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Unit 1 Chapter 1 His First Flight (Story), Textbook Activities, Read And Reflect (Textbook Page No. 10 -13), Question 1., Why was the young sea-gull afraidto fly?, Answer:, The young seagull was afraid to fly because he thought that his wings would not support, him and he would fall into the sea and die., Question 2., What did the parents do to motivate the young bird when it failed to muster up enough, courage to fly?, Answer:, The parents flew around the young sea-gull calling him loudly. They scolded him and, even threatened to starve him., Question 3., How did the parents support and encourage the young seagull’s brothers and sister?, Answer:, The parents flew with them trying to perfect them in the art of flying. They taught them, how to dive for fish., Question 4., Cite an instance which shows the pathetic condition of the young bird., Answer:, The young sea-gull had nothing to eat. He had to bear the heat of the sun. He even, gnawed at the dried pieces of the eggshell from which he and his brothers and sisters, had hatched. It was like eating a part of himself., Question 5., How did the bird try to reach its parents without having to fly?, Answer:, The young seagull tried to reach his parents by trotting back and forth from one end of, the ledge to the other. But he saw only the steep precipices on either side. He could not, reach his parents because there was a deep, wide crack between him and his parents., Question 6., Why could the seagull not succeed in its attempt?, Answer:, The seagull could not succeed in its at tempt because there was nothing to walk on that
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would bring him to his parents. A deep, wide crack separated him from his parents and, there was no way for him to reach them except by flying to them., Question 7., Do you think that the young sea-gull’s parents were cruel?, Answer:, The young sea-gull’s parents were not cruel to him. They had great love for it. They, wanted to motivate the bird to fly., Question 8., Can you justify the attitude of the parents?, Answer: ., The parents wanted to teach him how to fly. For this he must have confidence and a, feeling of self-reliance. The parents would not live for ever. They wanted to make him, self-reliant and earn food for himself., Question 9., Your parents sometimes behave in the same manner. They may seem cruel and, unrelenting. Does it mean that they do not love you?, Answer:, Our parents sometimes behave in this cruel and unrelenting manner. This is only to, make us self-reliant. It is not because they do not love us. They want to train us to, become independent and self-reliant. If they fail to act this way, We are likely to become, helpless in life. Their actions may seem to be cruel, but they are never cruel., Question 10., What prompted the young seagull to fly finally?, Answer:, It was extreme hunger that made the young seagull fly at last. The mother bird had a, piece of fish between her beaks, but she wanted him to come flying to it., Question 11., Why was the young bird terrified? How did it overcome its fear?, Answer:, The young sea-gull dived at the fish that was in his mother’s beak. When he dived he, fell outwards and downwards into the space. The wind was brushing against his breast, and he was terrified. His wings opened suddenly and began to cut through the air. He, was not falling now. Thus he overcame his fear., Question 12., How did the family support the young seagull?, Answer:, The mother flew past him. The father flew over him. His two brothers and sister flew, around him. All members of the family supported him in their own way.
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Question 13., Why couldn’t the young seagull stand on the green sea?, Answer:, The young seagull could not stand on the green sea because his legs would go down, the water. But when his belly touched the water, it would not sink., Question 14., Do you think that the bird’s parents loved him? Why?, Answer:, The bird’s parents loved him. They wanted to teach him how to be courageous and self, confident. They wanted him to fly. The mother came with a piece of fish to tempt him, into flight. When he flew atlast the whole family expressed their joy by flying with him., Activity I: Read And Respond (Textbook Page No. 13-14), Question 1., What is the theme of the story?, Answer:, The theme of the story is the need for building self reliance in young people., Question 2., What do you think is the real crisis faced by the young bird?, Answer:, The real crisis faced by the young bird was lack of confidence and his fear to go out of, its nest., Question 3., What is your impression of the reaction of the parents in the story?, Answer:, The parents love their young child and want him to be self-reliant. They use clever tricks, to make the bird fly. The mother tempts him bringing a piece of fish very near him and, forces him to fly and get it. He dives for the fish. His wings open suddenly and he begins, to fly. They succeed in their attempt and are extremely happy at it., Question 4., Identify the words or expressions used in the story to express thoughts, attitudes,, movements, sounds, emotions, appearance, descriptions of the birds/ places, etc., Answer:, Places:, The great expanse of the sea stretched down beneath. The rough dirt-caked straw nest, The ledge ended in a sheer fall of precipice. A deep wide crack A vast green sea, beneath, etc.
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Birds:, He (the young sea-gull) had taken a little run of the ledge and attempted to flap the, wings. He failed to muster up courage His father and mother had come around calling to, him shrilly scolding and threatening him. He then trotted back, etc., Question 5., Do you think that such expressions make the narrative more effective and engage your, interest and attention?, Answer:, These expressions do make the piece interesting and engage my attention., Question 6., What is the message of the story?, Answer:, The message of the story is that if we should succeed in life, we have to become, courageous and self-reliant from a young age, Activity II: Review (Textbook Page No. 14), Question 1., Based on the discussion, prepare a review of the story, Answer:, Liam O ‘Flaherty’s “His First Flight” is a little story with a great message. It emphasizes, the importance of building up confidence and self -reliance at an early age. The seagull, family consisted of five members, father, mother, three sons and a daughter. All except, the yound sea-gull could fly. Their parents trained them and they developed confidence, and self reliance. But the young seagull was afraid to fly. His parents shouted at him,, scolded him and even threatened him with starvation. But he preferred to stay at his, dirty nest. Heat and hunger troubled him. His mother came close to him carrying a piece, of fish in her beak. The young bird at last leaps forward to get the fish. He fell outwards, and downwards in the space., The wind rushed against his breast feathers and the stomach and the wings. Soon the, wings opened. They began to cut the air. He then landed on the sea. His feet began to, sink. But when his belly touched the water, he would not sink further. This made him, confident. His parents and his brothers and sister joined him. They were extremely, happy. The story is told in simple language. The dramatic situations in the story attract, the readers. The writer has made the story so homely that we feel that it is the story of a, human family. The message it conveys is splendid. The loving and caring parents, the, affection-ate brothers and sister and the innocent young sea-gull seem to be our dear, ones., Activity III: Tree Diagram (Textbook Page No. 14)
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• Read the story once again. Identify the factors that prevented the seagull from flying, and those that favoured his flight. Now, complete tree diagram., Answer:, , Activity IV: Think And Respond (Textbook Page No. 14), Question 1., Do you believe that you also can fly high in your life?, Answer:, I do believe that I also can flight high in life if I work hard with determination and get, proper encouragement from my people., Question 2., What sort of support do you except from your family?, Answer:, I expect moral, financial and psychological support from my parents., Question 3., Can their support alone help you in full filing your ambition?, Answer:, No. First of all I must have an ambition. I must work hard to achieve it. I must develop, confidence and self reliance. Then with support of my family and the support of my, teachers and my friends I will fulfill my ambition., Question 4., What do you think are the requirements to attain success in life? Write them below:, Answer:, •, , Determination
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•, •, •, •, •, •, •, , Hard work, Perseverance, Support from family and friends, Confidence, Intellect, Material resources, Faith in God, , His First Flight Exam Oriented (Theory Exam) Questions & Answers, Questions Based On Passages, Question 1., But when she was just opposite to him, abreast of the ledge, she halted, her legs, hanging limp, her wings motionless, the piece of fish in her beak almost within reach of, his break., Question a., Who is ‘she’ referred to in the sentence?, Answer:, The she referred to here is the mother of the young seagull., Question b., Why did she remain in the air without giving the piece of fish to the young sea-gull?, Answer:, She wanted the young seagull to fly and get the fish., Question c., Don’t you think that the mother was cruel to the young sea-gull? Write a paragraph on, why parents sometimes behave so. Are they really cruel to their children?, Answer:, The parents sometimes behave in a cruel manner because they want to make their, children self-reliant. It does not mean that they do not love you. It is because they love, you that they want you to become independent and self-reliant. At times they have to, pretend to be cruel. Some time they scold you. They do such things to make you active, and successful in life., Question 2., “He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer, and then, maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish. With a loud scream, he fell outwards and, downwards into space. His mother had swooped upwards. As he passed beneath her,, he heard the swish of her wings”.
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Question a., Who is ‘she’ referred to here?, Answer:, The ‘she’ referred to here is the mother of the seagull, Question b., What prompted the young seagull to fly finally?, Answer:, It was hunger that prompted the young sea-gull to fly finally, Question c., Write a paragraph about the role of parents in helping children attain their goal., Answer:, It is the responsibility of parents to help their children attain their goal. As Children you, may not always take things seriously. Some times the parents will scold their children;, sometime they may deny their demands, etc. though it may be thought as cruelty from, their part, they do such things out of love for their children. They are always concerned, about their children’s future., Question 3., “He answered her with another scream. Then, his father flew over him screaming. Then,, he saw his two brothers and sister around him, soaring and diving”, Question a., Who is the ‘he’ in the passage?, Answer:, ‘He’ in the passage is the young seagull, Question b., What is the mood of the seagull’s family expressed in the passage?, Answer:, The whole seagull family is extremely happy. The father, mother, brothers and sister, jointly partake the joy., Question c., How does your family support you?, Answer:, All my family members support me in the best manner. It is my father who earns the, money needed for my education. My mother prepares food for me. She also washes my, clothes and looks after me. My elder brother helps and encourages me in my studies., My little sister is also very cooperative. Thus my father, mother, brother and sister help, me in their own way., His First Flight About the author
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Liam O ‘Flaherty (1896-1984) was an Irish novelist and short-story writer. His stories are, interesting because they contain a psychological insight into life’s problems and the way, to solve them., His First Flight Summary in English, There was a family of sea-gulls. It consisted of six members-father, mother, three, brothers and one sister. All the children had started flying except one. He was afraid to, fly because he thought that his wings would never support him. All effort made by his, parents to make him fly failed. At first he fed himself on the dried pieces of fish. Then, there was nothing to eat. He felt terribly hungry. The whole family flew away. He was left, alone on the rock. He saw his mother tearing and eating a fish. Taking pity on her child,, she flew towards him carrying a piece of fish in her beak. As she came near the rock, she became motionless in the air. The young seagull was mad with hunger. He dived at, the piece of fish. He made his way in space without opening his wings. He heard the, swish of his mother’s wings. This situation lasted for a moment. Soon his wings opened, and he started to fly easily. He flapped his wings and started curvetting, soaring,, banking and diving without any fear. The entire family became very happy., His First Flight Summary in Malayalam
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His First Flight Glossary
