We have Provided the NCERT/CBSE Solutions chapter-wise for Class 10 English First Flight Prose Chapter 3 Two Stories about Flying with Answers by expert subject teacher for latest syllabus and examination. Students also can take a free NCERT Solutions of Two Stories about Flying. Each question has right answer Solved by Expert Teacher.
NCERT Solutions Class 10 English First Flight Prose
Thinking About The Text
Q1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Do you think all young birds are afraid to make their first flight, or are some birds more timid than others? Do you think a human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first steps?
Answer: It is very well said that challenges make you strong and let you face your fear.The young seagull also had a challenge to face, and he was afraid because it was his first flight.I think mostly all young birds must be afraid to make their first flights but exceptions are always there as they might not find it much challanging.Similarly, a human baby would also find it a challenge to take their first step.
Q2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
Answer: “The sight of the food maddened him.” This suggests that the young seagull was desperate due to hunger. He had eaten nothing for 24 hours. He was afraid to fly, that is why he did not want to fly. But it was the fear of death due to fall only which made him finally to fly. When he dived and started falling headlong downwards, he screamed and opened his wings.
Q3. “They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?
Answer: The young seagull’s parents were constantly beckoning him and tried everything to make his first flight. However, he was very reluctant to take the plunge due to his fear of falling down from the cliff. He looked at his brothers and sister who flew away, but he was hesitant to make any effort. Due to this reason, his whole family had left him alone on his ledge and threatened and persuaded him to fly, but all efforts went in vain.
Q4. Have you ever had a similar experience, where your parents encouraged you to do something that you were too scared to try? Discuss this in pairs or groups.
Answer: Yes, I had a similar experience while leaning to ride a bicycle in class VI. In my initial attempts, I fell down everytime and developed a fear of cycling which was difficult to overcome.
No amount of provoking and cajoling could let me try it again, but my father encouraged me to overcome the fear and helped me as he was adamant on my learning cycling. He took me on a mound near village and made me sit and asked me to put my hands on the handle and feet on the paddle. It sped down and I enjoyed it without fear which developed my confidence.
Thus, I overcame my fear of cycling and started riding a cycle after a few practice
Q5. In the case of a bird flying, it seems a natural act, and a foregone conclusion that it should succeed. In the examples you have given in answer to the previous question, was your success guaranteed, or was it important for you to try, regardless of a possibility of failure?
Answer: My success was not guaranteed. What was important was that I must try. Trying to do things matters, not the result—success or failure. If one is afraid of failure and takes no action, one surely fails. But one must not feel let down. It is trying that matters the most.
Speaking
We have just read about the first flight of a young seagull. Your teacher will now divide the class into groups. Each group will work on one of the following topics. Prepare a presentation with your group members and then present it to the entire class.
- Progression of Models of Airplanes
- Progression of Models of Motorcars
- Birds and Their Wing Span
- Migratory Birds — Tracing Their Flights
Answer: Self Attempt
Writing
Write a short composition on your initial attempts at learning a skill. You could describe the challenges of learning to ride a bicycle or learning to swim. Make it as humorous as possible.
Answer: Do Yourself
II. The Black Aeroplane
Thinking about the Text
Q1. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?
Answer: The pilot took the risk of flying through the harsh weather. The sky was overcast with clouds. He took this risk because he was excited to fly his old Dakota aeroplane over France to England, to celebrate Christmas with his family.
Q2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Answer: As he flew into the storm, everything went black. It was impossible to see anything outside the plane. It jumped and twisted in the air. When he looked at his compass, he saw that it was turning round and round. It was dead. Along with it, the other instruments, including the radio, were also dead. Suddenly, he saw another aeroplane. Its pilot waved at him, asking him to follow. He was glad to find a helper. He was using his last fuel tank and there was only enough fuel to fly five or ten minutes. Then, the other pilot started to go down and he followed. He suddenly came out of the clouds and saw the runway, on which he then landed his plane safely.
Q3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?
Answer: The narrator had a terrible experience flying that old plane. Moreover, he couldn’t settle himself after the scary flight. He was much relieved after the plane landed. Hence, he said that he was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota.
Q4. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
Answer: The women in the control room was surprised and looked at him strangely ,when the narrator asked about the other aeroplane and its pilot. She said that no other areoplane was seen on the radar during that time as the storm had already begun.
Q5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among yourselves and give reasons for your answer.
Answer: As there was no aeroplane other than the narrator’s, it could not be a human help. Though the doubts and curiosity about the strange plane have not been made clear by the narrator, it seems to be his inner voice which guided him to land safely. Otherwise, how could a plane which had no lights on its wings be visible to the narrator and how could he see the face and waving hand of the pilot? Thus, it must be his inner voice only.
Thinking About Language
I. Study the sentences given below.
(a) They looked like black mountains.
(b) Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black.
(c) In the black clouds near me, I saw another aeroplane.
(d) The strange black aeroplane was there.
The word ‘black’ in sentences (a) and (c) refers to the very darkest colour. But in (b) and (d) (here) it means without light/with no light. ‘Black’ has a variety of meanings in different contexts.
For example:
(a) ‘I prefer black tea’ means ‘I prefer tea without milk’.
(b) ‘With increasing pollution the future of the world is black’ means ‘With increasing pollution the future of the world is very depressing/ without hope’.
Now, try to guess the meanings of the word ‘black’ in the sentences given below. Check the meanings in the dictionary and find out whether you have guessed right.
1) Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black.___________
2) The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green._____________________
3) The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity.____________
4) Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter’s black comedy.________________
5) Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black.________________
6) Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue.___________________
Answer: 1) The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence denotes that the face and hands are dark due to dust and dirt.
2) The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence refers to an angry or annoyed look.
3) The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence denotes a dark and brutal incident against humanity.
4) The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence denotes dark or distressing comedy.
5) The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence refers to hoarding of goods by shopkeepers to sell those goods at a higher price later.
6) The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence denotes that the criminal was beaten and badly bruised by the villagers.
II. Look at these sentences taken from the lesson you have just read:
(a) I was flying my old Dakota aeroplane.
(b) The young seagull had been afraid to fly with them.
In the first sentence the author was controlling an aircraft in the air. Another example is: Children are flying kites. In the second sentence the seagull was afraid to move through the air, using its wings.
Match the phrases given under Column A with their meanings given under Column B:
| A | B |
| 1) Fly a flag 2) Fly into rage 3) Fly along 4) Fly high 5) Fly the coop | − Move quickly/suddenly − Be successful − Display a flag on a long pole − Escape from a place − Become suddenly very angry |
Answer:
| A | B |
| 1) Fly a flag 2) Fly into rage 3) Fly along 4) Fly high 5) Fly the coop | -Display a flag on a long pole -Become suddenly very angry -Move quickly/suddenly -Be successful -Escape from a place |
III. We know that the word ‘fly’ (of birds/insects) means to move through air using wings. Tick the words which have the same or nearly the same meaning.
swoop flit paddle flutter
ascend float ride skim
sink dart hover glide
descend soar shoot spring
stay fall sail flap
Answer: The words which have the same or nearly the same meaning as ‘fly’ are as follows:
swoop, flit, float, dart, soar, hover, sail, skim, glide, flutter
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