NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 3 Two Stories About Flying

NCERT Solutions for CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 3 Two Stories About Flying which has two stories – “I – His First Flight” and “II – Black Aeroplane” are provided here. This story is written by Liam O’ Flaherty and Frederick Forsyth and includes many questions that are important for exams. We have solved all the NCERT questions of the lesson with a detailed explanation that help students to complete their assignments & homework. We have provided NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 3 Two Stories About Flying in PDF format so that you can download them for offline use.

Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 3 NCERT Questions and Answers

His First Flight

Thinking About Text (Page No. 36)

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 his first flight and he feared of falling and hurting himself. He thought that his wings would not support him while flying. Yes, it is natural that doing something for the first time is a bit challenging and fearful. All birds must be afraid to make their first flight. Similarly, a human baby is also afraid of taking the first step and find it challenging when he learns to crawl or stand up without support.’

Question 2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?

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 her beak, it screamed with joy and anticipation. However, she stopped midway. It wondered 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’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.

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 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

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 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.

The Black Aeroplane

Thinking About 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.

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.

Question 3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?

Answer: Seagull’s parents had tried everything but he was reluctant to fly due to fear of falling down. He looked at his brothers and sister but wouldn’t make any efforts. Thats why the whole family had left him alone and threatened and cojoled him to come but every effort went in vain.

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 when the narrator mentioned about the black aeroplane that helped him land safely on the runway. She gave him a surprised look and told him that no one except the narrator’s plane was in the sky during the storm. Even the radar reflected the narrator’s plane as the only one in the night 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 in 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 I. Study the sentences given below.

(a) They looked like black mountains.

(b) Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black.

(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. Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black. – The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence denotes that the face and hands are dark due to dust and dirt.

2. The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green. – The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence refers to an angry or annoyed look.

3. The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity. – The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence denotes a dark and brutal incident against humanity.

4. Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter’s black comedy. – The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence denotes dark or distressing comedy.

5. Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black. – The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence refers to hoarding of goods by shopkeepers to sell those goods at a higher price later.

6. Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue. – The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence denotes that the criminal was beaten and badly bruised by the villagers.

Question 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. 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	Move quickly/suddenly
2. Fly into rage	Be successful
3. Fly along	Display a flag on a long pole
4. Fly high	Escape from a place
5. Fly the coop	Become suddenly very angry

Answer:

A	B
1. Fly a flag	Display a flag on a long pole
2. Fly into rage	Become suddenly very angry
3. Fly along	Move quickly/suddenly
4. Fly high	Be successful
5. Fly the coop	Escape from a place

Question 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 listed below:

Swoop
Flit
Flutter
Float
Skim
Dart
Hover
Glide
Soar
Sail