Chapter 3 His First Flight | class 10th english | First Flight Important questions

Class 10 English Chapter 3 His First Flight Important Questions

His First Flight
Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly?

Answer: Whenever the young seagull took a little run forward to the extreme edge of the ledge and attempted, to flap his wings, he became afraid. Seeing the vast area of the sea, he thought his wings would never support him.

Question 2. How were Seagull’s parents helping his brothers and sister for “perfecting them in the art of flight”?

Answer: The young seagull was afraid of flying, but his two brothers and a sister had started flying. But his parents were teaching them to be perfect in the art of flying. They were teaching them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish.

Question 3. What was his family doing on the plateau when seagull failed to draw their attention?

Answer: The two brothers and the sister of the young seagull were half asleep with their heads sunk into their necks. His father was preening the feathers with his beak on his white back. Only his mother, standing on a little mound on the plateau, was looking at him.

Question 4. What was the young seagull’s mother doing before him?

Answer: The young seagull’s mother was standing on the plateau, her white breast thrust forward. She tore a piece of fish that lay at her feet, then she scrapped each side of her beak on the rock.

Question 5. 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 6. Describe the young seagull’s expression when he saw his mother with food.

Answer: The young seagull uttered a joyful scream because he thought that his mother was bringing food for him. He tried to come nearer to her as she flew across.

Question 7. Why did the young seagull feel very miserable on the ledge?

Answer: The young seagull felt very miserable on the ledge as he was alone and his family had already flown away. He was feeling very hungry and had nothing to eat. His condition was worsening because he could not even dive for fish.

Question 8. 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 9. 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.

Question 10. “He dropped his legs to stand on the green sea.” How did his family react when he did so?

Answer: Being tired and weak with hunger, the young seagull dropped his legs to stand on the green sea. His entire family came around him screaming, praising him and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog-fish.

Question 11. When did the seagull’s flight begin? Where did it end?

Answer: The seagull’s flight began when he moved to the brink of the ledge. He dived at the fish, which was in his mother’s beak. His fight ended when, after being tired of his first flight and being weak, he dropped himself on the surface of the sea and floated on it.

Question 12. How did the seagull get over his fear of the water?

Answer: After his first flight, the seagull was tired of his strange experience. He dropped his two legs to stand on the green sea. He screamed fearfully and attempted to rise again flapping his wings. He overcame his fear of the water by floating on it.

Question 13. Do you sympathise with the seagull? Why?

Answer: We sympathise with the seagull because, due to his fear of flying, he had to remain lonely and hungry, after his family had left him to suffer. He could not muster courage to fly like his brothers and sister.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. How did the mother make the young seagull come out of his fear and teach him the art of flying?
(or)
How did the seagull family help the young seagull overcome his fear and fly?
(or)
Why was the young seagull afraid of flying? What compelled the seagull to finally fly?
(or)
Describe the tricks used by the seagull family to help the young seagull overcome his fear and fly.

Answer: The young seagull was afraid of flying because he thought that his wings won’t support him and he would drown. When his family left him alone of the ledge, he felt alone and was very hungry. They tried hard to make him fly but he never showed the courage to try. His mother knowingly tore a piece of fish near him and flew across to him with it. She came close to him but did not go nearer. Already mad by hunger, he dived at the fish but fell into space. After sometime his wings spread outwards and he began to fly. His family landed on the sea ahead of him. They beckoned him so he landed on the sea and began to sink into water but when his belly touched the water, he floated without any fear and difficulty.

Question 2. 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.

Question 3. Why was the young seagull pretending to be asleep? What did he actually observe while doing so?

Answer: The young seagull came to the brink of the ledge. He stood there on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing. He closed his one eye, then the other, and pretended to be falling asleep. He did so because he wanted to know whether they were interested in him or not but he observed that his family was not noticing him. He saw his brothers and sister lying on the plateau. They were dozing. His father was preening the feathers on his white back. Only his mother was looking at him. Now and then, she tore at a piece of fish that lay at her feet. Then she scrapped each side of the back on the rock.

Question 4. How did the young seagull get over his fear of sea water and what was his family’s reaction on it?

Answer: The young seagull had made his maiden flight successfully. When he was near the sea. he was flying straight over it. He observed a vast green sea all around him. He turned his beak sideways and cawed amusedly. His family was very happy and landed ahead of him. They beckoned to him.
When he landed on the sea, he began to sink but he tried in despair and his belly touched the water and he sank no further. He was floating on water. This way he got over his fear of seawater and his family praised him a lot and offered him the dog-fish as a reward.

Question 5. Fear and lack of confidence stop one from learning new things. Do you agree? How did these two traits of the young seagull make him coward? How did he overcome these short comings?

Answer: Yes, it is true that fear and lack of confidence stop one from learning new things as in the story, the young seagull lacked the value of courage and confidence in his character. He was too scared of flying. His family tried hard to make him fly but he refused to do so because of his fear of sinking in the seawater. They even scolded him for his cowardice. They tried to tempt him with food but he was not willing to learn flying. Once he dived, his fear disappeared and he enjoyed his first flight.

It is a fact that unless we try for something and overcome our fear, we can’t learn anything. Confidence and motivation are two most important traits that make any learning possible.