NCERT

SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 10th

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 Class : 10th
Subject : English-1
Chapter : 3
Chapter Name : Two Stories About Flying

Q1 Why was the young seagull afraid to y? Do you think all young birds are afraid to make
their rst ight, or are some birds more timid than others? Do you think a human baby also
nds it a challenge to take its rst steps?

Answer. The young seagull was afraid to y because it was its rst ight. It is a well known fact
that doing something for the rst time is challenging. Therefore, all young birds must be
afraid to make their rst ights. Similarly, a human baby would also nd it a challenge to take
its rst step.

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Q2 “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young
seagull to nally y?

Answer. The young seagull was very hungry. It was this hunger that ultimately compelled it to
y. Its hunger only intensi ed when it saw its mother tearing at a piece of sh 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 y.

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Q3 “They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly. “Why did the seagull’s father and mother
threaten him and cajole him to y?

Answer. The young seagull was afraid to y. Even when it saw its brothers and sisters ying,
and its parents helping and teaching them, it could not gather enough courage to make that
rst ight. 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 not y. They did so because they wanted it to
leave its fear behind and learn to y.

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Answer. DIY

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Q5 In the case of a bird ying, 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. DIY

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Q1 “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?

Answer. The risk was to y through the black storm clouds. The narrator took the risk because
his home was beckoning him. He was dreaming of his holiday and looking forward to be with
his family. He also wanted to get home in time to enjoy a good English breakfast.

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Q2 Describe the narrator’s experience as he ew the aeroplane into the storm.

Answer. As he ew 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 nd a helper. He was using his last fuel tank and
there was only enough fuel to y ve 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.

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Q3 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 horri c and scary experience ying 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.

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Answer. The narrator had asked the woman in the control centre about the identity of the
other pilot. She looked at him strangely as there was no other plane in the storm. She told him
that no other plane was ying that night. His was the only plane she could see on the radar.

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Q5 Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among yourselves and
give reasons for your answer.

Answer. Probably, it was the narrator’s own self that helped him through the storm. There was
no other plane in the storm as the woman at the control centre could see only his plane on the
radar. Also, no other plane was ying that night. In his fear, he might have been hallucinating.
He was a good pilot, and it might have been his own self that came to his help.

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Q1 Try to guess the meanings of the word ‘black’ in the sentences given below. Check the
meanings in the dictionary and nd 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 traf c 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 with
dust and heat.
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.

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Q2 Match the phrases given under Column A with their meanings given under Column
Answer.

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Q3 We know that the word ‘ y’ (of birds/insects) means to move through air using wings. Tick
the words which have the same or nearly the same meaning.

Answer. The words which have the same or nearly the same meaning as ‘ y’ are as follows:
swoop, it, oat, dart, soar, hover, sail skim, glide, utter

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Q1 Does ‘dyin’ really rhyme with ‘lion’? Can you say it in such a way that it does?

Answer. No, 'dying' 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'.

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Q2 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 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.

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Q3 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 rst
part of 'leopard', thus giving emphasis to 'leopard' in each line.

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Q4 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.

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Q5 Look at the line “A novice might 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'.

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Q6 Can you nd other examples of poets taking liberties with language, either in English or in
your own language(s)? Can you nd examples of humorous poems in your own language(s)?

Answer. Yes, many poets take such liberties to create proper rhyming. These are for example :
Kirk is used for 'church' to rhyme With Work'. Ken is used for 'see' to rhyme with 'pen'.

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Q7 Much of the humour in the poem arises from the way language is used, although the ideas
are funny as well. If there are particular lines in the poem that you especially like, share these
with the class, speaking brie y about what it is about the ideas or the language that you like or
 nd funny.

Answer. The way the poet has used language and ideas in the poem is indeed humourous_ The
lines from the poem that appears to be funny are "A noble wild beast greets you". The idea that
a wild beast is going to welcome you is quite funny. The language in the line, "Héll only lep
and lep again" is also very humorous. The concept of 'lep' from the word 'leopard' generates
humour

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Q1 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 says, "l would not intrude on him" because he does not want to intervene in
the natural process of learning. He wants the boy to learn the meaning of loss on his own. He
also doesn't offer him money to buy another ball because that would be worthless. He wants
the boy to learn the lesson of responsibility

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Q2 “… 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. When it bounced into the water, all his
memories of the days of childhood ashed in front of him. This led to a realisation that those
moments would not come back, just like the ball. He can buy new balls and can similarly
create new moments, but those that are gone would not return.

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Q3 What does “in the world of possessions” mean?

Answer. “In the world of possessions” means that the world is full of materialistic things. Here
everything and every action is made to possess something, whether it is the possession of
land, property, money, or any other thing. The poet suggests that losing a ball, which is a very
small thing, would make the boy understand what it is like to lose something that one
possessed

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Q4 Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? Pick out the words that suggest the answer.

Answer. No, it seems that the boy had not lost anything earlier. The words that suggest so are
‘He senses rst responsibility in a world of possessions’.
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Q5 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 lost and cannot be brought back. He is sensing his rst
responsibility as he has lost the ball. The boy will learn how to stand up and leave the losses
behind as he would have understood the true meaning and nature of loss.

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Q6 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. DIY

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