CBSE Class 10 - English (Lit.) - First flight – Chapter 3: Two Stories about Flying (Q and A)(#class10EnglishNotes)(#cbsenotes)(#eduvictors)

Class 10 - English - First flight – Chapter 3: Two Stories about Flying 

(Q and A)

First Story: His First Flight

Q1: 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 steps?

Answer: The younger seagull was afraid to fly as it changed into its first flight. It is a known fact that doing something for the first time is hard. Consequently, all younger birds must be afraid to make their first flights. Further, a human child would additionally find it challenging to take its first step.


Q2:  “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 starvation that in the end forced it to fly. Its hunger only intensified whilst it saw its mother tearing at a chunk of fish that lay at her feet. It cried to her, begging her to get a few meals. While its mother came towards it with food in her beak, it screamed with joy and anticipation. However, she stopped halfway. It puzzled why she did no longer come nearer. Not being capable of face up to or manage its hunger any further, it dived on the food in its mom’s beak. At that moment, his hunger overpowered his worry of the excellent expanse of sea underneath the cliff. In the end, this plunge was followed by means of the natural response of its body, i.e., to fly.


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

Answer: The younger seagull was afraid to fly. Even if it saw its brothers and sisters flying, and its parents assisting and coaching them, it couldn't collect enough braveness to make that first flight. That is why its mother and father have been calling to it shrilly and scolding it. They threatened to let it starve on its ledge if it did not fly. They did so due to the fact they wanted it to forget its worry of not flying and discover ways to fly.


Q4: What happened when the young seagull dived at the fish picked up by his mother?

Answer: When the young seagull dived at the fish, it fell outwards and then downwards with a scream. Its monstrous terror seized it and its heart stood still.  Soon it spread her wings and it could feel the tips of his wings cutting through air.


Q5: What did the young seagull do to attract his mother's attention?

Answer: The young seagull was afraid of flying as it was a steep fall to the sky. The sea expanse was vast and he thought that his wings would not support him. Eventually he would fall down.


In progress... 

☛See also:
A Letter to God (Chapter Summary)
A letter to God (Questions and Answers)

Long Walk to Freedom (Key Points)
Long Walk to Freedom (Oral Comprehension Check-1)