Conquering the Summit: NCERT Class 7 English Story (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20267 min read

How does a person who has just lost a leg decide to climb the highest mountain in the world? This chapter tells the real story of Arunima Sinha, and children come away with a strong lesson about goals, hard work and never giving up. They also practise the small words a, an and the, and learn how to write a formal letter.

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From NCERT’s new English book Poorvi for Class 7, unit “Travel and Adventure”. Unit 4.

What your child learns

Reading a true story of courage and following its events by date
Phrases like 'beacon of hope', 'mental fortitude' and 'life-altering event'
Using the articles a, an and the, and knowing when no article is needed
Word forms (determination, determined, determine, determinedly) and writing a formal letter

What the story is about

In 2011, Arunima Sinha was a 24-year-old national-level volleyball player from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. She had a law degree and wanted a job in the paramilitary forces. One night she met with a train accident and lost one leg. Lying in the hospital, she made a promise that most people thought was impossible: she would walk again with a prosthetic (artificial) leg and climb Mount Everest. She did a basic mountaineering course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi, trained hard for eighteen months, and asked Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to climb Everest, to guide her.

On 21 May 2013, after 52 tiring days, she reached the top of Everest and became the first Indian female amputee to do so. She showed the Indian flag there and left a photograph of Swami Vivekananda, whose teachings inspired her. She went on to climb the highest peaks of all seven continents, ending with Mount Vinson in Antarctica in 2019. She received the Padma Shri and other awards, wrote her life story in a book called 'Born Again on the Mountain', and her message to everyone is simple: never give up, remember your goal and work hard for it.

New words, with Hindi meanings

beacon: a light or sign that guides people; here, a source of inspiration (हिंदी: प्रकाश-स्तंभ, प्रेरणा)
resilience: the strength to get better quickly after something bad happens (हिंदी: फिर से उठ खड़े होने की ताक़त)
amputated: cut off (a leg, arm or other part of the body) by doctors (हिंदी: काटा गया (अंग))
prosthetic: artificial; made to take the place of a missing body part (हिंदी: कृत्रिम (अंग))
harrowing: very frightening and painful (हिंदी: बहुत दर्दनाक)
rigorous: very hard and strict (हिंदी: कठोर, कड़ा)
summit: the very top of a mountain (हिंदी: चोटी, शिखर)
feat: a great achievement that needs skill or courage (हिंदी: उपलब्धि, कारनामा)
fortitude: courage that lasts for a long time (हिंदी: धैर्य और साहस)
adversity: a very difficult or unlucky situation (हिंदी: मुसीबत, विपत्ति)

Talk about it

Ask these aloud after reading or watching. Let your child answer in English if they can, or mix in their home language. Both help.

What happened to Arunima Sinha in April 2011?
What did Arunima do to get ready for climbing Mount Everest?
Why did Bachendri Pal say that Arunima had already conquered 'the Everest within' her?
What did Arunima leave at the top of Everest, and why?
What is one big goal you have, and what is one thing you can do this week to work towards it?

Answers for parents

She met with a train accident. She survived, but she lost one leg, and doctors gave her a prosthetic leg.
She completed a basic mountaineering course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi, trained hard for eighteen months, and asked Bachendri Pal to guide her.
Because deciding to climb Everest with a prosthetic leg already showed great courage. She had won the fight in her own mind, and the world would see it later.
She left a photograph of Swami Vivekananda, her idol, because his teachings had inspired her throughout her journey. She also displayed the Indian flag.
For example: I want to swim across the big pool at our club. This week I will practise for twenty minutes every evening with my cousin.

Grammar corner: Articles: a, an and the

Use 'a' or 'an' for one thing that is not special or not known yet, and 'the' for a thing that is special, already mentioned, or the only one (the sun, the highest peak). Choose 'a' or 'an' by the first SOUND of the next word, not the letter: 'an hour' (the h is silent), but 'a uniform' (it starts with a 'yu' sound). Names of rivers and stars usually take 'the': the Ganga, the North Star.

Arunima wanted to climb a mountain, and the mountain she chose was Everest.
The climbers rested for an hour before the last part of the climb.
Each member of the team wore a uniform jacket and carried an ice axe.

Practice at home

Fill in 'a', 'an' or 'the': It took ___ hour to reach ___ top of ___ small hill.
Match the phrase to its meaning: (1) beacon of hope (2) mental fortitude. Meanings: (a) strength of mind (b) a source of inspiration.
Make a sentence using 'determined' about something you want to do.

Answers: 1. an, the, a · 2. 1-b, 2-a · 3. Sample: I am determined to finish my science project on time.

Try this

Play 'Climb the stairs'. Write five small steps towards a goal on five slips of paper (for example, for a goal of running in the school race: buy shoes, run 5 minutes, run 10 minutes, run with a friend, run the full track). Put one slip on each stair or along a corridor. The child climbs one stair at a time and, at each slip, says the step aloud in English with the right article: 'I will run for a short time.' 'I will run on the track.' At the top, they shout their goal like Arunima at the summit.

Tip for parents

Tell your child Arunima's story in Hindi first, in your own words: 'एक लड़की ने ट्रेन हादसे में अपना पैर खो दिया, फिर भी उसने माउंट एवरेस्ट पर चढ़ाई की।' Then ask, 'तुम्हें उसकी सबसे बड़ी हिम्मत क्या लगी?' Let your child answer in Hindi or a mix, then help them say one line in English, such as 'She never gave up.' Praise every attempt, even a half-English one.

Questions parents ask

What is the chapter Conquering the Summit about?

It is the true story of Arunima Sinha, a volleyball player who lost a leg in a train accident in 2011. With a prosthetic leg, hard training and Bachendri Pal's guidance, she climbed Mount Everest in 2013 and later the highest peaks of all seven continents.

What is the message of Conquering the Summit?

Never give up and work hard. Arunima's own words say that failure is not falling short of a goal, but not having goals worthy enough.

Is Conquering the Summit in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 12 of NCERT's new Poorvi book for Class 7, in Unit 4 (Travel and Adventure).

Learn every Class 7 chapter with CALP

Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 7 book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, listening, grammar, speaking and writing with feedback. ₹1,599 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →