Every journey requires courage, especially when taking the first step into the unknown. NCERT Solutions Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 3, Two Stories About Flying, presents two beautiful tales that use the metaphor of flying to explore themes of courage, self-confidence, and overcoming fear. The first story, "His First Flight" by Liam O'Flaherty, narrates the journey of a young seagull who is afraid to take his first flight despite watching his family soar effortlessly through the sky. The second story, "Black Aeroplane" by Frederick Forsyth, follows a pilot who encounters a mysterious black plane while flying through a dangerous storm. Both stories teach valuable lessons about facing our fears, trusting our abilities, and the unexpected help that comes when we need it most. This chapter is part of the comprehensive NCERT Solutions Class 10 English First Flight series, which covers all chapters in detail.
The NCERT Solutions for Two Stories About Flying provided here give clear, detailed answers for all textbook questions related to both stories. These solutions help students understand the characters' emotions and actions, identify the key messages in each story, learn new vocabulary and literary techniques, clear their doubts effectively, and prepare thoroughly for school exams and board examinations.
Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 3 Question Answer
Q.
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?
Q.
“The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
Q.
“They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?
Q.
Have you ever had a similar experience, where your parents encouraged you to do something that you were too scared to try? Discuss this in pairs or groups.
Q.
In the case of a bird flying, it seems a natural act, and a foregone conclusion that it should succeed. In the examples you have given in answer to the previous question, was your success guaranteed, or was it important for you to try, regardless of a possibility of failure?
Q.
Write a short composition on your initial attempts at learning a skill. You could describe the challenges of learning to ride a bicycle or learning to swim. Make it as humorous as possible.
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Class 10 Chapter 3 English First Flight Questions & Answers -Two Stories About Flying
I
His First Flight
Thinking about the Text (Page 36 )
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?
Solution:
The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was his first flight and he wasn’t sure if his wings would support him.
Generally, all young birds are afraid to make their first flight, as doing something for the first time can be quite challenging. But there are some birds that are more timid than others. A human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first step and constantly looks for its parent when trying to walk.
Q2. Write a short composition on your initial attempts at learning a skill. You could describe the challenges of learning to ride a bicycle or learning to swim. Make it as humorous as possible.
Solution:
When I was a child, I wondered how people could ride bicycles. When I was studying in class 5, I tried learning to ride a bicycle and I fell down in the first attempt and hurt my hands and legs. After that incident I did not dare to try riding it till I reached class 8. I wished if the cycle had at least 3 wheels that one could ride on it without worrying about balancing it.
It was my cousin who encouraged me to take it as a challenge. He made me sit on his bicycle and asked me to hold the handle, look ahead at a distance and pedal it. He asked me to just hold the handle straight as he pushed the cycle from behind. Of course, I fell down many times but did not give up.
It took me a week to get the balance and finally I was able to ride the bicycle without anyone’s help. I felt as if I had conquered the whole word.
Q3. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
Solution:
This suggests that the young seagull was very hungry. Eventually, it was his hunger that compelled him to finally fly, as he dived at the fish in his mother’s beak. He spread his wings outwards and flew at his mother’s direction, thereby overpowering his fear.
Q4“They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?
Solution:
As the young seagull was afraid to fly, his father and mother threatened him and cajoled him to fly. They wanted him to take the plunge like his siblings who were already flying and overcome his fear. They threatened him to starve on his ledge unless he flew.
Q5. Have you ever had a similar experience, where your parents encouraged you to do something that you were too scared to try? Discuss this in pairs or groups.
Solution:
I remember, as a kid I was scared of riding a bicycle. All my friends used to ride their cycles comfortably; however, I could never muster up the courage to bring my feet up the pedal, as I was scared, I might lose my balance and fall down.
My father made me practise cycling for a few days – mornings and evenings. Finally, after a few days’ practice, I was able to ride my bicycle like an expert and I was very happy.
Writing (Page 36)
Q6. In the case of a bird flying, it seems a natural act, and a foregone conclusion that it should succeed. In the examples you have given in answer to the previous question, was your success guaranteed, or was it important for you to try, regardless of a possibility of failure?
Solution:
Success isn’t always guaranteed, especially when the act is not a natural one (it was natural for young seagulls to fly..
However, with hard work and determination one can succeed in anything he/ she does. The possibility of failure diminishes when our constant hard work increases. In my case, it was important for me to try lest I should never learn how to ride a bicycle.
II
The Black Aeroplane
Thinking about the Text (Page 40 )
Q1.“I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?
Solution:
The risk is to fly through the black storm clouds. The narrator takes the risk because he wished to reach his home in Paris to his family for Christmas. He dreams to get there in time to be able to enjoy a good big English breakfast.
Q2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Solution:
As he flew the aeroplane into the storm, everything was black. It was impossible for him to see anything outside his plane. The plane jumped and twisted in the air, the compass, he saw, turned round and round as it was dead, and so was the radio.
Suddenly, he saw another aeroplane. The pilot inside it waved at the narrator and asked him to follow. He was glad to find some assistance. There was only enough fuel in his last tank to fly five to ten minutes. As the other pilot started to go down, he followed him. Suddenly, he came out of the clouds and saw the runway. He landed his plane safely.
Q3.Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?
Solution:
The narrator says so because his experience in the dark clouds has been a horrific one. He is only delighted to be able to land the plane safely.
Q4.What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
Solution:
When the narrator asked for the identity of the pilot who had directed and helped him come out of the black storm cloud safely, the woman in the control room looked at him strangely. It happened so because there was no other plane seen on the radar.
Q5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among yourselves and give reasons for your answer.
Solution:
I would like to believe that it was the narrator who helped himself to reach safely. We know he was a good pilot, and the woman confirmed that there was no other plane on the radar. Perhaps, his own hallucinations directed him the way out of the black storm cloud.
Thinking about Language (Page )
Q1.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.
-
Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black______.
-
The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green_______.
-
The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity.
-
Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter’s black comedy_______.
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Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black_______.
-
Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue______.
Solution:
- Hands and face are black with dust and dirt in this sentence.
- In this sentence, black is the angry look or expression.
- Blackest refers to the gruesome crime against humanity.
- Black in this sentence refers to type of comedy in this film in which a tragic or distressing subject matter is dealt with a humorous way.
- Black here refers to selling goods at a higher-than-reasonable price.
- Black in this sentence is the excessive beating that the criminal received at the hands of the villagers.
Q2. Match the phrases given under Column A with their meanings given under Column B:
A
|
B
|
1. Fly a flag
|
– Move quickly/suddenly
|
2. Fly into rage
|
– Be successful
|
3. Fly along
|
– Display a flag on a long pole
|
4. Fly high
|
– Escape from a place
|
5. Fly the coop
|
Become suddenly very angry
|
Solution:
| A |
B |
| Fly a flag |
– Display a flag on a long pole |
| Fly into rage |
– Become suddenly very angry |
| Fly along |
– Move quickly/suddenly |
| Fly high |
– Be successful |
| Fly the coop |
– Escape from a place |
Q3.We know that the word ‘fly’ (of birds/insects) means to move through air using wings. Tick the words which have the same or nearly the same meaning.
Swoop
|
Flit
|
Paddle
|
Flutter
|
Ascend
|
Float
|
Ride
|
Skim
|
Sink
|
Dart
|
Hover
|
Glide
|
Descend
|
Soar
|
Shoot
|
Spring
|
Stay
|
Fall
|
Sail
|
flap
|
Solution:
Words - swoop, flit, flutter, float, skim, dart, hover, glide, soar, sail, mean the same or nearly the same as ‘fly’.
Writing (Page 41)
Q1. Have you ever been alone or away from home during a thunderstorm? Narrate your experience in a paragraph.
Solution: Being left alone in a dangerous situation is horrifying. People get separated from their family members during natural calamities such as flood, storm, tsunami, etc. If we are in the company of our loved ones, we feel comforted in the face of danger. Last year my father and mother left me alone at home when they went to attend a marriage as I had to complete my homework and study for the examination. They promised to return before sunset and I gladly agreed to their proposal. Around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, suddenly the sky turned black. I looked through the window and saw the branches of the trees shaking wildly in the wind. Slowly the wind speed increased and all I could hear was the deafening howl of the wind. The windows and the doors of the house banged loudly, and I ran to lock them securely. Through the window glass I could see the branches of the trees flying in the wind. The whole area was covered with dust. I was frightened because I thought our house would fly away in the wind. I cried calling my father and mother, but my voice sunk in the thunderous sound of the wind. After an hour the wind fury subsided. I opened the door and stepped out. I could see uprooted trees, and branches strewn everywhere. A part of the roofing of our car shed was flown away in the wind. The power line was snapped. My father and mother were scared when they returned home. They thanked God for protecting me without a scratch.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 1 - FAQs
Q1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly in "His First Flight"?
The young seagull was terrified of flying because he thought his wings were too weak to support him and he would fall into the sea below. When he looked down at the vast ocean, he felt dizzy and scared. He watched his brothers and sister fly away confidently, but he could not gather the courage to take the leap. His fear was so strong that he stayed alone on the ledge for a whole day without food. However, his mother cleverly motivated him by pretending to bring fish but stopping midway, forcing him to dive for it. This made him discover that he could actually fly, proving that his fear was only in his mind.
Q2. What is the mystery in "The Black Aeroplane" story?
The pilot in the story encounters a strange black aeroplane while flying through a dangerous storm at night. The pilot of the black plane guides him safely through the thick clouds without using any radio communication, simply gesturing for him to follow. When the narrator finally lands safely and asks about the mysterious pilot who helped him, the airport control room says no other plane was flying that night. This leaves readers wondering whether the black aeroplane was real, imaginary, or perhaps some supernatural help that appeared when the pilot desperately needed guidance through the life-threatening storm.
Q3. What common theme connects both stories in this chapter?
Both stories emphasize the theme of overcoming fear and challenges with courage and determination. The young seagull had to conquer his fear of flying to survive and join his family, while the pilot had to stay calm and trust the mysterious helper during a dangerous situation. Another important theme is that sometimes we discover our hidden strengths only when pushed into difficult circumstances. The seagull realized he could fly when hunger forced him to try, and the pilot found help when he needed it most. These stories inspire students to face their fears bravely and trust in their inner capabilities during tough times.