5. The Summit Within | |
File Size: | 160 kb |
File Type: |
THE SUMMIT WITHIN
objectives
To make the students learn to develop the ability to understand the difficult situations in their life.
To help them to cope with the problems of life. To enable the students to share their personal experiences. To sensitize the students to the feelings of an individual. To enable them to use new words and phrases in their own language. To enable them to express themselves in grammatically correct language. new words
Summit: the highest point
Panorama: view of a wide area Jubilant: very happy because of success Fade: disappear gradually Brutal: very cruel, without mercy key points
summary
‘The Summit Within’ is a story of experiences of Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia, a member of the first successful Indian expedition to Mount Everest. Ahluwalia was full of humility when he stood on the summit of Everest. He thanked God for his physical success. It was the highest of the goals for him.While getting down from the Summit he asked himself why he climbed Everest and what made him to do so. The people climb mountains because they present great difficulties. Man takes delight in overcoming obstacles. A climb to a summit means the demonstration of climber’s endurance, Persistence and will power. Since childhood, the narrator has been attracted by mountains. For him mountains are nature at its best. They have a challenging beauty and majesty. They are a means of communion with God.Everest is the highest and the mightiest and has defied many previous attempts. On climbing its summit, one has the sense of victory and of happiness. Its view brings a spiritual change in his mind. It poses a challenge before him which was difficult to resist. One feels connected with the supernatural element on reaching the Summit. One becomes conscious of his own smallness in this large Universe. It provides physical, emotional and spiritual fulfilment. Climbing a mountain is a highly risky job and needs others’ help also. The fellow climbers prove to be a source of inspiration. They remember their Gods to feel confident. It is far more difficult to climb the summit within oneself than to climb the summit of a mountain. One can get a fuller knowledge of oneself merely by climbing one’s personal and internal mountain peak. It is fearful and unscalable like the climb to the summit of a mountain. Both the climbs teach one much about the world and about oneself. The internal summits are much Higher than Everest. The climber gets the inspiration to face life’s ordeals with determination.
VIDEOPRESENTATION The summit 2 from jnv |
about the author
Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia was a member of the first successful Indian expedition to Mount Everest in 1965. He climbed the Mount Everest on 29 May 1965 along with his friends Rawat and Phu Dorji. In the Indo- Pakistan war of 1965, he was injured and confined to a wheelchair.
He is the recipient of several awards like Padma Bhushan, Arjun Award, the National Award for the best work done in the field of Disability. He won the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award for lifetime achievement on August 29, 2009. He has written several books like ‘Higher than Everest, ‘Beyond the Himalayas’ and ‘Everest is within You’ On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest which stands 29,035 feet above sea level. The two mountaineers spent only about 15 minutes on the snow-covered summit. Tenzing, a Nepalese Sherpa, also left some of the sweets as a Buddhist offering, and Hillary, a beekeeper from New Zealand, placed a cross nearby
MOUNT EVEREST: HISTORY AND FACTS
It was first identified by a British survey team lead by Sir George Everest in 1841.
In 1865, it was named Mount Everest, after Sir George Everest. Everest is 29,035 feet or 8848 meters high. Everest is called Chomolungma in Tibet. It means mother Goddess of the universe. Everest is called Sagarmatha in Nepal. It means Goddess of the sky. The first woman to summit Everest was Junko Tabei of Japan in 1975. short question answers
What is the author’s personal view about mountains?
From his childhood the author has been attracted by mountains. He considers mountains as nature’s best form and appearance. He believes that they are a means of communion with God. Why does man feels delighted in overcoming obstacles? Man feels delighted in overcoming obstacles because he is adventurous by nature. He loves taking risks. Why do people wish to climb Mount Everest? People wish to climb Mount Everest because it is the highest, the mightiest and has defied many previous attempts. It is a brutal struggle with rock and ice. It gives a sense of victory and happiness to the climber. textual question answers
Comprehension Check:
1. Standing on Everest, the writer was (i) overjoyed (ii) very sad (iii) jubilant and sad Ans: (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 Ans: (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 relevent. Ans: (i) 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? Ans: The three qualities that played a major role in his climb are- endurance, persistence and will power. (ii) Why is adventure, which is risky, also pleasurable? Ans: An adventure presents great obstacles to the man. It is human nature to endure all pains to cross those obstacles. It provides physical, emotional and spiritual experience. It is always risky. It results in victory and a sense of fulfilment. Therefore, it is pleasurable since it changes the adventurer. (iii) What was it about Mount Everest that the author found irresistible? Ans: Author was always fond of mountain climbing. Mount Everest is the highest, the mightiest and has defied many previous attempts. It takes the last ounce of one’s energy. It is a brutal struggle with rock and ice. The passage up and down is difficult. Its climb gives one the sense of victory. Therefore, the author found it irresistible on account of its challenge and difficulties. (iv) One does not do it (climb a high peak) for fame alone. What does one do it for, really? Ans: One does not climb a high peak for fame alone. On the other hand, the sense of fulfilment and eternal love for adventure in man urge a climber to do it. Reaching a peak means witnessing the communion with the God. (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? Ans: The emotion mentioned is ‘humility’. It means a sense of being small and mortal. (vi) What were the “symbols of reverence” left by members of the team on Everest? Ans: The members of the team left the following ‘symbols of reverence’ on the Everest to make their obeisance to God. The author left a picture of Guru Nanak. Rawat left a picture of Goddess Durga. Phu Dorji left a relic of the Buddha. Edmund Hillary had buried a cross under a heap of rocks and stones in the snow. (vii) What, according to the writer, did his experience as an Everester teach him? Ans: The act of climbing the Everest taught the author to face life’s ordeals resolutely and to conquer another summit that is within the mind. It is fearful and unscalable. One must climb it to seek fuller knowledge of oneself. 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. The obstacles in climbing a mountain are physical. Overcoming them gives lifelong joy. (iii) Mountains are nature at its best. Mountains are unique in beauty and majesty. (iv) The going was difficult but the after-effects were satisfying. You look back at pains you underwent while climbing a mountain and get a sense that it was worth taking those pains to attain your goal. (v) The physical conquest of a mountain is really a spiritual experience. It provides a sense of fulfilment and satisfies one’s eternal love for adventure. It gives you a sense to be in communion with the God. Working with language 1.Fill in the blanks in the following dialogues choosing suitable phrases from those given below. ( 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 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 such a low ebb today? 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- endurance (ii) persist- persistence (iii) signify- significance (iv) confide- confidence (v) maintain- maintenance (vi) abhor- abhorrence 3. Match words under A with their meaning under B. A B (i) Remote difficult to overcome (ii) Means most prominent (iii) Dominant be overcome/overpowered (iv) Formidable method(s) (v) Overwhelmed far away from Ans: (i) Remote far away from (ii) Means method(s) (iii) Dominant most prominent (iv) Formidable difficult to overcome (v) Overwhelmed be overcome/overpowered 3. 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. Ans: (a) formidable (b) means (c) remote (d) overwhelmed (e) dominant v WRITING: Write a paragraph describing a visit to the hills, or any place which you found beautiful and inspiring. homework
|