Class 10 English Chapter 1 Extract Based Question Answers - First Flight

Q1:  Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:

If ever you should go by chance
TO jungles in the east;
And if there should to you advance
A large and tawny beast,
If he roars at you as you’re dyin’
You’ll know it is the Asian Lion…

(i) Name the poem and the poet.
(ii) How does one identify the Asian Lion?
(iii) How does an Asian Lion react on seeing a man?
(iv) Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as “All of a sudden”.
Ans:
(i) This stanza has been taken from the poem “How to Tell Wild Animals” composed by Carolyn Wells.
(ii) The Asian Lion is identified by its size, colour and roar, it is a large tawny beast.
(iii) When Asian Lion sees a man, it roars and takes no time in killing him.
(iv) ‘by Chance’.

Q2: Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:

Or if sometime when roaming round,
A noble wild beast greets you,
With black stripes on a yellow ground,
Just notice if he eats you.
This simple rule may help you learn
The Bengal Tiger to discern.

(i) Who is the ‘noble wild beast’ here?
(ii) How does this beast look?
(iii) Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as ‘to recognise’.
(iv) What does the poem suggest you should observe to confirm if the animal is indeed a Bengal Tiger?
Ans:
(i) The noble wild beast is Bengal Tiger here.
(ii) This beast looks like it is coloured with black stripes on a yellow ground.
(iii) ‘discern’.
(iv) The poem suggests you should observe whether the tiger eats you to confirm it is indeed a Bengal Tiger.

Q3: Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:

If strolling forth, a beast you view,
Whose hide with spots is peppered,
As soon as he has lept on you,
You’ll know it is the Leopard.
Twill do no good to roar with pain,
He’ll only lep and lep again.

(i) How can you recognise the Leopard?
(ii) How is it different from the Bengal Tiger?
(iii) Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as—‘a large animal of the cat family
(iv) What effect does the leopard's leap have on its victim, according to the poem?
Ans:
(i) The leopard can be recognised by its spots on the skin.
(ii) Bengal Tiger has black stripes on a yellow ground while the Leopard has round black spots on the body.
(iii) ‘Leopard’.
(iv)The effect is that it causes pain, but roaring in pain won’t help, as the leopard will just keep leaping again.

Q4: Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:

If when you’re walking round your yard
You meet a creature there,
Who hugs you very, very hard,
Be sure it is a Bear.
If you have any doubts, I guess
He’ll give you just one more caress.

(i) Whom can you meet in the yard?
(ii) How can one recognise that he is meeting a bear?
(iii) Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as—‘loving touch’ or ‘gentle touch’.
(iv) How does it treat the Man?
Ans:
(i) In your yard, you can meet a bear.
(ii) One can recognise that he is meeting a bear by its hard hug.
(iii) “caress’.
(iv) When a bear meets a man, it hugs him very hard.