AMBER INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, THANE.

(2021-22)
NOTES

SUB:ENGLISH (First flight) STD: X

3. Two Stories About Flying

I. His First Flight

- Liam O’ Flaherty

Summary
The young seagull called to fly
The young seagull was alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his sister had
already flown away. When he wanted to fly, he could not do so. He was very
much afraid of flying. Therefore, he failed to gather up the courage to fly. He
was really very sad. His father and mother came near him. They called him to
fly. They even rebuked him. They threatened that if he did not fly, he would die
of hunger there. But he could not even move.

The young seagull can’t fly

That was twenty four hours ago. Since then no one had come near him. He had
watched his parents, brothers and sister flying. His parents had been
perfecting his brothers and sister how to dive for fish on their own. They called
him to fly. But he could not.

Heat increases
The sun was rising in the sky. He felt the heat because he had not eaten since
the previous nightfall.

Mother reaches near him with food

The seagull closed his eyes standing on one leg. He had the other leg hidden
under his wing. He pretended to sleep. But his parents didn’t look at him.
However, his mother was looking at him. He saw her tear at a piece of fish at
her feet. He gave out a sound to get it. His mother replied in a sound and
looked at him. His mother picked a piece of the fish. She flew across to him
with it. He leaned out tapping the rock with his feet. His mother flew across
trying to get nearer to him. The sight of food made him mad as he was very
hungry. But he could not get at it.
Dives for food
The seagull waited a moment in surprise. He wondered why his mother did not
come nearer. He was so mad with hunger that he dived at the fish. He fell
outwards with a scream and downwards into space. His mother had swooped
upwards. As he passed beneath her he heard the swish of her wings.

Flight begins
Then a great fear caught him. His heart stood still. He could hear nothing. But
it only lasted a moment. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards.
He felt the wind rushed against his breast feathers. Then it rushed under his
stomach, and against his wings. He was not falling headlong now. He was
soaring slowly downwards and upwards. He was no longer afraid. He could fly
on his own.

Joy of flight
The seagull gave out a joyous scream. He soared higher calling ‘ga, ga, ga’.
His mother gave out ‘gaw-col-ah’. Then his father flew over him screaming.
Then he saw his brothers and sister flying around him. They were roaring and
diving.

The scene around

Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly. He
commended himself to dive and soar. He was near the sea now, flying straight
over it. He saw a vast green sea beneath him. His parents and his brothers and
sister had landed on this green surface of water ahead of him. They were
calling him to do the same thing.

Lands on the surface of the water

He dropped his legs to stand on the green sea. But his legs sank into it. He
cried with fear. He tried to rise again flapping his wings. But he was tired and
weak with hunger. He could not rise. His feet sank into the green sea. His belly
touched it. He sank no further. He was floating on it. Around him was his
family, crying and praising him. They were offering him scraps of dog-fish.
He had made his first flight successfully.

I. Read the extract and answer the questions

that follow.

Question 1.
The young seagull was alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his sister
had already flown away the day before. He had been afraid to fly with
them. 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.

(a) Why was the young seagull afraid?

(b) What did the young seagull feel about his wings?
(c) Pick out the word from the passage that means the same as ‘the verge’.
(d) Pick out the word from the passage which means ‘a narrow flat piece of
rock that sticks out from a cliff’.
Answer:
(a) The young seagull was afraid of flying over the sea.
(b) The young seagull felt that his wings would never support him.
(c) The word is ‘brink’.
(d) The word is ‘ledge’.

II. Answer the following questions in 20-30 words

Question 1.
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 2.
What had the young seagull watched his parents doing the day before?
Answer:
The day before the young seagull had watched his parents flying about with
his brothers and sister, perfecting in the art of flying and teaching them
how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish.

III. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words

Question 1.
When did the seagull get over his fear of flying over the sea?
Answer:
The seagull was afraid of flying over the sea because he thought that he
would drown. His family decided to teach him a lesson. They left him
unattended. The mother tore at a piece of fish that lay at her feet now and
then in his front. Since the seagull was hungry too much, he was compelled
to attempt his first flight in order to get food. He was successful. This is
when he got over his fear flying over the sea.

Question 2.
Describe the first flight of the young seagull.
Answer:
The young seagull dived at the fish due to hunger and fell
outwards and downwards into space. He thought of getting drowned but
his wings spread outwards automatically. He moved downwards and
outwards and landed safely on the sea and floated on it without any fear.

IV. Answer the following questions in 100-120 words

Question 1.
Do you think that the seagull’s family loved him? Justify their attitude
towards him?
Answer:
The young seagull had two brothers and a sister. His parents flew with
them to leave him alone on the ledge as he could not muster up the courage
to fly with them. His parents could have fed him.
But, they refused to give him any food. They wanted him to fly and dive for
his food. They threatened to let him starve. They did so because they loved
him.
The parents were right in what they did because they wanted to teach him
the importance of confidence and self-reliance. One can’t depend on their
parents all his life to be fed. Thus, it was important for him to learn to fly,
dive and search his own food. So, the attitude the seagull family showed to
him was actually their love, care and concern for him.
 II. The Black Aeroplane

- Frederick Forsyth

Summary
Author flying his Dakota aeroplane
The author says that he was flying an aeroplane at 1 o’clock at night. The
moon was coming up in the east behind him. Stars were shining in the clear
sky above him. He was flying his old Dakota aeroplane over France back to
England. He was dreaming of his holiday. He was looking forward to being
with his family at the breakfast table.

Call for Paris Control

He decided to call Paris Control. He then radioed to it. He told it that he was on
his way back to England. Paris Control duly acknowledged. It advised him to
turn twelve degrees west.

Sees storm clouds

He duly turned to that direction. Everything was going well. Paris was about
150 kilometres behind him. Then he saw the storm clouds. They looked like
black mountains in front of him. He knew he could not fly up and over them.
He didn’t know for a moment what to do.

Great flying problems faced

He decided to go back to Paris. But he also wanted to get home. So he took
the risk and flew into the storm. He could see nothing outside his aeroplane.
Everything was black. The old aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. He
looked at the compass. It was gone. He tried to contact Paris Control. But he
couldn’t contact it too. He was lost in the storm.

Another aeroplane in those clouds

Then in the black clouds he saw another aeroplane. It had no lights on its
wings. He could see it flying next to him in the storm. He was glad to see
another person. He was saying to follow him. The author thought he was trying
to help him. So he followed him. He flew for half an hour. He had fuel only to
last for five or ten minutes. He began to feel frightened. Then he started to go
down.

Saved and lands safely

Suddenly he saw that he was on the runway. He looked for his friend in the
black aeroplane. He wanted to thank him. But the sky was empty. He went into
the Control Tower. He asked a woman where he was. She looked at him
strangely and then she laughed. She told that there was no other aeroplane
except his.
Author’s great surprise
The author was wonderstruck to hear it. He wondered who had helped him to
arrive there. He was without a compass or a radio. He did not have enough fuel
also in his tanks. Who was the pilot on the strange black aeroplane flying in
the storm without lights?

I. Read the extract and answer the questions that

follow.

Question 1.
Paris was about 150 kilometres behind me when I saw the clouds. Storm
clouds. They were huge. They looked like black mountains ‘standing in
front of me across the sky-1 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. CBSE
2016
(a) What happened when the pilot was about 150 kilometres away from
Paris?
(b) What does the author compare the clouds to?
(c) Find out the word similar in meaning as sufficient.
(d) The word ‘elephantine’ is similar in meaning to the word ………

Answer:
(a) The pilot saw storm clouds when he was about 150 kilometres away
from Paris.
(b) The author compares the clouds to black mountain.
(c) The word is ‘enough’.
(d) The word is ‘huge’.

II. Answer the following questions in 20-30 words

Question 1.
What did the writer feel inside the clouds?
Answer:
When the writer entered the clouds, it became impossible to see outside the
aeroplane. The aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air and all the
instruments like compass etc stopped working due to the weather
conditions.
Question 2.
Why did the writer follow the pilot of another aeroplane?

Answer:
The writer followed another aeroplane because he had lost the way in the
storm and was unable to see anything. The pilot of another aeroplane was
helping him to get out of the storm and land safely.

III. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words

Question 1.
Why was the writer happy when he decided to fly in the night?
Answer:
The writer was very happy when he decided to fly that night because he
was going home to his family to enjoy his holiday. When he started,
everything seemed to be perfect. The sky was clear, no clouds could be seen
and the stars were shining. It all made it an easy task for the writer to fly
that night over the sleeping countryside of Paris. His assumption of
everything being in place made him happy.

Question 2.
Why was the writer happy when he decided to fly in the night?
Answer:
The writer was very happy when he decided to fly that night because he
was going home to his family to enjoy his holiday. When he started,
everything seemed to be perfect. The sky was clear, no clouds could be seen
and the stars were shining. It all made it an easy task for the writer to fly
that night over the sleeping countryside of Paris. His assumption of
everything being in place made him happy.

IV. Answer the following questions in 100-120 words

Question 1.
The pilot wanted to thank another pilot after his safe landing. Why? What
values of the writer are reflected from his action?
Answer:
The pilot (writer) of the old Dakota was caught in the storm. He lost his
contact with the control room. In this troubling situation, his fuel tank was
also empty. He lost all his hopes but suddenly a black strange plane
appeared. The pilot of the black place asked writer to follow him. The
writer landed safely. After his safe landing, he wanted to thank the pilot of
the black plane. This shows his gratitude towards the pilot of the Black
Plane. He was thankful to him for saving his life. It shows that the pilot of
Dakota had a value of gratefulness in his character.

Students should solve NCERT Textbook questions on their own.