally important compared to climbing a mountain. He realised that it will give him a better and fuller knowledge about himself which no one else other than him can scale to meet his true self.
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.
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) Endurance, persistence and will power are the qualities that are required in a climber to overcome the challenges and have a delightful experience.
(iii) The majestic beauty of the mountains pose a considerable challenge for a climber as they are the medium of communion with the Almighty.
(iv) Although climbing a mountain is a difficult task, but reaching the summit gives a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction to the climber.
(v) Climbing a mountain is not merely a physical activity but it is indeed both emotional and spiritual as mountains are a means of communion with God.
Working with language (Page 81-82)
Question 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.
| at hand | at once | at all | at a low ebb | at first sight |
(i) Teacher: You were away from school without permission. Go to the principal ________________ and submit your explanation.
Pupil: Yes, Madam. But would you help me write it first?
(ii) Arun: Are you unwell?
Ila: No, not ________________ 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 ________________.
David: Is that what makes them so popular in foreign countries?
(iv) Asif: You look depressed. Why are your spirits ________________ 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 ________________.
Jyoti: How should I welcome it?
Shieba: Get up and receive the trophy.
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.
Question 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:
- endure endurance
- persist persistence
- signify significance
- confide confidence
- maintain maintenance
- abhor abhorrence
Question 3:
(i) Match words under A with their meanings under B.
| A | B |
| remote | difficult to overcome |
| means | most prominent |
| dominant | be overcome/overpowered |
| formidable | method(s) |
| overwhelmed | far away from |
(ii) Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with appropriate words from under A.
(a) There were ________________ obstacles on the way, but we reached our destination safely.
(b) We have no ________________ of finding out what happened there.
(c) Why he lives in a house ________________ from any town or village is more than I can tell.
(d) ________________ by gratitude, we bowed to the speaker for his valuable advice.
(e) The old castle stands in a ___________ position above the sleepy town.
Answer:
(i)
| A | B |
| remote | far away from |
| means | method(s) |
| dominant | most prominent |
| formidable | difficult to overcome |
| overwhelmed | be overcome/overpowered |
(ii)
(a) There were formidable obstacles on the way, but we reached our destination safely.
(b) We have no means of finding out what happened there.
(c) Why he lives in a house remote from any town or village is more than I can tell.
(d) Overwhelmed by gratitude, we bowed to the speaker for his valuable advice.
(e) The old castle stands in a dominant position above the sleepy town.