NCERT Solutions For Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 3

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Passages For Comprehension

I. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOWS:
The young seagull was alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his sister had already flown away the day before. He had been afraid to fly with them. Somehow when he had taken a little run forward to the brink of the ledge and attempted to flap his wings he became afraid. The great expanse of sea stretched down beneath, and it was such a long way down — miles down.
Questions:
1. Where was the seagull standing?
2. What was stretched beneath the seagull?
3. Find a word from the passage that means ‘spread’.

II. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOWS:
Only his mother was looking at him. She was standing on a little high hump on the plateau, her white breast thrust forward. Now and again, she tore at a piece of fish that lay at her feet and then scrapped each side of her beak on the rock. The sight of the food maddened him. How he loved to tear food that way, scrapping his beak now and again to whet it.
Questions:
1. Who is ‘him’ here?
2. Why did mother tear at piece of fish?
3. Find a word from the passage which means ‘to sharpen’.

III. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOWS:
But when she was just opposite to him, she halted, her wings motionless, the piece of fish in her beak almost within reach of his beak. He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer, and then, maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish. With a loud scream he fell outwards and downwards into space. Then a monstrous terror seized him and his heart stood still. He could hear nothing. But it only lasted a minute.
Questions:
1. What was there in the beak of his mother?
2. What wondered the young seagull?
3. What was his state of mind?

Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 3 – Important Questions

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?

The young seagull was all alone on the ledge and afraid to fly because it was its first flight. Doing something for the first time is a challenging task in itself for anyone. Therefore, all young birds must be afraid to make their first flights the same way a human baby would finds it challenging to take its first step.

“The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?

The young seagull was very hungry. The hunger ultimately compelled the young seagull to make its first flight. He saw its mother tearing at a piece of fish that lay at her feet and its hunger only intensified. It cried to its mother, begging her to get some food. Whenever its mother came towards it with some food in her beak, the young seagull screamed with joy and anticipation, but she stopped midway. The young seagull wondered why she did not come nearer. Unable to resist or control its hunger any longer, it dived at the food in its mother’s beak. For that moment, his hunger had overpowered the fear of the great expanse of sea beneath the cliff. Finally, this plunge was followed by the natural reaction of its body, which was to fly.

“They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?

The young seagull was frightened. It was afraid to fly. Even though it saw its parents helping and teaching its brothers and sisters flying, it could never gather enough courage to make the first flight. This was the reason why its father and mother were calling to it shrilly and scolding it. They threatened to let it starve on its ledge if it did not fly. They did so because they wanted it to leave its fear behind and learn the art of flying.

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.

One feels scared in learning any adventurous activity. It is because one has never come across such thing earlier. In learning one requires skill. During my childhood, I was much afraid to swim in the river. Though my elder brother tried to encourage me time and again. We both went to the river and he taught me how to move the legs and push the water through the hands by keeping mouth above the water level. In the beginning, I failed to do but gradually after day’s practice I became perfect in it.

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?

A bird flying is natural as well as taught to the young ones by their parents or their elder ones. So, one has to learn it through some of the properties which may breed in them naturally. Without any attempt and learning, nothing comes automatically. But it can be concluded that it should succeed. Our success was never guaranteed until to try again and again. In some cases, all results may not be favourable. But it is always essential to practice, try and put every efforts to get success.

“I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?

The narrator was flying the old Dakota towards Paris. He saw storm clouds looking like black mountains. He knew he could not fly over them nor he had the fuel to fly around to north or south. The risk was to fly through the black storm clouds. The narrator took the risk because he wanted to reach Paris to celebrate Christmas with his family.

Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.

As the narrator flew into the storm, everything went black. It became almost impossible to see anything outside the plane. The aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. When he looked at his compass, he couldn’t believe what he saw. The compass was turning round and round. It was dead. Along with it, the other instruments, including the radio, were also dead. He saw another aeroplane with no lights on its wings, but was flying through the storm. Its pilot waved at him, asking him to follow. He was glad to find help. It was the 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.

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Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?

The pilot was delighted to land safely out of dark stormy black clouds, therefore, he was not sorry to walk away for his plane. He felt bad, when he was not able to thank his guide, his mentor who saved him from the frightening situation, but he was so happy after landing that he didn’t feel sorry for not being able to thank the guide pilot.

What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?

The Women in control centre was surprised when the narrator asked about the other aeroplane and its pilot. She was surprised because she did not see any other aeroplane on the radar.

Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among yourselves and give reasons for your answer.

According to me, it was the narrator’s own self that helped him through the storm. As the woman at the control centre saw only his plane on the radar, there was no other plane in the storm. The narrator might have been hallucinating. He was a good pilot, and it might have been his own self that came to his help.

Have you ever been alone or away from home during a thunderstorm? Narrate your experience in a paragraph.

On the last Monday, I was going to school form my house. It is situated about 7 kilometres. All of a sudden there came a sand storm full of dust. Gradually it became too violent to move about. I decided to stay under the roof of Tiwari Academy (an education institute). Very soon it turned very fierce and took away many roofs of huts in the open. It became dark with dust and sand. Nothing was visible in that atmosphere. The storm was trying to blow away the people, standing in the open. Many trees were uprooted. After an hour, it receded but I did not find my bicycle. Later on, it was seen on a tree. Many of the people lost their things in that storm.

Details: Parent Category: student Corner; Category: Ncert Solutions for Class 10 English; Published: 17 May 2020; Hits: 57

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