Two Stories about Flying
Class 10 · English · 24 Questions
A young seagull is afraid to fly. How does he conquer his fear?
A pilot is lost in storm clouds. Does he arrive safe? Who helps him?
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?
"The sight of the food maddened him." What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
"They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly." Why did the seagull's father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?
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?
Describe the narrator's experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Why does the narrator say, "I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…"?
What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black. (Guess the meaning of the word 'black' in this sentence.)
The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green. (Guess the meaning of the word 'black' in this sentence.)
The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity. (Guess the meaning of the word 'black' in this sentence.)
Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black. (Guess the meaning of the word 'black' in this sentence.)
Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue. (Guess the meaning of the word 'black' in this sentence.)
Does 'dyin' really rhyme with 'lion'? Can you say it in such a way that it does?
How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger? When can you do so, according to him?
Do you think the words 'lept' and 'lep' in the third stanza are spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?
Look at the line "A novice might nonplus". How would you write this 'correctly'? Why is the poet's 'incorrect' line better in the poem?
Why does the poet say, "I would not intrude on him"? Why doesn't he offer him money to buy another ball?
"… staring down/All his young days into the harbour where/His ball went …" Do you think the boy has had the ball for a long time? Is it linked to the memories of days when he played with it?