Answers to NCERT Questions

Part - I

THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT

1. 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?

Ans: The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was its first flight. It is a well-known fact that doing something for the first time is challenging. Therefore, all young birds must be afraid to make their first flight. Similarly, a human baby would also find it a challenge to take its first steps.

2. “The sight of food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?

Ans: The young seagull was very hungry. It was this hunger that ultimately compelled it to fly. Its hunger only intensified when it saw its mother tearing a piece of fish 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 at the great expanse of the sea beneath the cliff. Finally, this plunge was followed by the natural reaction of its body, i.e., to fly.

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

Ans: The young seagull was afraid to fly. Even when it saw its brothers and sisters flying, and its parents helping and teaching them, it could not gather enough courage to make that first flight. 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 fly. They did so because they wanted it to leave its fear behind and learn to fly.

Part - II

Thinking About the Text

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

Ans: The risk was to fly through the black storm clouds. The narrator took the risk because he wanted to reach Paris to celebrate Christmas with his family.

2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.

Ans: As he flew 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 find a helper. He was using his last fuel tank and there was only enough fuel to fly five or ten minutes. Then the other pilot started going down and he followed. He suddenly came out of the clouds and saw the runway, on which he then landed his plane safely.

3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?

Ans: He was delighted to land safely out of dark stormy clouds, therefore, he was not sorry to walk away for his plane. He felt bad, when he was not able to thank his guide, his mentor, who saved him from frightening situations, but he was so happy after landing that he didn’t feel sorry for not being able to thank the guide pilot.

4. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?

Ans: The woman in the control room was surprised when the narrator asked about the other aeroplane and its pilot. She said that there was no aeroplane seen on the radar.

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

Ans: Probably, it was narrator’s own self that helped him through the storm. There was no other plane in the storm as the woman at the control room could see only his plane on the radar. Also, no other plane was flying 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.

THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE

Try to guess the meanings of the word ‘black’ in the sentences given below. Check the meanings in the dictionary and find out whether you have guessed right.

1. Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black. ________________

Ans: The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence is that the face and hands are dark with dust and heat.

2. The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green. ________________

Ans: Here, ‘black’ refers to angry look.

3. The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity. ________________

Ans: Here, ‘blackest’ refers to the darkest and cruelest crime against humanity.

4. Very few people enjoy Harold Printer’s black comedy. ________________

Ans: Here, ‘black’ refers to dark and gloomy comedy.

5. Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black. ________________

Ans: The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence is that the shopkeepers sell the described goods ‘at a higher price’.

6. Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue. ________________

Ans: Here, ‘black’ means that the criminal suffered excessive beating at the hands of the villagers.

Answers to NCERT Questions

Part - I

THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT

2. “The sight of food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?

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

Part - II

Thinking About the Text

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

Ans: The risk was to fly through the black storm clouds. The narrator took the risk because he wanted to reach Paris to celebrate Christmas with his family.

2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.

3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?

4. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?

Ans: The woman in the control room was surprised when the narrator asked about the other aeroplane and its pilot. She said that there was no aeroplane seen on the radar.

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

THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE

Try to guess the meanings of the word ‘black’ in the sentences given below. Check the meanings in the dictionary and find out whether you have guessed right.

1. Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black. ________________

Ans: The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence is that the face and hands are dark with dust and heat.

2. The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green. ________________

Ans: Here, ‘black’ refers to angry look.

3. The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity. ________________

Ans: Here, ‘blackest’ refers to the darkest and cruelest crime against humanity.

4. Very few people enjoy Harold Printer’s black comedy. ________________

Ans: Here, ‘black’ refers to dark and gloomy comedy.

5. Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black. ________________

Ans: The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence is that the shopkeepers sell the described goods ‘at a higher price’.

6. Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue. ________________

Ans: Here, ‘black’ means that the criminal suffered excessive beating at the hands of the villagers.

Additional Questions

Extract Based Questions

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow: (4 Marks each)

1. Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black. It was impossible to see anything outside the aeroplane. The old aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. I looked at the compass. I couldn’t believe my eyes: the compass was turning round and round and round. It was dead. It would not work!

a) Why did it become impossible for the writer to see?

b) Why was the aeroplane twisting in the air?

c) What could have happened as a result of compass failure?

d) Where could the pilot not establish contact?

Ans:

a) It became impossible to see because the writer’s plane entered inside the storm clouds where everything was dark.

b) All the instruments of the plane were not working and due to darkness, the plane could not be kept under control, so it was twisting in the air.

c) The narrator could have lost his path.

d) He could not establish contact with Paris control.

2. There was no answer. The radio was dead too. I had no radio, no compass, and I could not see where I was. I was lost in the storm. Then, in the blank clouds quite near me, I saw another aeroplane. It had no lights on its wings, but I could see it flying next to me through the storm. I could see the pilot’s face – turned towards me. I was very glad to see another person. He lifted one hand and waved.

a) From where did the narrator expect an answer?

b) Why did he not receive any answer?

c) Where was he lost?

d) What problem did he face in the storm?

Ans:

a) The narrator expected an answer from the radio, i.e., the control station.

b) He did not receive any answer because the radio was not working.

c) He was lost in the storm clouds.

d) He could not see where he was and was lost in the storm.

3. I knew I could not fly up and over them, and I did not have enough fuel to fly around them to the north or south. “I ought to go back to Paris,” I thought, but I wanted to get home. I wanted that breakfast.

a) What does ‘them’ refer to?

b) Why could he not fly over on either side of storm clouds?

c) Why did he not go back to Paris?

d) Where was the pilot of the Dakota plane flying to?

Ans:

a) ‘Them’ refers to the storm clouds.

b) He could not fly over on either side of storm clouds because he had limited fuel, just to reach England by a straight route.

c) He did not go back to Paris because he was anxious to reach home.

d) The pilot of the Dakota plane was flying from Paris to England.

4. His parents and his brothers and sister had landed on this green flooring ahead of him. They were backoning 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 farther. He was floating on it, and around him his family was screaming, praising him and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog-fish.

a) Where did the young seagull land?

b) Why did he scream?

c) What made him tired?

d) How did his parents, brothers and sister encourage him?

Ans:

a) The young seagull landed on the green sea.

b) He felt his legs sinking into the sea and he screamed with fright.

c) Hunger and the effort to fly made him tired.

d) His parents, brothers and sister encouraged him by screaming and offering him by screaming and offering him scraps of dog-fish.

5. He had been afraid to fly with them. Somehow when he had taken a little run forward to the brink of the ledger 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 ledger where he slept at night.

a) Who is ‘them’ here?

b) What happened when he attempted to flap his wings?

c) What was stretched down beneath?

d) What did he do when he felt that his wings would never support him?

Ans:

a) ‘Them’ is the family of the young seagull.

b) When he attempted to flap his wings, he became afraid.

c) The great expanse of sea was stretched down beneath.

d) He bent his head and ran away back to the little hole under the ledge where he slept at night.

6. 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. He was near the sea now, flying straight over it, facing straight out over the ocean.

a) Who flew over him screaming?

b) How were his two brothers and his sister flying?

c) What did he completely forget?

d) Where was he now?

Ans:

a) His father flew over him screaming.

b) His two brothers and sister were flying around him curveting and banking and soaring and diving.

c) He completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly.

d) He was near the sea now.

Short Answer Questions (30-40 words: 2 Marks each)

1. What happened when the author turned the aeroplane twelve degrees west towards England?

Ans: When the author turned the aeroplane twelve degrees west towards England, he saw huge storm clouds that looked like black mountains standing in front of him across the sky.

2. 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.

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

Ans: The risk was 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.

4. Why did the pilot think of going back to Paris?

Ans: The pilot came across huge storm clouds that seemed to him like black mountains. He could neither go above them nor go around them due to lack of fuel. That was when he thought of returning to Paris.

5. 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.

6. Why could the woman in the control room not help the pilot of Dakota?

Ans: When the pilot of the Dakota plane asked the woman in the control centre about the black aeroplane and its pilot, she could not help him because she had not seen any other plane flying that night on the radar.

7. 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.

8. Was the pilot of the Dakota able to meet the pilot of the black aeroplane?

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.

9. How did the young seagull’s family celebrate his first flight?

Ans: The young seagull’s family were very excited about the successful attempt of his first flight. They commended his efforts, praised him and offered him scraps of dog fish.

10. Why was the young seagull alone at the ledge?

Ans: The young seagull was alone at his ledge because his family had already flown away. He could not fly with them as he was afraid of the long stretch of the sea and its depth. He could not gather courage to attempt his first flight.

11. What made the young seagull finally fly?

Ans: The young seagull was terribly hungry, so his mother took a piece of fish in her beak and came very close to the young seagull. In an attempt to catch the piece of fish, it fell out of the ledge and made efforts to fly. Thus, his hunger, and his mother’s trick made him finally fly.

12. How did the little seagull try to draw the attention of his family, while on ledge?

Ans: While on the ledge, the young seagull stood on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing. He closed his one eye, then the other and pretended to be falling asleep, to try to draw the attention of his family.

13. What was the young seagull’s feeling when he landed on the sea for the first time?

Ans: On his first flight, when he came near the sea, he was very excited. He was flying straight over it. All the members of family were encouraging and praising him for his first flight. They landed on the sea. Now his belly touched the water. He wanted to fly again. But he could not do it because he was very tired.

Long Answer Questions (100-150 words: 8 Marks each)

1. It is true that without the help of the members of family, the young seagull could not fly. Describe.

Ans: In the beginning of the story ‘His First Flight’, the young seagull had a great fear of flying. His parents tried their best to encourage him for flying, but all in vain. They even threatened him that he would die of hunger. But he was not confident to fly. At last, his parents, brothers and sister flew away, leaving him alone on the ledge. Staying on the ledge for 24 hours, he became very hungry. So he tried to call out his mother. She took a piece of fish into her beak and came to him. But when she reached near, she made a little distance. In order to catch the piece of fish, he dived without thinking about the result and fell downwards. But the next moment, he could feel his wings spread outwards and he started flying. Thus, his mother helped him to fly. So it is very evident that without the help of the members of family, the young seagull could not fly.

2. Did you find any difference in the behaviour of the young seagull in the very beginning and at the end of the story? If yes, then explain briefly.

Ans: There is a big difference in the behaviour of the young seagull in the very beginning and at the end of the story. In the beginning, the young seagull was afraid to fly. He did not have confidence and thought that his wings would not support him at all. He tried to make his first attempt to fly after his brothers and sister, and parents flew away from the ledge. He tried to flap his wings, but his fear seized him and again went inside. His parents even threatened him that he would die of hunger, but he could not gather courage to fly. Later, his mother tricks him and he starts flying. When he succeeded in his first flight, he screams with joy. He was feeling it as a victory over his fear of flying. As he learnt to fly, he joined his family and landed on the sea water and was very happy.

3. Your friend was the pilot who was flying from Paris to England, when he was lost in the storm clouds. Narrate his experience to your family and tell them how he was rescued by a strange black plane and its pilot.

Ans: Last week, my friend, who is a pilot had a mysterious experience.

During his flight from Paris to England, he was lost in the storm clouds. His compass, radio and other instruments had gone dead. He did not know which direction to go. He was lost and panicked (too much frightened).

Then, he saw a strange black aeroplane without lights on wings, flying near his plane. Its pilot lifted one hand, waved and signalled my friend to follow him. He guided my friend through the storm clouds and helped him land safely. When my friend looked back to thank the pilot of the black aeroplane, he found neither the pilot nor the aeroplane.

When he asked the control room about the strange black plane and its pilot, the reply was that no other plane was seen on the radar except his Dakota. Then who rescued him? There was no answer. It was a mystery.

4. Describe the flight of the pilot before he encountered the dark clouds. Or

Describe the flight of the Dakota aeroplane until it landed safely at the airport.

Ans: The writer of this story is a pilot. One night, he was flying his old Dakota aeroplane over France. It was a starry night. He was going to England. He hoped to spend his holiday with his family. It was an easy journey and he was in a joyful mood. He looked at his watch. It was one-thirty in the morning. Through his wireless, he contacted the Paris Control. They told him to turn twelve degrees west. He did as he was advised to do. He was 150 kilometres away from Paris. Suddenly, the writer saw huge black clouds before him. It was not possible to fly up and over the clouds because he had not much fuel with him. So it was not possible to fly around the big mountains of clouds to the right or left. Thus, he decided to take the risk and flew his aeroplane straight into the clouds.

5. How was the pilot of the Dakota aeroplane rescued?

Ans: The writer flew his aeroplane into the big dark clouds. As he entered the clouds, everything suddenly went black. He found that his compass had ceased to work. He tried to contact the Paris Control for directions. But he was shocked to find that his radio had also stopped working. Suddenly, the writer saw a black aeroplane near him. He could also see the pilot in it. The pilot waved the writer to follow him. He followed the black aeroplane like an obedient child. Now, it was half an hour since the writer had been following the black aeroplane. He was worried because the fuel in his plane would last only five or ten minutes. But just then, the black aeroplane started to go down and the writer followed it. Suddenly, the writer was out of the clouds. He could see the lights of the runway of the airport. The writer landed his Dakota aeroplane. In this way, he was rescued.