Class 10 English Chapter 1 Question Answers - First Flight

Q1: How did the young seagull’s family celebrate his first flight?

Ans: Soon after the first flight of the young seagull all his family members started flying around him with loud screaming due to joy. They started praising him and offered him dog fish. This is how they celebrated the first flight of the young seagull.

Q2: ‘The sight of the food maddened him.’ Who is ‘he’ in these lines? Why was he angry? What does this suggest?

Ans: The young seagull is the ‘he’ in these lines. He had not eaten anything for the last 24 hours. He was very hungry, hence was angry.
His mother went near him with a piece of fish but did not feed him. Maddened by hunger, the young seagull dove to snatch it but the mother flew away. This shows the weakness of the young seagull.

Q3: What was the young seagull’s experience during his first flight?

Ans: Falling from the ledge, the seagull was terrified, but soon he started soaring and then flying. He forgot that he didn’t always know how to fly. His fear soon turned into confidence, and then into amusement. As he was landing, he was again afraid, but, soon became at ease. It was a memorable first flight.

Q4: Young seagull tried to fly but he could not. Why was he afraid to fly?
Or
Why could the young seagull not fly with his brothers and sisters?

Ans: The young seagull felt certain that his wings were too weak to support him. He had no courage to flap his wings. Even when each one of his brothers and sisters whose wings was much shorter than his, ran to the brink of the ledge, flapped their wings, and flew away, he failed to muster up the courage to take that plunge.

Q5:While alone on the ledge, how did the little seagull tried to draw the attention of his family?

Ans: He came slowly up to the brink of the ledge and stood on one leg. He hid the other leg under his wing. He closed one eye and then the other and pretended to be falling asleep. Thus, he tried to attract the attention of his mother.

Q6: Did the seagull think the sea was like land? Pick out the words that suggest this.

Ans: Yes, the seagull thought that the sea was like land. When he had learned how to fly, he flew for some time. Then he came down and stood on the sea surface thinking it to be like land. But his legs sank into the sea. ‘Dropped his legs to stand on’, ‘sank into’, and ‘screamed with fright’ are the words that suggest this.

Q7: When did the seagull’s flight begin?

Ans: The seagull was very hungry. When he saw his mother bringing food in her beak, he dived towards her. But he fell from the brink of the ledge. He screamed with fear. But his fear lasted only for a moment. The next moment he felt that his wings spread outwards. He was flying now. Now he screamed with joy.

Q8: Where did the seagull’s flight end?

Ans: The seagull was very happy as he had learned how to fly. He kept flying for some time. His parents, brothers, and sister flew around him. Then they landed on the sea surface. The seagull also came down. When he tried to land, his legs sank into the sea. He cried with fear again. But then his belly touched the water. He did not drown. He started floating on the surface of the sea. Thus his first flight ended.

Q9: When did the seagull get over his fear of the water?

Ans: After flying for some time, the seagull saw that his parents and brothers and sister were sitting on the surface of the sea. He came down and landed on it. But his legs sank into it. He cried with fear. However, his belly touched the surface and he did not drown. Now the seagull got over his fear of the water.

Q10: Do you sympathize with the seagull? Give reasons.

Ans: Yes, we sympathize with the seagull. He is a very young bird. He has not yet learned how to fly. His parents want that he should fly. They encourage him. But he is afraid of falling. His parents starve him for twenty-four hours. In the end, however, the seagull learns how to fly.

Q11: How did the young seagull’s parents teach him the art of flying?

Ans: The seagull’s parents encouraged him to fly. But he was too afraid to fly. Then they kept him hungry for twenty-four hours. Even then the seagull did not fly. Then they thought that experience would teach him. So, they made him fall from the ledge. Now when he fell, he felt his wings spread and started flying.

Q12: Where did the young seagull sit alone? What did he watch from there?

Ans: The young seagull was alone on his ledge. In the whole family, he was the only one who didn’t know how to fly. Only the day before, his two brothers and his sister had flown away with their parents. When he tried to flap his wings, he was seized with fear. Hence, he sat alone on the ledge watching his family flying over the sea.

Q13: Why didn’t the young seagull take the plunge? What stopped him from doing so?

Ans: The young seagull was the only one in the family who couldn’t fly in the air. His brothers and sister had far shorter wings than his wings but they had already learned the art of flying. He felt certain that his wings would never support him. So, he was hesitant and afraid of flapping his wings and go deep in the air.

Q14: Did the upbraiding and threatening of his parents help him in flying?

Ans: The parents of the young seagull did try to teach his young one the art of flying. He wouldn’t simply move from his ledge. They would fly around him encouraging and challenging him to follow them. When he wouldn’t budge, his parents would fly around calling him shrilly. They would upbraid and threaten to let him starve unless he flew away.

Q15: How were his two brothers and sister different from the young seagull?

Ans: His two brothers and his sister had far shorter wings than he had. But still, they had flown away only the day before. He would watch his parents perfecting them in the art of flying. They were taught how to skim the waves and dive for the fish. The young seagull had seen his older brother catches his first herring and devour it.

Q16: What was the mother doing standing on a little high hump on the plateau?

Ans: All others ignored the hungry young seagull. Only his mother was looking at him. She was standing on a little high hump. Now and again, she tore a piece of fish. The fish lay at her feet. Then she scrapped each side of her beak on the rock, The sight of the food maddened the young seagull. He loved to tear the food that way.

Q17: Why did the young seagull cry “Ga, ga, ga”? Did her mother oblige him?

Ans: When he saw his mother holding a piece of a fish in her beak, the young seagull became almost mad with hunger. He cried “Ga, ga, ga”. He begged her mother to bring him some food. When he saw his mother flying across to him with a piece of fish, he uttered a joyful scream. He started tapping the rock with his feet impatiently. He was almost within the reach of the fish but failed to get at it.

Q18: How did the young seagull overcome his fear and soared gradually towards the sea during his first flight?

Ans: The young seagull had taken the final plunge. Maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish which his mother was carrying in her beak. With a loud scream, he fell outwards and downwards. He was seized with fear and his heart stood still. But the fear lasted only for a minute. He overcame it. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards. Now he was soaring downwards over the blue sea.

Q19: What is the message that Liam 0′ Flaherty wants to give to the readers through the lesson ‘His First Flight’?

Ans: Success can’t be taken for granted. One has to struggle and finally to win it. The story of the young seagull is the story of overcoming hesitations, doubts, and fears that stand between us and our success. Hunger makes him take the final plunge. This leads him to make his first flight and soar into space.

Q20: Explain the statement: ‘I was very happy to go behind the strange aeroplane like an obedient child.'

Ans: The pilot came across huge storm clouds. He could neither go above them nor go around them due to lack of fuel. Then, he saw a black plane without lights on wings, flying near his plane. Its pilot waved and signalled him to follow him. The author did not have much choice but to follow him.

Q21: “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the pilot of the old Dakota take it?

Ans: The risk is that of going through the storm in the narrator’s old Dakota aeroplane. He flew through as he did not have fuel to fly around them, and couldn’t fly over them. Also, he wanted to get home for a big English breakfast.

Q22: Which two options did the pilot of’ the Dakota plane have when he encountered the storm clouds on his way? What did he decide to do? Why?

Ans: The two options he had were: either to go back to Paris or to go through the storm clouds. He decided to go through the storm clouds because he wanted to reach home and spend the holiday with his family.

Q23: Describe the black clouds from the point of view of the pilot.
Ans: The writer was going from France to England. He was flying his Dakota aeroplane. When he had gone 150 kilometres from France, he saw storm clouds. They were huge. They looked like black mountains standing in front of him across the sky.

Q24: Recount the experience of the pilot of the Dakota inside the black clouds.
Ans: The pilot found that everything was black inside the clouds. It was impossible to see anything outside the aeroplane. The old aeroplane rolled and jumped in the air. The compass and other instruments stopped working. Suddenly his radio also went dead.

Q25: How did the black aeroplane rescue the first pilot?

Ans: The pilot of the black aeroplane waved his hand. He gestured the first pilot to follow him. The writer followed him. He followed the black plane for half an hour. Suddenly, his plane was out of the clouds. He could see the lights of the airport and landed his aeroplane. In this way, the black aeroplane rescued the first pilot

Q26: Was the pilot of the Dakota able to meet the pilot of the black?

Ans: No, he was not able to meet the pilot of the black aeroplane. When he was going to land his plane, he looked behind him. But the black plane was not there. The sky was empty. The woman at the control centre told him that no other planes were flying on that stormy night.

Q27: Why was the narrator happy and what was he dreaming of?

Ans: It was a clear and cloudless night. The moon had come up in the east. Stars were shining above. The narrator was happy. He was flying high up above the sleeping countryside. He was dreaming of his holiday and being with his family.

Q28: Why and when did he call Paris control-room?

Ans: It was one-thirty in the morning. He wanted to call Paris control. He switched on the radio and told that Dakota DS 088 was on his way to England. The narrator got the necessary instruction that he needed. He was asked to turn twelve degrees west towards England.

Q29: What did he find when he checked the map and the compass?

Ans: The narrator checked the map and the compass. He switched over to his second and last fuel tank. He turned the Dakota twelve degrees west towards England. He thought that he would be in time for breakfast. Everything was going well and it was an easy flight.

Q30: The narrator had two options before risking himself entering the storm clouds? Why didn’t he choose them?

Ans: Definitely, the narrator had two options before him if he didn’t want to take the risk of entering the storm cloud. He could turn back and go to Paris which was about 150 kilometres behind him. Another option was to fly up and over the dark clouds. But he didn’t choose any of the options. He wanted to be in England to have his breakfast in time. He couldn’t fly around the clouds to the north or south as he didn’t have enough fuel to fly.

Q31: What did he do when he was inside the clouds?

Ans: The narrator took the risk of entering the black storm clouds. Inside them, everything was suddenly black. Nothing could be seen outside. The old plane jumped and twisted in the air. He couldn’t believe his eyes when his compass was dead. His other instruments didn’t work and were dead too. He tried to contact Paris control on the raids but received no answer.

Q32: Who rescued the narrator when he was hopelessly lost in the storm clouds?

Ans: There seemed no hope for the narrator. He was hopelessly lost in the storm clouds. His compass and other instruments were dead. Even Paris control didn’t respond. In such a hopeless situation, the narrator saw another aeroplane flying next to him. It had no light on its winds but he could see the pilot’s face. The pilot came to his help. When he said “Follow me,” the narrator followed him like an obedient child.

Q33: How and when did the narrator feel that he was safe now?

Ans: When the pilot of another plane came to the narrator’s help, he was extremely happy. When he said “Follow me,” the narrator obeyed him like an obedient child. The strange black aeroplane was still guiding him. The narrator got worried as the old Dakota had petrol enough to fly for five or ten minutes. Suddenly when he was going down, he found himself out of clouds. He saw two long straight lines of lights of the runway. There was an airport where he could land safely.

Q34: Why did the narrator want to meet the woman in the control tower? Did he get any information about the mysterious disappearance of the black aeroplane and its pilot?

Ans: The narrator didn’t know how the pilot and the black aeroplane disappeared in the space. He wanted some definite information from the woman in the control room about them. She told him that on that stormy night no plane was in the sky except his old Dakota. So, the narrator didn't know anything about the mysterious man who helped him to arrive safely without a compass or a radio.

Q35: What is the message that Frederick want to give to the readers through the lesson ‘The Black Aeroplane’?

Ans: Never say ‘die’ till the end. Never lose hope in the most hopeless situation. No one knows who may come to save you. The narrator was really in such a hopeless situation when he lost contact with Paris control and all his instruments and the compass was dead. Then came the mysterious pilot of the black aeroplane to guide the narrator to safety.