CBSE Class 10 English HOTs Two Stories about Flying I His First Flight

LESSON- THE DEAR DEPARTED (DRAMA)

Question. What impression Victoria Slater would have carried when she saw the elders fighting for the inheritance of the Grandfather?
Answer: Tender age- Negative impact- respect towards elders shattered- dislike towards family

Question. ͞"India is known for its Cultureand traditions. But old people are being ill-treated and considered as a burden. Explain with reference to the drama.
Answer: they are abandoned by their children- preference to nuclear familyself-centered attitude- selfishness

Question. Bring out the irony in the play.
Answer: show off- pretending to be mourning- least interestd in conforming the death- the title

Question. Grandpa says, ͞It seems to me that neither of you have any cause to feel proud about the way you have treated me.͟ Explain.
Answer: offended attitude- learn to be practical- liberty of expression

Question. Compare and contrast Henry's character with that of his wife..Support your answer with evidence from this play.
Answer: Henry is calm and practical- Mrs Slater is opportunist, pretending and show off

Question. ͞The decision taken by the Grandfather was just and appropriate.͟Critically examine this statement.
Answer: realise the cunning attitude of his daughters- wanted to be happy

TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING

FIRST PART-(His First Flight)

Introduction

The story by “Liam O’ Flaherty” is an account of a young bird that is afraid to fly for the first time. He believes that his wings would not support him. Despite his younger siblings flying fearlessly with much shorter wings, he could not gather the courage to do the same. He was punished to stay hungry if he did not try. Thus, it was his mother that compelled him to fly by using food as a trap. The lesson reflects how one hesitates to take the first step and that fear is all in the mind. One should trust one’s abilities because “the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself”.

Summary

‘His First flight’ is an interesting story of a young seagull who was afraid of flying. He did not have confidence. He thought that his wings were not strong enough to support him. All the family members had already left him. They tried to encourage him to fly but failed. He was left alone on the ledge. There was a wide chasm between him and his parents. He tried to reach his parents and took a little run also but the sight of the widespread green sea frightened him and he ran back into his nest. His brothers and sister had already learned the art of flight. But the young seagull could not muster the courage to take that plunge which appeared to him so difficult. His parents came around calling to him, shrilly upbraiding him, threatening to let him starve. But the young seagull did not move. He was alone for 24 hours and ate nothing. He was hungry. He wanted to reach his parents who were sitting opposite to him but without flying. There was a wide gap between the two rocks. There was no possibility of reaching there without flying. He saw his brothers and sister who were flying and catching the fish. They taunted him for being coward. He wanted to follow them. but the fear stopped him. He was extremely hungry. He saw his family taking rest on the rock opposite to him. He tried to attract their attention by pretending to be sleeping. But nobody noticed him. His mother was looking at him. The young seagull cried begging her to bring him some food. But she did not respond. After some time, his mother picked up a piece of fish and flew across him. He was excited on seeing his mother picking up a piece of fish and flying across him. He was excited on seeing his mother coming towards him. He uttered a joyful cry. He leaned out eagerly, tapping the rock with his feet. But when she was just opposite to him, she halted. The young seagull was surprised. The sight of fish in her beak maddened him. He could not control himself and dived at the fish. The mother flew over him. He fell downwards with a loud scream. But his wings opened up automatically. He cried and to save himself he flapped his wings. Now he felt as if he was soaring in the sky. He was not falling headlong now. He flapped his wings once again and soared upwards. He gave a joyous scream now. He was joined by his family in his first flight. He was near the sea now. He saw a vast green sea beneath him. His parents and other family members landed on the sea. They called the young seagull also. He dropped his legs to stand on the sea. His legs sank into it. He screamed with fright and attempted to rise. But he was too weak and exhausted to rise. His feet sank into the sea water and then his body touched it. He sank no further. Now he was floating happily. His family praised him for his efforts and offered him scrapped dog-fish. He had made his first flight successfully.

Learn and write the given question answers in your copy.

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow:

1.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. He felt certain that his wings would never support him; so he bent his head and ran away back to the little hole under the ledge where he slept at night.

Question. Why was the young seagull afraid?
Answer. The young seagull was afraid of flying over the sea.

Question. What did the young seagull feel about his wings?
Answer. The young seagull felt that his wings would never support him.

Question.Pick out the word from the passage that means the same as ‘the verge’.
Answer. The word is ‘brink’.

Question. Pick out the word from the passage which means ‘a narrow flat piece of rock that sticks out from a cliff’.
Answer. The word is ‘ledge’.

2.That was twenty-four hours ago. Since then nobody had come near him. The day before, all day long, he had watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister, perfecting them in the art of flight, teaching them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish. He had in fact, seen his elder brother catch his first herring and devour it, standing on a rock, while his parents circled around raising a proud cackle. And all the morning the whole family had walked about on the big plateau midway down the opposite cliff taunting him for his cowardice.

Question. The young seagull had been alone for how much time?
Answer. For twenty four years, the young seagull was alone.

Question. Why was the whole family taunting the young seagull?
Answer. The whole family was taunting the young seagull for his cowardice.

Question. Find the word which can be replaced by ‘consume’ in the passage?
Answer. The word is ‘devour’.

Question. The word ‘bravery’ is an antonym of ……….
Answer. The word is ‘cowardice’.
 

3.He stepped slowly out to the brink of the ledge, and standing on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing, he closed one eye, then the other, and pretended to be falling asleep. Still they took no notice of him. He saw his two brothers and his sister lying on the plateau dozing with their heads sunk into their necks. His father was preening the feathers on his white back.
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.

Question. What did the young seagull do out of his ledge?
Answer. The young seagull pretended to be falling asleep and watched his brothers and sister lying on the plateau.

Question. What was seagull’s father doing?
Answer. The seagull’s father was preening the feathers on his white back.

Question. Find out the word in the passage which mean the same as ‘to sharpen’.
Answer. The word is ‘preening’.

Question.What does plateau mean?
Answer. A plateau is an area of land that is higher than the land around it.

Short Answer Type Questions 

Question. Why did the young seagull not go with the rest of his family?
Answer. The young seagull did not go with the rest of his family because he was afraid to fly.

Question. How did seagull’s parents try to make him fly?
Answer. Seagull’s parents tried everything to make him fly. They screamed, scolded and threatened to let him starve on the ledge unless he flew away.

Question. What had the young seagull watched his parents doing the day before?
Answer. The day before the young seagull had watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister, perfecting in the art of flying and teaching them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish.

Question. What was the young seagull’s mother doing before him?
Answer. The young seagull’s mother was standing on the plateau, her white breast thrust forward.She tore a piece of fish that lay at her feet, then she scrapped each side of her beak on the rock.

Question. When did the seagull get over his fear of flying over the sea?
Answer. The seagull was afraid of flying over the sea because he thought that he would drown. His family decided to teach him a lesson. They left him unattended. The mother tore at a piece of fish that lay at her feet now and then in his front. Since the seagull was hungry too much, he was . compelled to attempt his first flight in order to get food. He was successful. This is when he got over his fear flying over the sea.

Question. Describe the young seagull’s expression when he saw his mother with food.
Answer. The young seagull uttered a joyful scream because he thought that his mother was bringing food for him. He tried to come nearer to her as she flew across.

Question. Why did the young seagull feel very miserable on the ledge?
Answer. The young seagull felt very miserable on the ledge as he was alone and his family had already flown away. He was feeling very hungry and had nothing to eat. His condition was worsening because he could not even dive for fish.

Question. How did the young seagull and his family celebrate his first flight?
Answer. When the young seagull started flying and got over his fear, his family screamed around him out of joy. They praised him and offered him scraps of dog-fish out of delight as he made a successful attempt
 

Question. Describe the first flight of the young seagull.
Answer. The young seagull dived at the fish due to hunger and fell outwards and downwards into space. He thought of getting drowned but his wings spread outwards automatically. He moved downwards and outwards and landed safely on the sea and floated on it without any fear. 

Long Answer Type Questions 

Question. How did the mother make the young seagull come out of his fear and teach him the art of flying?
Answer. The young seagull was afraid of flying because he thought that his wings won’t support him and he would drown. When his family left him alone of the ledge, he felt alone and was very hungry. They tried hard to make him fly but he never showed the courage to try. His mother knowingly tore a piece of fish near him and flew across to him with it. She came close to him but did not go nearer. Already mad by hunger, he dived at the fish but fell into space. After sometime his wings spread outwards and he began to fly. His family landed on the sea ahead of him.They beckoned him so he landed on the sea and began to sink into water but when his belly touched the water, he floated without any fear and difficulty.

Question. Do you think that the seagull’s family loved him? Justify their attitude towards him?
Answer. The young seagull had two brothers and a sister. His parents flew with them to leave him alone on the ledge as he could not muster up the courage to fly with them. His parents could have fed him.But, they refused to give him any food. They wanted him to fly and dive for his food. They threatened to let him starve. They did so because they loved him.
The parents were right in what they did because they wanted to teach him the importance of confidence and self-reliance. One can’t depend on their parents all his life to be fed. Thus, it was important for him to learn to fly, dive and search his own food. So, the attitude the seagull family showed to him was actually their love, care and concern for him.

Question. Why was the young seagull pretending to be asleep? What did he actually observe while doing so?
Answer. The young seagull came to the brink of the ledge. He stood there on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing. He closed his one eye, then the other, and pretended to be falling asleep.He did so because he wanted to know whether they were interested in him or not but he observed that his family was not noticing him. He saw his brothers and sister lying on the plateau. They were dozing. His father was preening the feathers on his white back. Only his mother was looking at him.
Now and then, she tore at a piece of fish that lay at her feet. Then she scrapped each side of the back on the rock.

Question. How did the young seagull get over his fear of sea water and what was his family’s reaction on it?
Answer. The young seagull had made his maiden flight successfully. When he was near the sea. he was flying straight over it. He observed a vast green sea all around him. He turned his beak sideways and cawed amusedly. His family was very happy and landed ahead of him. They beckoned to him. When he landed on the sea, he began to sink but he tried in despair and his belly touched the water and he sank no further. He was floating on water. This way he got over his fear of seawater and his family praised him a lot and offered him the dog-fish as a reward.

Question. Fear and lack of confidence stop one from learning new things. Do you agree? How did these two traits of the young seagull make him coward? How did he overcome these short comings?
Answer. Yes, It is true that fear and lack of confidence stop one from learning new things as in the story, the young seagull lacked the value of courage and confidence in his character. He was too scared of flying. His family tried hard to make him fly but he refused to do so because of his fear of sinking in the seawater. They even scolded him for his cowardice. They tried to tempt him with food but he was not willing to learn flying. Once he dived, his fear disappeared and he enjoyed his first flight.
It is a fact that unless we try for something and overcome our fear, we can’t learn anything.
Confidence and motivation are two most important traits that make any learning possible.