Reach for the Top Part-II- Comprehension Passages

Reach for The Top

By– Maria Sharapova

IMPORTANT PASSAGES FOR COMPREHENSION

Read the following passages and answer the questions given at the end of each :

PASSAGE 1

There is something disarming about Maria Sharapova, something at odds with her ready smile and glamorous attire. And that something in her lifted her on Monday, 22 August 2005 to the world number one position in women’s tennis. All this happened in almost no time. Poised beyond her years, the Siberian born teenager took just four years as a professional to reach the pinnacle.

Questions:
(i) To which sport is Maria Sharapova attached with?
(ii) To which country does she belong?
(iii) When did she win the world’s number one position?
(iv) How many years did she take to reach the top?
(v) Name the chapter from this passage has been taken?

Answers :
(i) Maria. Sharapova is attached to lawn tennis.
(ii) She belongs to Siberia a part of Russia.
(iii) She won the world’s number one position on 22 August 2005.
(iv) She took nine years to reach the top.
(v) This passage has been taken from the chapter `Reach for the Top’.

PASSAGE 2

However, the rapid ascent in a fiercely competitive world began nine years before with a level of sacrifice few children would be prepared to endure. Little Maria had riot yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed to train in the United States. That trip to Florida with her father Yuri launched her on the path to success and stardom. But it also required a heart-wrenching two-year separation from her mother Yelena. The latter was compelled to stay back in Siberia because of visa restrictions. The nine-year-old girl had already learnt an important lesson in life-that tennis excellence would only come at a price.

Questions :
(i)   To what sport is Maria Sharapova attached with?
(ii)   At what age was she sent to the United States?
(iii) What is the name of her father?
(iv) How long did she stay in the U.S. A?
(v)   What was Maria’s native land?

Answers :
(i)   She is attached to lawn tennis.
(ii)   At the age of ten years.
(iii) The name of her father is Yuri.
(iv) She stayed there for two years.
(v)   Her native land is Siberia which is a part of Russia.

PASSAGE 3

“I used to be so lonely,” Maria Sharapova recalls. “I missed my mother terribly. My father was working as much as he could to keep my tennis-training going. So, he couldn’t see me either.” “Because I was so young, I used to go to bed at 8 p.m. The other tennis pupils would come in at 11 p.m. and wake me up and order me to tidy up the room and clean it.”

Questions :

(i) Who did Maria Sharapova miss so badly?
(ii) Where was Maria living at that time?
(iii) What was she doing there?
(iv) Why had her father to work very hard?
(v) When did the other tennis pupils come?

Answers :
(i) Maria Sharapova missed her mother so badly.
(ii) At that time she was living in the U.S.A. in a tennis training, camp.
(iii) There she was having training in tennis.
(iv) Her father had to work very hard to pay for her tennis fee.
(v) They come at 11 p.m.

PASSAGE 4

Like any number of teenaged sensations, Maria Sharapova lists fashion, singing and dancing as her hobbies. She loves reading the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle. Her fondness for sophisticated evening gowns appears at odds with her love of pancakes with chocolate spread and fizzy orange drinks. Maria Sharapova cannot be pigeon-holed or categorized. Her talent, unwavering desire to succeed and readiness to sacrifice have lifted her to the top of the world. Few would grudge her the riches she is now reaping. This is what she has to say about her monetary gains from tennis: “Of course, money is motivation. Tennis is a business and a sport, but the most important thing is to become number one in the world. That’s the dream that kept me going.”

Questions :

(i) What were Maria’s hobbies?
(ii) Who was her favourite author?
(iii) What sort of desire did she have for winning?
(iv) What does she consider tennis?
(v) How does she consider money for tennis?