NCERT Solutions at Aasoka provides an insight into the prose “Two Stories About Flying”. The NCERT Solutions for Class 10th will be useful for students in their English exam preparation. They can efficiently do their revision before appearing for the exams which in turn will lead to excellent results.
English is considered to be one of the most scoring subjects. Therefore, with a little bit of help from NCERT Solutions at Aasoka, students can do effective preparation for exams. Get an insight into “Two Stories About Flying” which will provide an understanding of the chapter and discuss the various questions that will make the process of learning much easier.
THE BLACK AEROPLANE
Question 1:
‘‘I’ll take the risk.’’ What is the risk ? Why does the narrator take it ?
Answer:
There were storm clouds and it was risky to fly through them. But the narrator decided to take the risk.
He was anxious to get home and have breakfast with the family.
Question 2:
Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Answer:
As the narrator flew his Dakota into the storm, it became suddenly dark inside. The narrator could see nothing outside his plane. His aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. His compass, radio and all other instruments were suddenly dead. He didn’t know which way he was going.
Question 3:
Why does the narrator say, ‘‘I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota ....’’ ?
Answer:
The narrator had landed safely after a horrible experience in the storm clouds. Naturally, he was happy when he landed and walked away from his old Dakota.
Question 4:
What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely ?
Answer:
The narrator asked the woman in the control centre where the other pilot was who had landed there. But the woman looked at the narrator with surprise and said that no other aeroplanes were flying that night. His was the only one she could see on the radar.’
Question 5:
Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely ? Discuss this among yourselves and give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
It was some supernatural agency that helped the narrator to reach his destination safely. There can be no logical answer to the mystery of his flight in the storm clouds. Or it could be just the pilot’s own hallucination.
HIS FIRST FLIGHT
Question 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 ?
Answer:
The young seagull was certain that his wings would not support him when he tried to fly. He feared that he would fall down into the sea. In fact, it is the case with all young birds. They are afraid to make their first flight. Some birds can be more timid than others. But the fear is there in all young ones. It is the mother who helps the young ones to overcome this fear. The human baby too finds it a challenge to take its first steps. It has to be supported and encouraged by the elders. It falls down many a time while taking the first steps. But ultimately, through constant effort and encouragement, it overcomes its initial fears.
Question 2:
‘The sight of the food maddened him.’ What does this suggest ? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly ?
Answer:
Hunger is the strongest motivating factor among all living things. A hungry bird, animal or human being can take any risk to have food. In fact, hunger maddens an individual. Then without caring for the consequences, the individual becomes prepared to take the most dangerous plunge. The same thing happens with the young seagull. He sees his mother with a piece of fish in her beak. Maddened by hunger, he dives at her for the fish. The mother at once moves away. The young seagull falls downward into space. He cries in fear. But then he spreads his wings outwards, flaps them and begins to fly. All his fear is gone now.
Question 3:
‘They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.’ Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly ?
Answer:
The seagull’s mother and father wanted him to fly from his ledge and come to the plateau. All other members of the family had already settled there. They came to him again and again and cajoled him to fly away along with them. But the young seagull was too timid to fly. Now the father and the mother adopted another method to goad him to fly. They indicated to him through their gestures that he would die of hunger if he kept sitting there on his ledge. They caught fish from the sea and enjoyed it infront of the young seagull. On seeing them eat, the young seagull became terribly restless. Hunger maddened him so much that at last he was forced to take the plunge. He spread out his wings as he started falling downwards. Soon he began to fly by flapping his wings. All fear left him.
Question 4:
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.
Answer:
I used to be scared of swimming in deep water. I always thought I would not be able to swim and would get drowned. But my father would always encourage me by saying that there was nothing difficult about swimming. He got me and himself enrolled as the members of a swimming club and would take me there regularly. Through his persuasion and efforts, I was able to learn swimming in less than a month. Now I take part in big swimming competitions and have won a number of prizes also.
Question 5:
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 ?
Answer:
Success can never be guaranteed. And without putting in efforts, success can’t even be imagined. It is only through efforts, that the possibility of success arises. Sometimes, even our efforts don’t produce the desired or expected results. Thus success can never be taken as a foregone conclusion as in the case of a bird flying. Some developments or successes are just a matter of natural process. For example, the young one of a bird will learn to fly and the young one of a horse will learn to walk, run and gallop. But in the case of most human achievements, it is only the efforts that count and bring about the success. Without putting in any effort, no success is ever possible.