CBSE Class 10 English Two Stories about Flying– I His First Flight Worksheet

Two Stories about Flying– I His First Flight

GIST
The story is about a young seagull who is afraid to fly. He observes all his siblings take their first flight but he cannot get himself to take the plunge. He feels that his wings will never support him to fly into the sky and so he hesitates each time he runs to the brink of the ledge. However, his mother’s ingenuity, empowers him to soar into the boundless skies with the vast expanse of the sea stretched down beneath him. The lesson explicitly explains his fears and doubts initially and his exhilarated feelings, as he finally soars into the skies with his family beside him.

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.  

1.His father and mother had come around calling to him shrilly, upbraiding him, threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away. But for the life of him. he could not move. That was twenty four hours ago. Since then nobody had come near him, The day before, all day long, he had watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister, perfecting them in the art of flight, teaching them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish. He had, in fact, seen his older brother catch his first herring and devour it, standing on a rock, while his parents circled around raising a proud cackle.

Question. What did the parents do in pride?
a. circled
b. screamed
c. cackled
d. shouted
Answer.c. cackled

Question. Why couldn’t the young Seagull move from the ledge?
a. he was feeling tired
b. he was lazy
c. he was afraid
d. he wanted to sleep
Answer.c. he was afraid

Question. Find a word from the extract which means ‘to eat’.
a. ledge
b. circled
c. starve
d. devour
Answer.d. devour 

Question. His parents reproached him to __________.
a. swim
b. fly
c. jump
d. sleep
Answer.b. fly

2.With a loud scream, he fell outwards and downward into space. Then a monstrous terror seized him and his heart stood still. He could hear nothing. But it only lasted a minute. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards. The wind rushed against his breast feathers, then under his stomach and against his wings.

Question. How long did the young seagull’s fear last?
a. for a while
b. for few minutes
c. for a day
d. for a week
Answer.a. for a while

Question. Who fell outwards and downward into space?
a. The brother seagull
b. The father seagull
c. The mother seagull
d. The young seagull
Answer.d. the young seagull

Question. What did the young seagull learn?
a. to swim
b. to walk
c. to hunt
d. to fly
Answer.d. to fly

Question. Find the word from the passage which means the same as ‘terrible’.
a. dangerous
b. risky
c. awful
d. monstrous
Answer.d. monstrous

3.They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly. He dropped his legs to stand on the green sea. His legs sank into it. He screamed with fright and attempted to rise again flapping his wings. But he was tired and weak with hunger and he could not rise, exhausted by the strange exercise. His feet sank into the green sea, and then his belly touched it and he sank no further. He was floating on it, and around him his family was screaming, praising him and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog–fish. He had made his first flight.

Question. His __________ sank into the green sea.
a. beak
b. wings
c. feathers
d. feet
Answer.d. feet

Question. Which word in the passage means the same as ‘Summoning or luring by silent signal’?
a. shrilly
b. screaming
c. beckoning
d. praising
Answer.c. beckoning

Question. What was the ‘green flooring’ on which his brothers and sister had landed?
a. green grass
b. green sea
c. green carpet
d. green field
Answer.b. green sea

Question. How was the young seagull feeling after strange exercise of trying to fly?
a. excited
b. exhausted
c. happy
d. very weak
Answer.b. exhausted

Read the given extracts to attempt the questions that follow:

Somehow when he had taken a little run forward to the brink of the ledge and attempted to flap his wings, he became afraid. The great expanse of sea stretched down beneath, and it was such a long way down — miles down. He felt certain that his wings would never support him; so, he bent his head and ran away back to the little hole under the ledge where he slept at night. Even when each of his brothers and his little sister, whose wings were far shorter than his own, ran to the brink, flapped their wings, and flew away, he failed to muster up courage to take that plunge which appeared to him so desperate. His father and mother had come around calling to him shrilly, upbraiding him, threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away. But for the life of him he could not move.
 

Question. The one who is trying to fly belongs to which of the following species?
a. Desert Finch
b. Great Indian Bustard
c. Seagulls
d. Lesser Florican
Answer. c

Question. Why is the bird reluctant to fly?
a. Bird thinks that air is polluted and it can harm his lungs.
b. Bird has some defect in its wing.
c. Bird’s weight is too heavy.
d. It is the first flight of bird and it is afraid of falling.
Answer. d 

Question. At night, the bird slept …………. .
a. in a cage
b. in a small hole under a piece of rock
c. on a tree
d. in a small hole on land
Answer. b

Question. What did the bird’s parent do to encourage its flying?
a. Bird’s parent scolded him for not taking an initiative to fly.
b. Bird’s parent lovingly encouraged it to fly.
c. Bird’s parent simply ignored the situation.
d. Bird’s parent threw the bird away from the cliff to incite its flying skills.
Answer. d

Question. Select the best option from the above extract to complete the following:
Intelligence : Stupidity :: Applaud
a. Brink
b. Muster
c. Desperate
d. Upbraid
Answer. d

Read the extracts below and answer the questions that follow.

1. Even when each of his brothers and his little sister, whose wings were far shorter than his own, ran to the brink, flapped their wings, and flew away, he failed to muster up courage to take that plunge which appeared to him so desperate. His father and mother had come around calling to him shrilly, upbraiding him, threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away. But for the life of him he could not move.

Questions:

Question. Which quote best supports the idea given in the extract?
1. Each of us must confront our own fears, must come to face with them.
—Judy Blume
2.The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.
— Paulo Coelho
3. Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage.
— Dole Carnegie
4. You gain strength, courage and confidence in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
—Eleanor Roosevelt
(1) (2) (3) (4)
(i) Option 1
(ii) Option 2
(iii) Option 3
(iv) Option 4
Answer. C

Question. His parents, brother and sister regularly:
(i) supported him.
(ii) chided him.
(iii) scolded and threatened him.
(iv) accompanied him.
Answer. C

Question. Who threatened the young seagull to starve on the ledge?
(i) His brother
(ii) His sister
(iii) His parents
(iv) His mother 
Answer. C

Question. What could happen to him if he tried flying?
(i) He could fall into the sea.
(ii) He could fall over the rock.
(iii) He could fall on the ledge.
(iv) He could not get food.
Answer. A

Question. The extract uses the phrase ‘so desperate’. Which of these expressions is incorrect with respect to the word ‘desperate’?
2. Hopeless
4. Danger
1. Foolhardy DESPERATE 3. Risk
(i) Option 1
(ii) Option 2
(iii) Option 3
(iv) Option 4
Answer. B

 2. He just felt a bit dizzy. Then he flapped his wings once and he soared upwards. “Ga,ga, ga, Ga, ga, ga, Gaw-col-ah,” his mother swooped past him, her wings making a loud noise. He answered her with another scream. Then his father flew over him screaming.
He saw his two brothers and his sister flying around him curveting and banking and soaring and diving. Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly, and commended himself to dive and soar and curve, shrieking shrilly.

Questions:

Question. Pick the most appropriate reason why the young seagull felt dizzy.
(i) He hadn’t eaten anything for a day.
(ii) He was dizzy with excitement.
(iii) He was wary of heights.
(iv) He was flying for the first time.
Answer. D

Question. How would you describe the screams of the seagull in the given extract?
(i) Elation
(ii) Bewilderment
(iii) Shock
(iv) Protection
Answer. A

Question. The line “he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly” implies the:
(i) great confidence the young gull had in his skills.
(ii) naturalness of the act of flying for the young seagull.
(iii) satisfaction and joy of flying together as a family.
(iv) desire of the young seagull to leave his fears behind.
Answer. B

Question. The extract refers to the many movements of the young seagull’s brothers and sister. Choose the option that correctly sequences these movements.
(i) The young seagull’s brothers and sister flew by tilting their wings, rose high,made darting movements and plunged headfirst.
(ii) The young seagull’s brothers and sister flew by plunging headfirst, making darting movements, tilted their wings and rose high.
(iii) The young seagull’s brothers and sister flew with darting movements, tilted their wings, rose high and plunged headfirst.
(iv) The young seagull’s brothers and sister flew by rising high, plunging headfirst, making darting movements and tilting their wings.
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following mirrors the use of the literary device in “shrieking shrilly”?
(i) sparkling saga
(ii) singing soft
(iii) slippery sloppily
(iv) sneeze silently
Answer. D

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow. 

1. ‘He stepped slowly out to the brink of the ledge, and standing on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing; he closed one eye, then the other, and pretended to be falling asleep. Still they took no notice of him.’

Question. What was the seagull afraid of?
Answer.The seagull was afraid to fly.

Question. What did the young seagull do?
Answer.The young seagull wanted to catch the attention of the others. So he pretended to fall asleep on the brink of the ledge 

Question. What could his brothers and sister do which he was not able to?
Answer.They could fly but he was not able to.

Question. Why did he close his eyes one at a time?
Answer.He was pretending to fall asleep.  

2. His father and mother had come around him calling him shrilly, upbraiding him, and threatening to let him starve on the ledge unless he flew away. But for the life of him, he could not move.

Question. What was the effect of their efforts?
Answer.All their efforts failed but he did not fly.

Question. How did his parents try to make him fly?
Answer.First, they invited him encouragingly. Then scolded and threatened to leave him alone to starve unless he flew away. 

Question. How was the young seagull threatened by his parents initially when he did not fly?
Answer.First his parents encouraged him to fly but later on, they even threatened to let him starve if he did not fly. 

Question. What does the passage convey about the young seagull?
Answer.He was a coward.

Short Answer Questions :

Question. How did the young seagull and his family celebrate his first flight?
Answer.When the young seagull started flying and got over his fear, his family screamed around him out of joy. They praised him and offered him scraps of dog-fish out of delight as he made a successful attempt

Question. Describe the young seagull’s expression when he saw his mother with food.
Answer.The young seagull uttered a joyful scream because he thought that his mother was bringing food for him. He tried to come nearer to her as she flew across. 

Question. What did the young seagull do to attract his mother’s attention ?
Answer.In order to attract his mother’s attention, the young seagull stood on one leg and pretended to be falling asleep on the brink of the ledge. He closed his eyes and he hid his other  leg under his wing, to attract his mother’s attention.

Question. What did the young seagull’s mother do when he cried to bring him some food?
Answer.The young seagull cried for some food. It was because he was greatly hungry. He felt the fear of flying. His mother screamed back but he kept calling her. She picked up a piece of fish and then flew across to him. He leaned out trying to get near her. It was to get food from her but she halted with the fish in her beak.

Question. What happened when the young seagull dived at the fish picked up by his mother ?
Answer. When the young sea gull dived at the fish, he fell outwards and downwards with a scream. His monstrous terror seized him and his heart stood still. Soon his wings spread outwards and he could feel the tips of his wings cutting through the air.

Question. Where did the author go after landing? Why?
Answer. The author went to the control centre. He went there to ask where he was and who the other pilot was? He met a woman there to know about it all. But she looked at him very strangely. Then she laughed as she told him that there was no other plane except his.

Question. How does the author describe the young seagull’s fear of flying?
Answer.The young seagull was afraid of flying. Everytime he flapped his wings, he would get scared. He thought he would die if he tried to fly. The sea stretched down beneath him. He felt certain that his wings would never support him. So he would bend his head and run away back to the little hole everytime.

Question. Then a monstrous terror seized him and his heart stood still. He could hear nothing. But it only lasted a minute. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards. The wind rushed against his breast feathers, then under his stomach, and against his wings. – He could feel the tips of his wings cutting through the air. He was not falling headlong now. He was soaring gradually downwards arid outwards, He was no longer afraid.
(a) Why did a monstrous terror seize the young seagull? Do you think his fear about his wings was justified?
(b) Which word in the passage mean “slowly and steadily”?
Answer. (a) The young seagull felt the fear when he first tried to fly. No. Instead his wings cut easily through the wind and supported him.
(b) Gradually.

Long Answer Question :

Question. Do you think hunger was a good motivation for the young Seagull in his flight?
Answer. The young seagull was greatly afraid of flying --- did not dare to come out and fly --- had no self-c confidence - Parents, brothers and sister decided to leave him alone – left for twenty four hours --- no food to eat --- very hungry --- parents rebuked --- would die of hunger --- getting mad with hunger --- mother bought a piece of fish --- offered him --- but was not able to catch it - called out to her – but she did not come any closer - so he dived for it as he was hungry --- fell and started going downwards --- next moment wings spread outwards --- wind rushed through him --- started flying high --- screamed with joy as he was finally flying --- thus made his maiden flight.

Question. How does the author describe the young Seagull’s fear of flying?
Answer.The young Seagull was afraid of flying though he wanted very much to fly.When he flapped his wings he became afraid. The sea stretched down beneath. He felt certain that his wings would never support him. So he bent his head and ran away back to the little hole. He could not get himself to fly like his siblings.

Question. A young seagull is too afraid to fly. His father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly. Don’t you think that such type of strategy is followed by almost all parents to make their children learn ? Substantiate your answer with examples.
Answer.
The young seagull is scared to fly. He is afraid of the vast exposure of the sea beneath him. His parents cajole him to fly but he is too scared to fly. At the same time, he is desperate with hunger. He expects his parents to feed him. But he is left alone without food. They threaten him that he’ll die of hunger if he doesn’t fly. Then the mother persuades him with a fish within his reach, but not closer to him. He ultimately falls to temptation and dives into the sea and finally succeeds. All the parents should follow such type of strategy to make their children learn. They should not pamper their children by spoon feeding. They should make them independent. Parental strictness in making a child learn a skill shouldn’t be taken as a threat. It is in favour of child as without threat, the seagull won’t have learnt to fly; he would be starved to death.

Question. Justify the title for the story ‘His First Flight’.
Answer.The story ‘His First Flight’ is about a young seagull who is reluctant to take his first flight off a ledge. His sister and brothers have all learnt to fly the previous day buy he is scared to take the first step off the ledge. His parents try everything to make him take the plunge but to no avail. Then his mother uses his hunger and gets him to take off the ledge. His first flight is thrilling for him and his family rejoices with him. The story is about the young seagull’s first flight and so the title is justified.

Question. Do you think hunger was a good motivation for the young seagull in his first flight ?
Answer. Even though his parents motivated him to fly, he denied. They warned him that if he did not fly, he would die of hunger. But he could not move.
But whatever parents do, it is for the betterment of their child’s future. So they took a harsh step of starving him for more than 24 hours, which was a good time to teach him lesson to fly and hunt food for himself.It was a wonderful lesson which parents can teach their children to make their future bright.
Yes, in this case, hunger was a great motivation for the young seagull. He was cowardly and full of fear. All the efforts of his parents had failed to coax him into flight. For 24 hours, no one went near him and he was almost faint with hunger. Finally, the mother flew near him with a scrap of food in her beak. Unable to resist, he plunged into the air to catch it and fell out. To save himself, he opened his wings, wind rushed to them and he found that he could fly. Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly. Around him was his family, offering him scraps of dog-fish. Hence, hunger proved to be a good motivation for the young sea gull.

Question. Describe in brief the journey of the author in his aeroplane.
Answer. The author was flying his old Dakota aeroplane over France back to England. Then he suddenly saw stormy dark clouds. He could not understand what to do. But he flew straight into the storm. He couldn’t see anything outside his aeroplane The compass didn’t work. Suddenly, he saw another pilot. Who asked him to follow his plane? After half an hour, he came out of the clouds. He landed safely. He asked the lady at the airport about the black aeroplane but she told him that there was no such aeroplane. He couldn’t understand anything about the aeroplane.

Question. Read the extracts given below and comment on the similarity in the nature of the scientists expression and creativity of both the young girls mentioned in the extracts. (a) The sun was now ascending the sky, blazing on his ledge that faced the south. He felt the heat because he had not eaten since the previous nightfall. He stepped slowly out to the brink of the ledge, and standing on one leg with the other leg hidden under his leg. (His first flight) (b) The moon was coming up in the east, behind me, and stars were shining in the clear sky above me. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was happy to be alone high up above the sleeping countryside. (The Black Aeroplane)
Answer. In the first extract, the time of the day is mentioned to show the sick feeling of the seagull because he had not eaten since the previous night and so the heat of the sun was adding to his discomfort. The seagull could not fly like his siblings and the heat of the sun was making him feel more miserable. He ultimately stood on one leg to get some escape from the scorching heat. In the second extract, night time is mentioned when the moon is up in the sky. At this hour, the atmosphere is cool and pleasant and adds to the happy mood of the narrator as he looks forward to be with his family and have breakfast with them. The moon and the stars furthers the happiness and makes him treasure the feeling that he is high up in the sky when the whole world is sleeping.

Unseen Passage Class 10 English

Q1. Choose the best word from the options given to complete the following passage.

Humans unlike many (a)………………………… animals, are omnivores. We require (b)…………………….. vegetable matter and meat to be fully healthy. (c)…………………………………….. some humans (d)……………………………….. to survive reasonably (e)…………………… whilst consuming no animal products at all, (f)………………………… their protein mainly (g)…………………………… nuts and seeds. To carry out its many complicated functions, the human body (h)……………………… seven categories namely carbohydrates, proteins, fibre, minerals, vitamins, fats and water which form a balanced diet.

a) i) another
ii) other
iii) others
iv) anothers

b) i) neither
ii) together
iii) either
iv) both

c) i) if
ii) although
iii) so
iv) therefore

d) i) manages
ii) are managing
iii) had managed
iv) manage

e) i) healthier
ii) healthily
iii) healthy
iv) healthiness

f) i) find
ii) found
iii) finding
iv) finds

g) i) into
ii) in
iii) inside
iv) on

h) i) required
ii) is requiring
iii) require
iv) requires

Q2. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Underline the incorrect word and write the correct word in the space provided.

Till a little years back, there were …………………………………
separate machines from printing, …………………………………
scanning, copying and faxing, and this …………………………………
is no long the case. Nowadays, the …………………………………
complete segment on ‘all-in-one’ printers …………………………………
offer copy, scan, fax and print options, …………………………………
plus excellence photo printing. All-in-one …………………………………
printers are sell in both inkjet and ………………………………… lesser models.

Q3. In the following passage one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word in the space provided along with the words which comes before and after it.

Ariens prefer choose vacation spots that ………….. …………………………………….
offer new thrills, and often go outdoor …………………………………………………
adventures test their endurance. …………………………………………………
Being fire sign, they prefer warm, dry ………………………………………………….
climates cold locales. Africa, Australia and Rajasthan …………………………………………………...
in India the best holiday destinations for them. ……………………………………………………
A camping trip involves many adventures rock climbing, ……………………………………………………
sky diving bungee jumping which is a perfect deal …………………………………………………. for them.

Q4. Given below are some instructions. Use them to complete the paragraph that follows. Write the correct answer in the space provided.