CBSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LITERATURE

Detailed explanation-1: -She was extremely sad as she had to spend two years’ separation from her mother Yelena. Maria’s mother was forced to stay back in Siberia because she did not have the permit to travel to the US. At the tender age of nine, Maria learned that in order to excel at tennis, she would have to make many sacrifices.

Detailed explanation-2: -3. What was the ‘heart-wrenching’ thing about the trip? The ‘heart-wrenching’ thing was that she had to part from her mother for two years.

Detailed explanation-3: -Maria learnt that excellence comes at a price. Since she wished to reach the zenith in the field of tennis, she knew that she would have to make sacrifices and struggle hard. She endured the heart-wrenching separation from her mother for two years to attain excellence in tennis.

Detailed explanation-4: -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.