WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 8 His First Flight
WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 8 His First Flight
West Bengal Board 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 8 His First Flight
WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions
Introduction
About the Author: Liam O’Flaherty (1896-1984) was a significant Irish novelist and short story writer and a major figure in the Irish literary renaissance. His most famous books include “The Informer’, ‘Return of the Brute’, ‘House of Gold’, etc. ‘His First Flight’, a short story which symbolizes the nervousness one experiences before doing something new, is regarded as one of his most famous works. The following text, an abridged version of this short story, is about a young seagull and his experience of learning how to fly. The story focuses on how fear must be conquered before one may achieve anything of significance like the young seagull, who had to be brave in order to fly.
Liam O’Flaherty was born in 1896 in a small village, on one of the Aran Islands in Galway. In 1908, at the age of twelve, he went to Rockwell College, and then went on to study at Holy Cross College and University College, Dublin. He did not attend the first two schools for long. O’Flaherty initially intended to join the priesthood, but in 1917 he left school to join the Irish Guards. He was injured on the Western Front, and some believe that shell shock might have been responsible for his mental illness, which became apparent when he suffered the first of two mental breakdowns in 1933.
After the war O’Flaherty left Ireland and moved to the United States, where he lived in Hollywood for a short time. He also travelled across the United States and Europe, and the letters he wrote during his wanderings were later published. Many of O’Flaherty’s works of fiction have common themes of nature and Ireland; some of his best short stories were written in Irish. In 1923, O’Flaherty published his first novel, ‘Thy Neighbour’s Wife’. He died in Dublin in 1984, at the age of 88.
SUMMARY AND CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE STORY
‘His First Flight’ is a beautiful abridged version of the story giving us some exciting situations. It is a simple but lively story. Everyone on this earth must learn many a thing for the first time in life. Life is an adventure, Some can take it bravely, some cannot. But to do something positively, fear must be overcome. Here such an experience of a young seagull is narrated.
The young seagull is fearful about flying as the sky is endless and below, the sea is far down and again endless. His brothers and sister, however, have already adapted the art. They have started to collect their own food bit by bit. But until now the young seagull had to depend on his parents to get his food. The parents know very well what is urgent for the young one. It is not to provide him food but to inspire him to fly. Life for future is one of struggle.
When hunger becomes intolerable, the young seagull cries loudly to attract the attention of his parents. The mother notices it. She takes a fish and flies towards him. This is a moment of real jubilation for him. Surprisingly, the mother comes closer to him but never reaches. Out of excessive excitement and hunger, the young seagull loses his fear for a moment and dives for the food in the mother’s beak. He finds himself in the midst of space falling downward towards the endless sea. Now he has no other option but to fly. He starts his efforts and gets success then and there. His jubilation knows no bound. It is not for the food but for the adventure of freedom he gets for the first time.
Thus the young seagull is a matter of inspiration for everyone of us. We all must take risks in life to get success.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Tick (√) the correct answer from the given alternatives:
1. At night the seagull slept in a little—
A. nest
B. hole
C. turret
D. burrow
2. The ledge faced the —
A. north
B. south
C. east
D. west
3. The colour of the seagull’s body was —
A. red
B. black
C. blue
D. grey
4. The two brothers and sisters of the seagull were lying on the —
A. plain
B. plateau
C. valley
D. hill
5. The mother seagull had picked up a piece of —
A. meat
B. insect
C. fish
D. straw
6. On the ledge the young seagull was —
A. with his mother
B. with his brother
C. lonely
D. with other birds
7. His two brothers and sister had flown away —
A. yesterday
B. one hour ago
C. two days before
D. the week before
8. The young seagull did not fly because —
A. he was weak
B. he feared to take venture
C. his wings had not supported him
D. he was busy eating something
9. The young seagull could not go with his brothers and the sister to the plateau because —
A. he did not know how to fly
B. he wanted to have further training of flying
C. his siblings were jealous
D. his mother assured him to give a herring
10. Reaching the brink of the ledge, the young seagull was afraid because —
A. he was nervous by nature
B. he had no confidence on his wings
C. the sea below was vast
D. he saw a monster there
11. The calls of young seagull’s parents were —
A. sweet
B. low
C. indifferent
D. shrill
12. The previous day the young seagull did not respond to his parent’s call because —
A. he had to risk his life then
B. his brothers forbade him to fly
C. he was not interested to catch fish
D. he did not love his parents
13. The young seagull had —
A. one brother and one sister
B. two brothers and one sister
C. one brother and two sisters
D. two brothers and two sisters
14. When the older brother caught the fish his parents were-
A. sleeping
B. proud
C. sitting
D. watching
15. The young seagull’s brothers and sister were taught the art of flying by —
A. their parents
B. a good trainer
C. a herring
D. the young seagull
16. The young seagull’s older brother caught his first —
A. herring
B. gold fish
C. quill fish
D. salmon
17. The young seagull had not eaten since the previous nightfall because —
A. he had a stomach problem
B. his parents forbade him to take food
C. he felt depressed
D. there was no food in the nest
18. The young seagull was starving —
A. for two days
B. for a long time
C. from his birth
D. from the previous night
19. The young seagull felt the heat of the sun more, because —
A. he was hungry
B. it was the hottest day of the year
C. the sun was blazing warmly
D. he did not have much feathers on his back
20. The back of the young seagull’s father was —
A. grey
B. black
C. white
D. mixed
21. The young seagull trotted to and fro on the ledge when —
A. he thought of reaching his parents
B.. he planned to meet his brothers and sister
C. he knew how to fly
D. he was playing hide and seek
22. When the young seagull was standing on his one leg, the other leg was—
A. hidden in the hole
B. missing
C. hidden under his belly
D. hidden under his wing
23. To draw the attention of his parents, the young seagull pretended first —
A. to fall asleep
B. to fly like a fly
C. to cry bitterly
D. to play with straw
24. The seagull’s father was-
A. dozing
B. lying
C. standing
D. preening
25. Mother was standing on a —
A. hump
B. hill
C. hedge
D. sea
26. The sight of the food made the young seagull —
A. angry
B. wild
C. mad
D. modest
27. The young seagull fell from the Tedge —
A. silently
B. fearlessly
C. screamingly
D. happily
28. While falling from the ledge the young seagull’s terror lasted —
A. for an hour
B. for a moment
C. for a couple of hours
D. for a week
29. After his first flight, the young seagull was taught —
A. landing on the sea floor
B. how to eat
C. how to build a nest
D. how to dive into the sea
30. The young seagull was soaring gradually —
A. inwards and outwards
B. upwards and downwards
C. downwards and outwards
D. upwards and outwards
Answer the following questions
1. What was the first catch of the seagull’s older brother?
Ans. The seagull’s older brother’s first catch was a herring.
2. Why did the seagull feel the heat?
Ans. The seagull felt the heat because he had not eaten since the previous nightfall.
3. Why did the seagull dive at the fish?
Ans. The seagull dived at the fish because he was mad with hunger.
4. What happened when the seagull soared upwards?
Ans. The seagull uttered a joyous scream and flapped the wings again.
5. Why was the young seagull unable to fly?
Ans. The young seagull feared that his wings would never support him.
6. Who were beckoning to the young seagull?
Ans. The young seagull’s parents and his brothers and sister were beckoning to him.
7. What was the false notion that discouraged the young seagull to fly?
Ans. The young seagull feared that his wings would not support him flying.
8. Where did the young seagull sleep at night ?
Ans. At night the young seagull slept in a little hole.
9. How much food was there in the young seagull’s nest?
Ans. There was not even a scrap of food in it.
10. What did the young seagull pretend?
Ans. Closing eyes one after another the young seagull pretended to be falling asleep.
11. Describe the sea in a sentence.
Ans. The sea was vast and green with a smooth surface.
12. Where were brothers and sister of the seagull lying?
Ans. Brothers and sister of the young seagull were lying on a plateau.
13. What for did the young seagull cry ge, ga, ga’?
Ans. Thus he requested his mother to bring some food.
14. Who accompanied the young seagull on the ledge?
Ans. None accompanied the young seagull on the ledge.
15. What were the parents teaching the young seagull’s brothers and sister?
Ans. The parents were teaching them the art of flight and how to dive for fish.
16. Why could the young seagull not move towards his parents ?
Ans. The young seagull could not do so because it would risk his life.
17. What did the young seagull do when his parents called him?
Ans. When his parents called him, the young seagull gave a joyful scream.
18. Why did the young seagull trot back and forth on the ledge?
Ans. Thus he tried to reach his parents without flying.
19. How was the first success of the young seagull’s older brother appreciated?
Ans. His parents appreciated it by circling round him proudly.
20. How were the brothers and the sister of the young seagull dozing?
Ans. The young seagull’s brothers and sister sunk their heads into their wings while dozing.
21. What was the young seagull’s first reaction when he fell from the ledge?
Ans. At first he was so terrorized that his heart stood still.
22. What did the mother seagull do when she reached just opposite to the young one?
Ans. The mother seagull halted there by keeping her wings motionless.
23. Why was the seagull afraid when he ran forward to the brink of the ledge?
Ans. When he ran forward to the brink of the ledge, he became afraid of falling into the sea below. He thought his wings would never support him.
24. What were the seagull’s two brothers and sister doing on the plateau?
Ans. The seagull’s two brothers and sister were lying on the plateau. They were dozing there, with their heads sunk into their wings. [শঙ্খচিলের দুই ভাই ও বোন মালভূমির ওপর শুয়েছিল। তারা ডানার মধ্যে মাথা ঢুকিয়ে দিয়ে সেখানে ঝিমোচ্ছিল।]
25. What happened after the seagull’s feet sank into the sea?
Ans. When the seagull’s feet sank into the sea, his belly touched the water but he sank no further. He was then floating on the sea.
26. Why was the young seagull alone on the ledge?
Ans. The young seagull was alone on the ledge because his parents, two brothers and a sister had flown away the day before.
27. What did the young seagull watch the day before?
Ans. The day before the young seagull watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister. They were teaching them the art of flight and dive.
28. How did the young seagull stand after coming out slowly at the brink of the ledge?
Ans. Coming out slowly at the brink of the ledge the young seagull stood on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing.
29. What did the frightened seagull do, being unable to fly?
Ans. Being unable to fly, the frightened seagull bent his head and ran away back to the little hole where he slept at night.
30. While looking at the young seagull what was his mother doing?
Ans. While looking at the young seagull, his mother was standing on a little high hump on the plateau, eating a piece of fish.
31. How did the young seagull land on the green sea?
Ans. The young seagull dropped his legs to stand on the green sea. His feet sank into it. His belly touched the water surface. He sank no more but floated.
Complete the following sentences with information from the text:
1. The young seagull was alone on his ledge because……………………
Ans. The young seagull was alone on his ledge because his two brothers and sister had already flown away the day before.
2. The young seagull became afraid when…………………….
Ans. The young seagull became afraid when he ran forward to the brink of the ledge.
3. At first, the young seagull felt certain that……………………
Ans. At first, the young seagull felt certain that his wings would never support him.
4. The thing that would never support the seagull were …………………………..
Ans. The thing that would never support the seagull were his wings.
5. At night the seagull slept in……………………….
Ans. At night the seagull slept in a little hole.
6. Seagull’s parents had come around………………………………
Ans. Seagull’s parents had come around calling to him shrilly.
7. In the seagull’s family there were …………………… members.
Ans. In the seagull’s family there were six members.
8. For long twenty-four hours………………………………
Ans. For long twenty-four hours nobody had come near him.
9. Without having to fly, the young seagull wanted………………………….
Ans. Without having to fly, the young seagull wanted to reach his parents.
10. The young seagull fell with a loud scream…………………………….
Ans. The young seagull fell with a loud scream outwards and downwards into space. [প্রচণ্ড চিৎকার করে বাচ্চা শঙ্খচিল পড়ল বাইরের দিকে এবং নীচের দিকে মহাশূন্যের মধ্যে।]
11. Terror seized him and his heart stood still as he………………………………
Ans. Terror seized him and his heart stood still as he fell outwards and downwards into space.
12. The young seagull was no longer afraid because……………………………
Ans. The young seagull was no longer afraid because now he could fly on his own and float on the sea water.
State True or False. Write ‘T for ‘True’ and ‘F’ for False
1. The young seagull was the only child of his parents.
Ans. F
2. The young seagull used to sleep in a large cave at night.
Ans. F
3. The first catch of the young seagull’s elder brother was a herring.
Ans. T
4. The young seagull had been starving for three days.
Ans. F
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