CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Prose and Poetry Important Questions Set 02

Answer: Lencho, the farmer, says this. He compares the raindrops to coins because the rain would give him a rich harvest and so bring him money.

Teacher's Note:
1. The comparison shows his hope and his dependence on the crop.
2. The hope is cruelly broken when the rain turns to hail.

Answer: A strong wind began to blow and the rain turned into large hailstones that fell for an hour. The hail stripped the field, and the ripe corn and flowers were destroyed.

Teacher's Note:
1. The hailstones looked like new silver coins at first.
2. Lencho was left with nothing, not even a single bean.

Answer: Lencho wrote to God. He asked for a hundred pesos so that he could sow his field again and feed his family until the next harvest.

Teacher's Note:
1. He believed God watched over everyone.
2. The letter shows his simple and complete faith.

Answer: The postmaster was moved and decided to answer it. He collected money from his employees and gave part of his own salary, but they could gather only seventy pesos, which he sent with a note signed 'God'.

Teacher's Note:
1. He did not want to shake Lencho's faith.
2. He kept his identity secret.

Answer: He counted the money and found only seventy pesos, but he was sure God could not make a mistake. He suspected the post-office employees of stealing the rest, so he wrote again, asking God not to send money through the post office.

Teacher's Note:
1. His anger comes from his unquestioning faith.
2. The ending is both funny and sad.

Answer: Lencho has complete faith in God. He writes straight to Him without a doubt and expects a full answer. The postmaster has faith in human goodness and in Lencho's faith. He does not wish to disappoint a believer, so he persuades his staff to give money and signs the reply 'God', hiding his own role. Both men are kind and sincere. Yet the irony lies at the end: Lencho cannot see that human hands have answered his prayer, and he blames the very people who helped him. The story shows that faith can inspire others to do good, while also warning how trust can turn into suspicion.

Teacher's Note:
1. A good answer compares the two characters and mentions the irony.
2. Keep it within the word limit and end with the theme.

Answer: The poet had thought it a day of regret and sadness. A small shower of snow from a tree lifted his mood, and the rest of the day was saved from gloom.

Teacher's Note:
1. The word 'rued' means regretted.
2. A tiny event brought a big change.

Answer: The crow and the hemlock are signs of sorrow and bad luck, since the crow is dark and the hemlock is a poisonous plant. The poet chooses them to show that even gloomy things can bring joy unexpectedly.

Teacher's Note:
1. The choice creates a contrast.
2. The mood changes from sadness to cheer.

Answer: It teaches that small, simple things in nature can lift our spirits if we look at them in a positive way. We should not give in to despair, because a change of mood is always possible.

Teacher's Note:
1. The poem is only eight lines long.
2. Its message is hope.

Answer: The poet means that he knows what strong desire is like from his own experience. Because desire can burn and consume everything, he supports those who think the world will end in fire.

Teacher's Note:
1. Fire stands for desire and greed.
2. The poet speaks from personal feeling.

Answer: Fire stands for desire, greed and anger, and ice stands for hatred and cold indifference. Both are human feelings that can destroy the world.

Teacher's Note:
1. Fire destroys quickly and ice destroys silently.
2. The poem is symbolic, not about weather.

Answer: The poet says that if the world had to end a second time, hatred would be just as strong a force as desire. So the world could first be ended by fire and then by ice.

Teacher's Note:
1. He considers both powers equally dangerous.
2. The tone is calm but warning.

Answer: Mandela means that a brave person is not one who feels no fear. A brave person feels fear and still acts, and so conquers it.

Teacher's Note:
1. He learned this from his fellow freedom fighters.
2. He saw people risk their lives for an idea.

Answer: For Mandela true freedom meant not being obstructed in leading a lawful life, for both oneself and others. It is the right to live with dignity and without restriction.

Teacher's Note:
1. He felt that his own freedom meant little while his people were not free.
2. He wanted freedom for oppressor and oppressed alike.

Answer: Every person has an obligation to family, parents and children, and another obligation to his people, community and country. In a country like South Africa under apartheid, a man who tried to fulfil the second duty was often punished for it.

Teacher's Note:
1. Mandela gave up family life for his people.
2. The two duties often conflict.

Answer: Apartheid was a system of racial discrimination that caused deep wounds in South African society. Black and coloured people were deprived of basic rights and treated with brutality for decades. Mandela says that the oppression also produced men and women of extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity, such as Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu. He believed that the depths of oppression create the heights of character. On 10 May 1994 the country achieved a government based on equal rights, and the world saw the end of a dark period. Mandela honours those who sacrificed themselves for this day and calls for lasting freedom and justice.

Teacher's Note:
1. A good answer links the suffering to the strength it produced.
2. It should also mention the inauguration.