CH- TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING

No.- 02/X/16072025 REFERENCE TO CONTEXT

EXTRACT_01
He just felt a bit dizzy. Then he flapped his wings once, and he soared upwards. “Ga,
ga, ga, Ga, ga, ga, Gaw-col-ah,” his mother swooped past him, her wings making a loud
noise. He answered her with another scream. Then his father flew over him, screaming.
He saw his two brothers and his sister flying around him, curveting and banking and
soaring and diving. Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly
and commended himself to dive and soar and curve, shrieking shrilly.
Q1) How would you describe the screams of the gulls in the given extract?
a) elation (great happiness) b) bewilderment (feeling of perplex and confuse)
c) shock d) protection

Q2) Pick the most appropriate reason why the young gull felt dizzy.
a) He hadn’t eaten anything for a day.
b) He was dizzy with excitement.
c) He was wary of heights.
d) He was flying for the first time.

Q3) The line “he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly” implies the
a) great confidence the young gull had in his skills.
b) naturalness of the act of flying for the young gull.
c) satisfaction and joy of flying together as a family.
d) desire of the young gull to leave his fears behind.

Q4) The extract refers to the many movements of the young gull’s brothers and sister. Choose the
option that correctly sequences these movements.
a) The young gull’s brothers and sister flew by, tilting their wings, rose high, made darting movements and
plunged headfirst.
b) The young gull’s brothers and sister flew by plunging headfirst, making darting movements, titled their
wings and rose high.
c) The young gull’s brothers and sister flew with darting movements, titled their wings, rose high and
plunged headfirst.
d) The young gull’s brothers and sister flew by, rising high, plunging headfirst, making darting movements
and tilting their wings.

EXTRACT_02

The day before, all day long, he had watched his parents flying about with his brothers
and sister, perfecting them in the art of flight, teaching them how to skim the waves and
how to dive for fish. He had, in fact, seen his older brother catch his first herring and
devour it, standing on a rock, while his parents circled around, raising a proud cackle.
And all morning, the whole family had walked about on the big plateau midway down
the opposite cliff taunting him with his cowardice.
Q1) Based on the given sentence, pick the option that corresponds to what human parents would say.
‘while his parents circled around raising a proud cackle.’
a) Well done! b) Oh no! c) Ready?! d) Really!?

Q2) Select the most appropriate option for the following: devour(eat hurrily): guzzle (eat or drink
greedily): nibble (take small bite): _______.
a) chew b) savour (taste and enjoy it full)

Page 1 of 4
c) peck (eat something with beak) d) gulp (swallow)

Q3) Which option lists the image nearest to ‘skim the waves’?

a) image (i) b) image (ii) c) image (iii) d) image (iv)

Q4) Which of the following feelings did the young gull NOT feel according to the given context? “…all
day long, he had watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister…”
(i) sad
(ii) incompetent
(iii) excluded
(iv) ungrateful
(v) inspired
(vi) jealous
(vii) anxious

a) i, iii, vi b) ii, v, vii c) ii, iii, vii d) iv, v, vi

Q5) Imagine that the young gull attended a workshop on inspiration and confidence building and
received a couple of pieces of advice. Choose the option that reflects these pieces of advice, most
relevant to his situation.

a) (i) and (ii) b) (ii) and (iii) c) (iii) and (iv) d) (i) and (iv)

EXTRACT_03

Everything was going well – it was an easy flight. Paris was about 150 kilometres behind
me when I saw the clouds. Storm clouds. They were huge. They looked like black
mountains standing in front of me across the sky. I knew I could not fly up and over
them, and I did not have enough fuel to fly around them to the north or south. “I ought
to go back to Paris,” I thought, but I wanted to get home. I wanted that breakfast. ‘I’ll
take the risk,’ I thought and flew that old Dakota straight into the storm.
Q1) How would you describe the “risk” the narrator took?
a) calculated b) impetuous (done quickly without thought or care)
c) unavoidable d) navigable

Q2) Select the correct option to fill in the blanks below:

Q3) Based on the given extract, choose the option that lists the meme which would be the most
appropriate response to “…it was an easy flight”?
Page 2 of 4
a) Option (i) b) Option (ii) c) Option (iii) d) Option (iv)

Q4) In what way might the reference to the Dakota as “old” be relevant?
a) Its antique value made it expensive and precious to the narrator.
b) It is employed by the narrator as a term of endearment (phrase showing love and affection)
c) It did not have enough fuel to fly around the storm clouds.
d) Its ability to negotiate the storm clouds might have been suspect.

Q5) Read the statements given below, and then select the option that best describes the given
statements.
Statement I – The narrator’s desire to reach home and see his family made him complacent (self-satisfy)
Statement II – The narrator was unaware of the threat that the adversarial storm clouds presented.
Statement III – The narrator’s decision-making was quick but irresponsible as well as dangerous.
a) Statement I is false, statement II is true, statement III cannot be inferred
b) Statement I and III are true, statement II cannot be inferred
c) Statement I cannot be inferred, statement II is false, statement III is true
d) Statement I and II are false, statement III is true

EXTRACT_04
I was safe! I turned to look for my friend in the black aeroplane, but the sky was empty.
There was nothing there. The black aeroplane was gone. I could not see it anywhere. I
landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota near the control tower. I
went and asked a woman in the control centre where I was and who the other pilot was.
I wanted to say ‘Thank you’. She looked at me very strangely and then laughed. “Another
aeroplane? Up there in this storm? No other aeroplanes were flying tonight. Yours was
the only one I could see on the radar.” So, who helped me…
Q1) Why do you think the woman in the control centre laughed?
a) She found the narrator funny.
b) She thought his question preposterous (stupid/foolish).
c) She thought he was teasing her.
d) She was relieved the narrator was safe.

Q2) Select the option that correctly tracks the progression of emotions experienced by the narrator in
the given extract.
a) excited – surprised – relieved – grateful – perplexed (confuse)
b) relieved – confused – curious – dejected – panic-stricken
c) optimistic (positive)– lonely – calm – elated (happy)– appreciative
d) triumphant (victory) – reassured– inquisitive (interested) – thankful – uncertain

Q3) The narrator exclaimed that he was “safe”. Which of the following represented the most
immediate threat to the narrator’s safety?
a) The black mountain-like storm cloud
b) The depletion of fuel in the last fuel tank
c) Being lost due to non-functioning equipment
d) The old rattling Dakota aeroplane

Page 3 of 4
Q4) Filled with questions, the narrator decides to place an advertisement in the local newspaper to
look for his “friend”.
Read the advertisement given below and select the option that includes the most appropriate solutions for the
blanks:
Looking for a pilot of a black aeroplane who (i) _______ an old Dakota out of storm clouds late last night,
but (ii) _______ before the Dakota pilot could express his gratitude after landing. Though the control centre
and radar did not (iii) _______ its presence, the Dakota pilot would really appreciate it if his friend reached
out. Please contact the Dakota pilot at 5200100110. In deep gratitude and eager (iv) ______, XXX

a) (i) guided, (ii) disappeared, (iii) register, (iv) anticipation (excitement- waiting eagerly for
something)
b) (i) took, (ii) landed, (iii) acknowledge, (iv) appreciation
c) (i) brought, (ii) went away, (iii) confirm, (iv) expectation
d) (i) helped, (ii) vanish, (iii) make note, (iv) excitement

Q5) Choose the option that correctly matches the idioms in Column A to the story’s events in column
B:

Column A – Idioms Column B – Story Events

1. Every cloud has a silver lining.- (every (i) The narrator really wanted to have a hearty English
sad or unpleasant situation has positive breakfast, even though he really ought to have turned back.
side too).

2. To be on cloud nine.- (to be extremely (ii) The man in the other plane waved at the narrator and
happy) asked him to follow, closely drawing him out.

3. To have your head in the clouds.- (iii) The compass and other instruments stopped working.
(someone is not paying attention to what The radio was dead too.
is going around.)

4. Gathering clouds.- (signs of impending (iv) And there it was – the well-lit runway. An airport. The
problems.) narrator could safely land.

a) 1-(iv), 2-(iii), 3-(ii), 4-(i)

Page 4 of 4