NCERT Solutions For Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 1

Passages For Comprehension

I. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOWS:
‘‘It’s really getting bad now,’’ exclaimed the man. “I hope it passes quickly.” It did not pass quickly.
For an hour the hail rained on the house, the garden, the hillside, the cornfield, on the whole valley. The field was white, as if covered with salt.
Questions:
1. How was it getting bad?
2. What does salt refer to?
3. Choose a word from the passage which means ‘to say something in surprise’.

II. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOWS:
“God,” he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again and to live until the crop comes, because the hailstorm…”
Questions:
1. Who is ‘he’ here and to whom did he write?
2. What is a hailstorm?
3. Why did the speaker need money?

III. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOWS:
So, in order not to shake the writer’s faith in God, the postmaster came up with an idea: answer the letter. But when he opened it, it was evident that to answer it he needed something more than goodwill, ink and paper. But he stuck to his resolution: he asked for money from his employees, he himself gave part of his salary, and several friends of his were obliged to give something ‘for an act of charity’.
Questions:
1. Why did the postmaster decided to answer the letter?
2. How did postmaster arrange money?
3. Find a word which means ‘decision’.

Suggested Answers Of Passages

Comprehension Passage I – Answers
1. Very large hailstones began to fall along with the rain.
2. ‘Salt’ refers to snow here.
3. Exclaimed.

Comprehension Passage II – Answers
1. ‘He’ here stands for Lencho. He wrote a letter to God.
2. A hailstorm includes heavy rain along with the hailstones.
3. The speaker needs money to save his family from hunger.

Comprehension Passage III – Answers
1. The postmaster decided to answer the letter to keep the writer’s faith in God.
2. The postmaster collected money from his employees, friends and from his salary.
3. Resolution.

What did Lencho hope for?

Lencho hoped for a good rain as it was much needed for a good harvest.

Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?

Lencho compared the raindrops with new coins because they were promising him a good harvest resulting in more prosperity. That is why, he said “The big drops are ten cent pieces and the little ones are fives.’’

How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?

The rain changed into hailstones. As a strong wind began to blow and huge hailstones began to fall along with the rain. The hailstorm did not pass quickly and field was white, like it was covered with salt. All the crops in Lencho’s field got destroyed because of that bad weather conditions

What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?

Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness as he saw the condition of his field. He was filled with grief and sorrow after the hail stopped because everything was ruined and there was nothing that he could feed his family with. He could see a bleak future for the family.

Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?

Lencho had strong faith in God. He believed that God can see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience and help everyone in one’s problems.
He wrote a letter to God requesting him for help. He demanded a hundred pesos to sow his field again and live until crops come, or else his family would go hungry.

Who read the letter?

Postman saw the letter and went to his boss. Never in his career, Postman had seen a letter addressed to God. So, Postmaster read the letter.

What did the postmaster do after reading the letter?

The postmaster read the letter and broke out laughing, but soon he became serious and was moved by the Lencho’s faith in God and wished. He also had that much faith in God and came up with the idea of answering the letter. He didn’t want to shake Lencho’s faith. So, he decided to collect money from all possible sources and send it to Lencho on behalf of God.

Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?

Lencho was not surprised at all to find a letter with money from God. He had full confidence and was sure that God will help him.

What made Lencho angry?

Lencho became angry when he counted the money. There were only seventy pesos in the envelope whereas Lencho had demanded a hundred pesos. The difference in the amount made him angry. He thought that the men in the post office had stolen his that money.

Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?

At first the postmaster found it funny to read a letter that was addressed to God. But eventually he was completely moved by it. He wanted to keep Lencho’s faith in God alive and firm. He decided to send money to Lencho in name of God. He gathered money with the help of his post office employees and friends, and gave his part of salary on behalf of God and signed the letter ‘God’ so that Lencho’s faith does not get shaken.

Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?

Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him because he had complete faith in God and never suspected his presence. He could not believe that it could be anybody else other than God who would send him the money.
His faith in God was so strong that he believed that God had sent money to him for his help in his problem.

Details: Parent Category: student Corner; Category: Ncert Solutions for Class 10 English; Published: 17 May 2020; Hits: 58

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