Class 10th English First Flight Chapter 3 Two Stories about Flying Questions and Answers Gujarat Board

Two Stories about Flying Class 10 Question Answer GSEB

Part I: His First Flight

Thinking about the Text
Question 1.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 step?
Answer:
The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was its first flight. It is a well-known fact that doing something for the first time is challenging. Therefore, all young birds must be afraid to make their first flights. Similarly, a human baby would also find it a challenge to take its first step.

Question 2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest ? What compelled the young seagull to fly finally ? (August 20)
Answer:
The young seagull was very hungry. It was this hunger that ultimately compelled it to fly. Its hunger only intensified when it saw its mother tearing at a piece of fish that lay at her feet. It cried to her, begging her to get some food. When its mother came towards it with food in he beak, it screamed with joy and anticipation- However, she stopped midway. It wonderid why she did not come nearer. Not being able to resist or control its hunger any longer, it dived at the food in its mother’s beak. At that moment, his hunger overpowered his fear of the great expanse of sea beneath the cliff. Finally, this plunge was followed by the natural reaction of its body, i.e., to fly.

Question 3. “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 was afraid to fly. Even when it saw its brothers and sisters flying, and its parents helping and teaching them, it could not gather enough courage to make that first flight. That is 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 l not fly. They did so because they wanted it to leave its fear behind and learn to fly.

Question 4. 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:
(Suggested Answer) Yes, I had a similar experience while leaning to ride a bicycle in class V. In my initial attempts, I fell down every time 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 s handle and feet on the pedal. It sped down and I enjoyed it without fear which developed’ s my confidence.
Thus, I overcame my fear of cycling and started riding a cycle after a few practice.

Question 5. 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:
We face some problems in the initial stage while learning new skill. Due to the fear S of failure, we hesitate to perform a task or to do something new. In case of the seagull his parents cajoled him to fly. In the example, I have given in the answer of previous question, I was cajoled by my father to learn cycling. So, at that stage, I was to learn cycling as it was very important for me to overcome my fear.

Yes, my success was guaranteed because if someone is determined to do something then success is assured. Moreover as said, practice, makes a man perfect.

Part II: The Black Aeroplane

Thinking about the Text
Question 1. “I’ll take the risk”. What is the risk ? Why does the narrator take it ?
Answer:
A huge storm was brewing up and the author was keen to reach his home to spend his holiday with his family. So, he decided to fly through the storm as he did not want to miss the chance to meet his family at breakfast.

Thus he took the risk even when the visibility was almost zero in the storm.

Question 2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm. (March 20)
Answer:
As the pilot (author) entered the storm, his plane started jumping and twisting. He could not see anything outside the plane as it was black. When he looked at compass and other instruments they had stopped to function due to the storm. It was a terrible and fearsome experience for him. The fuel tank was almost empty and he could not fly more than ten minutes. Then he saw another black aeroplane by his side and the pilot of the plane signalled him to follow. It was a surprise for the narrator l as the other black plane was having no lights on its wings. He followed it without any choice and landed safely on the runway.

Question 3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota……………..”?
Answer:
After landing, the narrator was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota because he had a horrific and scary experience flying that plane. He was happy that he had landed the plane safely. That is why he was not sorry to walk away. Instead, he wanted to know where he was and who the other pilot was.

Question 4. What made the woman in the Control Centre look at the narrator strangely ?
Answer:
The woman in the Control Centre looked at the narrator strangely because the narrator asked him about the black aeroplane and she saw no one except the narrator’s plane in the sky during the storm. Even the radar showed only the narrator’s plane that night in the sky.

Question 5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely ? Discuss this among yourselves and give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
It is very difficult to say about the unknown pilot who helped the narrator. But probably it was the narrator himself that helped him to overcome the fear in the storm as no other plane was seen on the radar except the narrator’s Dakota plane. In that fearsome situation, he might have been hallucinating. He himself was a good pilot and brave enough who helped himself land safely.

Thinking about Language

Question 1. 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 is that the face and hands are dark because of dust and dirt.
(2) Here, ‘black’ refers to an angry look.
(3) Here, ‘blackest’ refers to the darkest and cruellest crime against humanity.
(4) Here, ‘black’ refers to dark and gloomy comedy.
(5) The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence is that the shopkeepers sell the described
goods ‘at a higher price’.
(6) Here, ‘black’ means that the criminal suffered excessive beating at the hands of the villagers.

Question 2. Match the phrases given under column ‘A’ with their meanings given under column ‘B’:

Answer:
(1 – c), (2 – e), (3 – a), (4 – b), (5 – d).

3. 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 – skin
sink – dart – hover – glide
descend – soar – shoot – spring
stay – fall – sail – flap
Answer:
The words meaning ‘to move through air using wings’ are:
swoop, flit, float, flutter, skim, dart, hover, glide, soar, sail







Class 10th English First Flight Poem Chapter 4 How to Tell Wild Animals Questions and Answers Gujarat Board

How to Tell Wild Animals Class 10 Questions and Answers GSEB

Thinking about the Poem 
Question 1. Does dyin’ really rhyme with ‘lion’ ? Can you say it in such a way that it does ?
Answer:
No, dyin’ does not rhyme with ‘lion’. It is for this reason that the poet has used dyin’ so that when we pronounce it, it rhymes with ‘lion’.

Question 2. How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger ? When can you do so, according to him ?
Answer:
The poet suggests that if a large and ] tawny beast in the jungle in the east advances towards us, then it is an Asian lion. We can s identify it when it roars at us while we are dying with fear. When while roaming we come across a wild beast that is yellow in colour with black stripes, it is a Bengal tiger. We can identify it when it eats us.

Question 3. Do you think the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ in the third stanza are spelt correctly ? Why does the poet spell them like this ?
Answer:
No, the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ are spelt incorrectly. The poet has spelled them like this in order to maintain the rhythm of the poem. When spelled this way, they rhyme with the first part of ‘leopard’, thus giving emphasis to ‘leopard’ in each line.

Question 4. Do you know what a ‘bearhug’ is ? It’s a friendly and strong hug – such as bears are thought to give, as they attack you! Again, hyenas are thought to laugh, and crocodiles to weep (‘crocodile tears’) as they swallow their victims. Are there similar expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in your own language(s) ?
Answer:
A ‘bearhug’ is the bear’s tight embrace. Hyenas never laugh. But their faces look like that. Crocodiles do not weep but tears come when they swallow their victims.

Question 5. Look at the line “A novice miglft nonplus”. How would you write this ‘correctly’ ? Why is the poet’s ‘incorrect’ line better in the poem ?
Answer:
The line “A novice might nonplus” can be correctly written as “A novice might be nonplussed”. The poet’s incorrect line is better in the poem as it maintains the rhyme scheme of the poem. By writing it incorrectly, ‘nonplus’ rhymes with ‘thus’.

Question 6. Can you find other examples of poets taking liberties with language, either in English or in your own language(s) ? Can you find examples of humorous poems in your own language(s) ?
Answer:
Yes, many poets take such liberties to S create proper rhyming. These are for example: Kirk is used for ‘church’ to rhyme with ‘work’, s Ken is used for ‘see’ to rhyme with ‘pen’.

Question 7. Much of the humour in the poem arises from the way language is used, although the ideas are funny as well. If these are particular lines in the poem that s you especially like, share these with the S; class, speaking briefly about what it is about l the ideas or the language that you like or l find funny.
Answer:
Mainly meant for the students at class level.
I like the following lines:
– Just notice if he eats you.
– ’Twill do no good to roar with pain,
– He’ll give you just one more caress.
– A novice might nonplus.
– Hyenas come with merry smiles.

Then the ideas are treated humorously. These are wild beasts. They see one and kill S at once. They never embrace, ‘hug’ or smile merrily on their victims. Bears are said to ‘hug’ one to death as they press one very. hard.







Class 10th English First Flight Poem Chapter 5 The Ball Questions and Answers Gujarat Board

The Ball Class 10 Questions and Answers GSEB

Thinking about the Poem
Question 1. Why does the poet say, ‘I would not intrude on him’ ? Why doesn’t he offer him \ money to buy another ball ?
Answer:
The poet wants the boy to experience the loss. He should learn that it is a part of life. That’s why the poet doesn’t want to interact with the boy and doesn’t want to offer, him money to buy another ball.

Question 2. ‘…………… staring down / All his young days into the harbour where /His ball went …………’ Do you think the boy has had the ball for a ? long time ? Is it linked to the memories of days when he played with it ?
Answer:
Yes, the boy has had the ball for a ] long time i.e., since his childhood. Yes, it is linked with the memories of days when he played with it.

Question 3. What does “in the world of possessions” mean ? (August 20)
Answer:
‘In the world of possessions’ means people like to possess all sorts of things in the world. Money is external because it can buy only material objects; it cannot buy everything that one loses.

Question 4. Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier ? Pick out the words that suggest the answer.
Answer:
No, the boy hasn’t lost anything earlier. The words ‘He senses first responsibility’ suggest the answer.

Question 5. What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball ? Try to explain this in your own words.
Answer:
The poet says that the boy is learning to cope up with the loss of the ball. He is experiencing grief and learning to grow up in this world of possessions. He learns that-there are so many things in life that are to be lost and cannot be brought back. It is useless to feel sorrow for it.

Question 6. Have you ever lost something you liked very much ? Write a paragraph describing how you felt then, and saying whether – and how – you got over your loss.
Answer:
Student should write the answer of this question in his/her own words.