CBSE Class 10 First Flight Book Chapter 3 Two Stories About Flying Question Answers from previous years question papers (2019-2024)
Two Stories About Flying Previous Year Questions with Answers – Question Answers from Previous years Board Exam Question papers provide valuable insights into how chapters are typically presented in exams. They are essential for preparing for the CBSE Board Exams, serving as a valuable resource.They can reveal the types of questions commonly asked and highlight the key concepts that require more attention. In this post, we have shared Previous Year Questions for Class 10 English Chapter 3, “Two Stories About Flying”.
Two Stories About Flying Part 1 – His First Flight
Questions which came in 2024 Board Exam
Q1. Briefly bring out the contrast between the young seagull’s initial attempts to fly and his first successful flight. [2024, 40-50 words]
Ans. The young seagull lacks courage and fears that his wings will not be able to support him. He watches his siblings soar and dive but he is unable to overcome the fear. The family abandons him and it is only when he is starving from hunger that the sight of fish in his mother’s beak excites him and he takes the first flight. He is initially terrified but realizes that he is able to fly and then flies confidently.
Q2. Flying is a natural act in birds. Then why was the young seagull ‘exhausted by the strange exercise’? Justify the given statement with reference to baby seagull’s fear. [2024, 40-50 words]
Ans. The young seagull was a coward. He lacked courage and feared that he would fall and hit the ground. The wings might not be strong enough to bear his weight. Thus, he was not able to fly.
Q3. You have been asked to present an evaluation of the approaches of both, the Baby Seagull and the Pilot who was lost in the clouds, towards achieving their dreams of conquering the skies.
Write this presentation draft including your insights, comparing the approaches of both.
You may begin this way : One acknowledges that both, the Seagull and the Pilot, wanted to ……………however, ……………. .
(Reference : Two Stories About Flying) [2024, 100-120 words]
Ans. Both the pilot and the baby seagull overcame the challenge and conquered the skies.
The baby seagull had to overcome personal limitations of fear and cowardice. When he got extremely hungry, he just leapt at the fish carried by his mother and later realized that he was flying. Then it was no looking back as the baby bird soared high in the sky.
On the other hand, the pilot had to encounter failed radar and compass. The plane was running out of fuel and its mechanism had stopped working. Still, the pilot was guided by the lights of the runway and he relied on his instincts to land to safety.
From both these experiences we observe that it is one’s own strengths and positive traits that help one achieve success. We have to face the hurdle and conquer it like the seagull and pilot did.
Q4. Valli was sensitive, but at the same time, she was fearless and quite determined. Think of another character from your text book, who displayed similar character traits.
Compare and contrast the lives of Valli and the other character, that you have chosen from the text of Two Stories about Flying.
You may begin this way.
The characters who are fearless and determined from two texts are Valli and _______.
(Reference : Madam Rides a Bus & Two Stories about Flying) [2024, 100-120 words]
Ans. The characters who are fearless and determined from two texts are Valli and the pilot. Valli is a young girl but she is quiet fearless. She fulfils her desire of going on a bus ride all by herself. She is not afraid of meeting strangers or going on a trip that is new to her. She is determined to fulfil her desire through her own means. She saves pocket money by resisting temptations and thus, buys the bus tickets. She asks discreet questions from the passengers to know the bus route and timings. She decides the trip timing suitable to her according to the period when her mother takes a nap. She avoids talking to strangers in the bus and dislikes being treated like a child. She guards herself against the friendly bus conductor and refuses his offer of buying her a cold drink. All these qualities assist Valli in fulfilling her desire successfully. The pilot is also determined to reach home and have an English breakfast with his family. Thus he does not think twice and flies straight into the storm clouds. He gets alarmed when the compass and radar stop working but still, he remains fearless. The mysterious black aeroplane is his mind’s product and his mind only guides him towards the runway.
Both these characters highlight the importance of self-belief, determination and fearlessness in the face of dangerous situations.
Questions from the Chapter in 2023 Board Exams
Q1. Describe the young seagull’s first flight. [2023, 40-50 words]
Ans. The seagull was starving. When he saw his mother approaching with a fish in its beak, he called out to her but she stopped mid-flight. This provoked the seagull and unaware, it took a flight. Thus, the bird flew and on realizing this, it was glad to have conquered its fear.
Q2. ‘Family played a vital role in the first flight of the young seagull.’
Give examples to substantiate the above statement. [2023, 40-50 words]
Ans. The seagull’s mother played a pivotal role by carrying the fish in its beak and stopping mid-flight in front of the hungry seagull. This pushed the bird to fly out of hunger. The father ignored the coward seagull. This made it feel worthless. The siblings flew around the seagull, they called him to fly too. This was a supportive gesture towards their scared brother.
Q3. Motivation plays an important role in taking risks in life and in succeeding. Do you agree? Discuss with reference to the pilot of the old Dakota and the young seagull. [2023, 100-120 words]
Ans. Yes, motivation gives us that push to take up risks in life. We also think that if the other person can accomplish certain tasks, so can we. The role model’s success inspires us to take the first step and break the barriers in our mind.
In the lesson – Two stories about flying, we see the young seagull who is so scared of taking the first flight. However, immense hunger and the sight of fish in the mother’s beak motivate him and he just takes off the cliff. Even the pilot is so eager to reach home and have an English breakfast with the family, the next morning that he overlooks the dark storm clouds and flies into them.
Thus, we see that both the characters take risk only because of the great motivating factors.
Questions that appeared in 2020 Board Exams
Q1. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? [2020, 30-40 words]
Ans. The young seagull had been hungry for 24 hours. He was impatient and desperate to eat. When he saw his mother carrying some fish in the beak, he screamed at her. This shows that he eventually took his first flight out of his hunger.
Q2. How did the young seagull overcome his fear and make his first flight? [2020, 100-150 words]
Ans. The young seagull was afraid of flying. He felt certain that his wings would never support him and could not get himself to fly like his siblings. His parents, brother and sister decided to leave him alone but soon, he became mad with hunger. He saw his mother with a piece of fish in her beak, reaching to him at a little distance. The sight of the fish maddened him, so he dived at the fish without thinking about the result. He fell downwards, and the next moment, he suddenly felt his wings spread outward and he started flying. He was soaring gradually downwards and upwards. He was then no longer afraid and in this way, he made his first flight.
2019 Exam Question and Answers from the chapter
Q1. How did the seagull’s parents try to make him fly? [2019, 30-40 words]
Ans. The parents tried different tactics to make the seagull fly. They scolded him, made him starve, ignored him and even left him stranded on a cliff.
Q2. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? [2019, 30-40 words]
Ans. The young seagull was afraid because he lacked courage. He was scared that his wings would not be able to bear his weight and that he would fall and hit the ground below.
Also see:
Two Stories About Flying (Part 1 – His First Flight) Summary, Explanation
Two Stories About Flying (Part 1 – His First Flight) MCQs
Two Stories About Flying (Part 1 – His First Flight) Character Sketches
Two Stories About Flying Part 2 – The Black Aeroplane
Questions from the Chapter in 2023 Board Exams
Q1. Read the following extracts and answer the questions:
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. The other instruments were suddenly dead, too. I tried the radio. “Paris Control? Paris Control? Can you hear me?” 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. [2023]
(i) As soon as the pilot was inside the cloud ……………. .
(a) his ears got blocked.
(b) he choked with fear.
(c) his vision was obstructed.
(d) he was jumping up and down.
Ans. (c)
(ii) The devices in the aeroplane were ……………. .
(a) malfunctioning.
(b) broken completely.
(c) giving wrong readings.
(d) stopped responding completely.
Ans. (d)
(iii) The Paris air control did not reply to the pilot’s call because ……………..
Ans. The Paris air control did not reply to the pilot’s call because the radio was dead and there was no transmission to the Paris air control.
(iv) Select the option that correctly captures the application of the word ‘twisted’ as used in the extract.
(a) Ragini twisted Raghav’s wrist.
(b) Ragini twisted the story to suit the occasion.
(c) Ragini did not appreciate Raghav’s twisted bent of mind.
(d) Ragini matched the swimmer as he twisted twice in the air before diving into the water.
Ans. (d)
(v) Fill in the blank with ONE WORD only :
The narrator’s …………comes through clearly when he sees the compass turning round and round.
Ans. disbelief
Q2. ‘I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it? [2023, 40-50 words]
Ans. The “risk” here refers to not doing the right thing, which is flying back to Paris when he came to know about the storm. Despite being aware of the bad weather, the pilot headed straight into the storm and risked the lives of his fellow passengers. The pilot’s decision making was clouded by his wish to meet his family. He so desperately wanted to be with his family and have that English breakfast he had been dreaming of all day, that he took the risk of not going back.
Questions that appeared in 2020 Board Exams
Q1. Why was the pilot of Dakota aeroplane frightened again? [2020, 30-40 words]
Ans. While flying his Dakota aeroplane the narrator saw that the sky was full of dark clouds and he could not see anything. There was not enough fuel to go back to Paris and his compass and radio stopped working. He was feeling afraid and helpless when he suddenly saw another aeroplane outside. The pilot of that aeroplane asked the narrator to follow him and began to guide him through the clouds. However, after some time, the narrator realized that there was very little fuel left in the Dakota’s tank and this is when he was frightened again.
Q2. Why and when did the narrator say that ‘everything’ was going well, it was an easy flight.’? [2020, 100-150 words]
Ans. The pilot was happy when he was alone high up above the sleeping countryside. He was dreaming of his holiday and looking forward to being with his family. He called the Paris Control Room to enquire about the location of the plane and the route to be followed. He thought he would be in time for breakfast and a good big English breakfast would be ready for him. At this point, he thought that everything was going well and that it was an easy flight.
2019 Exam Question and Answers from the chapter
Q1. Why did the pilot think of going back to Paris? [2019, 30-40 words]
Ans. The pilot had just crossed Paris when he saw dense black storm clouds ahead. He was reluctant to enter the storm and so, he thought of going back to Paris.
Also see:
Two Stories About Flying (Part 2 – The Black Aeroplane) Summary, Explanation
Two Stories About Flying (Part 2 – The Black Aeroplane) MCQs
Two Stories About Flying (Part 2 – The Black Aeroplane) Character Sketches