Dear students, recently, CBSE announced that they would gradually revise the question pattern in the upcoming examinations for almost all subjects, including English. They declared that from now on, at least 50% of the total questions would be multiple-choice based questions (MCQs). Based on this decision of the board, we have decided to conduct sessions discussing model MCQs as per the guidelines.
Based on our decision, we have started this series of Model MCQ sessions based on class 10 English syllabus. Our today’s session will focus on MCQs exclusively based on English, chapter 3, ‘Two stories about flying’.
Two Stories About Flying Short Summary
The chapter contains two stories about ‘flying,’ as the name suggests. Let’s start with the first story first. ‘His first flight’, written by Liam O’ Flaherty, talks about a young seagull who is alone on his ledge. His two brothers and sister have already learnt to fly and flown away a day before. He has been afraid to fly with them. He tried to fly, but the vast expanse of sea that stretched beneath him for miles made him nervous. He didn’t have the courage to fly. His parents had been calling him, scolding him, threatening to leave him starving, but he wouldn’t move.
It has been twenty-four hours, and his family hasn’t come to visit him. His parents were busy teaching his siblings how to fly and catch fish all day long. Now, with hunger making him uneasy, he goes to the brink of the ledge and pretends to fall asleep. Sadly, neither his siblings nor his father pays any attention. However, he sees his mother standing on a slightly high hump of the plateau, looking at him and tearing at a fish that lies at her feet. He couldn’t control himself any longer and begged her to bring him some food.
After a moment, he saw her flying towards him with a piece of fish. He was overjoyed and excitedly tapped at the rock, trying to get nearer to her. But the moment the mother reached near him, she halted in the air, the piece of fish in her beak within his reach. He was surprised for a moment but maddened with hunger, he dived at the fish. He fell from the ledge and was seized in fear, not knowing what was going to happen. But soon, he felt his wings spread outwards. He was flying. He was no longer afraid, and his family joined him on his first flight.
Soon, he saw a vast green sea beneath him. His family landed on it and asked him to do the same. As his feet touched the green sea, he began to sink. Frightened, he tried to fly away. But he was too tired and couldn’t rise. He noticed that he didn’t sink completely, his body was floating on the surface. His family was cheering for him, praising him, offering him scraps of dogfish for having completed his first flight.
The second story, titled ‘The Black Aeroplane’, is written by Frederick Forsyth. It is about a man flying from Paris, back to his family in England. Everything is going well and he is joyful thinking about having a big English breakfast. However, soon, he sees huge storm clouds in front of him. He doesn’t have enough fuel to fly around the storm and he cannot fly above it as well. He thinks of flying back to Paris but his desire to get home fast and have a good breakfast wins. He decides to take the risk and flies straight into the storm.
Inside, everything is dark and his instruments stop responding. As he begins to feel lost, he sees a black Aeroplane approaching him. The pilot asks the narrator to follow him and the narrator obeys. After half an hour, the narrator sees that he has only enough fuel left for five to ten more minutes of flight. As he begins to feel afraid, the black Aeroplane leads him to an airport runway. Surprisingly, he cannot see the black aeroplane anymore. After landing, he goes to the control tower to ask about this location and about the black Aeroplane, so that he could thank the pilot.
However, the woman in the tower replies that the only plane flying that night was his and she couldn’t see any other on the radar.
Two Stories About Flying MCQs With Answers
- Who wrote the story, ‘His first flight’?
A. Liam O’ Flaherty
B. Frederick Forsyth
C. Robert Frost
D. Rudyard Kipling
Answer: A. Liam O’ Flaherty
2. Who wrote the story, ‘the black aeroplane’?
A. Liam O’ Flaherty
B. Frederick Forsyth
C. Robert Frost
D. Rudyard Kipling
Answer: B. Frederick Forsyth
3. What does a ‘ledge’ mean?
A.Top of the roof
B. A narrow horizontal surface projecting from a wall, cliff, or other surfaces.
C. Side of the door
D. Top of a mountain or hill
Answer: B. A narrow horizontal surface projecting from a wall, cliff or another surface.
4. How many brothers and sisters did the seagull have?
A.Two brothers and one sister
B. One brother and two sisters
C. Three brothers and one sister
D. One brother and three sister
Answer: A. Two brothers and one sister
5. What did the seagull see as he stood on the ledge?
A. A great expanse of sea
B. Huge fishes swimming in the sea
C. Different types of birds
D. An iceberg
Answer: A. A great expanse of sea
6. What was the seagull afraid of?
A. Afraid of swimming
B. Afraid of catching fishes
C. Afraid of going out in the cold
D. Afraid of flying
Answer: D. Afraid of flying
7. Why was the seagull afraid of flying?
A. He had small wings
B. He thought his wings would never support him
C. He saw his siblings fall while trying to fly
D. He was weak
Answer: B. He thought his wings would never support him.
8. What does the term ‘upbraiding’ mean?
A. Braided hair
B. Scolding
C. Upstream
D. Travelling
Answer: B. Scolding
9. What fish did the seagull’s elder brother catch?
A. Mackerel
B. Sardines
C. Herring
D. Anchovies
Answer: C. Herring
10. What is a ‘herring’?
A. A soft-finned sea fish
B. A fatty river fish
C. A type of ring
D. A type of sea bird
Answer: A. A soft-finned sea fish
11. What does ‘to skim’ mean?
A. To move lightly just above a surface
B. To move along lightly
C. To jump from one place to another
D. To swim across a sea
Answer: A. To move lightly just above a surface
12. What is the meaning of the word ‘cackle’?
A. A loud, harsh cry
B. A loud, harsh laugh
C. A funny laugh
D. A shrill cry
Answer: B. A loud, harsh laugh
13. What direction does the seagull’s ledge face?
A. North
B. South
C. East
D. West
Answer: B. South
14. As the hungry seagull pretended to be falling asleep, who took notice of him?
A. His father
B. His brother
C. His mother
D. His sister
Answer: C. His mother
15. What did the mother do as the hungry seagull pretended to be falling asleep?
A. She looked at him, tore at a piece of fish, and scraped her beak
B. She looked at him in anger
C. She ignored him
D. She went to feed his siblings
Answer: A. She looked at him, tore at a piece of fish, and scraped her beak
16. What is the meaning of ‘whet’?
A. Wait
B. Water
C. Wet
D. Sharpening a blade or beak
Answer: D. Sharpening a blade or beak
17. Why did the sight of food madden the seagull?
A.He didn’t like the food
B. He hated the smell of fish
C. He was very hungry
D. He was angry about being ridiculed
Answer: C. He was very hungry
18. What does the word ‘preening’ mean?
A. Removing scales from a fish
B. Birds tidying and cleaning their feathers with their beak
C. Birds cleaning their beak by scraping them on rocks
D. Removing the insides of fishes
Answer: B. Birds tidying and cleaning their feathers with their beak.
19. What does ‘derisively’ mean?
A. In an angry manner
B. In a joking manner
C. In a ridiculing manner
D. In a joyful manner
Answer: C. In a ridiculing manner
20. Why did the mother seagull halt in the air instead of bringing the fish to her son?
A. To encourage him to dive in and fly
B. To punish him
C. To ridicule him for being a coward
D. To make him starve
Answer: A. To encourage him to dive in and fly
21. What does ‘curveting’ mean?
A. Flying in circles
B. Leaping like a horse
C. Falling downwards
D. Stopping mid-air
Answer: B. Leaping like a horse
22. What does ‘banking’ mean concerning the flight of birds?
A. Flying with one wing higher than the other
B. Stopping at river banks
C. Stopping mid-air
D. Flying along river banks
Answer: A. Flying with one wing higher than the other
23. What happened when the seagull landed on the green sea?
A. He sank to the bottom
B. His feet sank but he started to float
C. He couldn’t stand and flew away
D. He could stand on it
Answer: B. His feet sank but he started to float.
24. What did his family offer the seagull as a reward for making his first flight?
A. A herring
B. Scraps of mackerel
C. Scraps of dogfish
D. Scraps of dog
Answer: C. Scraps of dogfish
25. In the story, ‘the black aeroplane’, the moon was rising from which direction?
A. North
B. South
C. East
D. West
Answer: C. East
26. Where was the narrator going to in his old Dakota aeroplane?
A. England, to his family
B. Paris, to his family
C. England, to his friends
D. France, to his friends
Answer: A. England, to his family
27. What command did the Paris control room give to the narrator at the beginning of the story?
A. To turn twelve degrees west
B. To turn fourteen degrees west
C. To switch to his second fuel tank
D. To land in Paris
Answer: A. To turn twelve degrees west
28. Paris was how far behind when the narrator saw the storm clouds?
A. 100 km
B. 120 km
C. 150 km
D. 300 km
Answer: C. 150 km
29. Why didn’t the narrator fly around the storm clouds?
A. He didn’t have enough fuel
B. He didn’t know the way
C. His compass was dead
D. His radio was dead
Answer: A. He didn’t have enough fuel
30. Why didn’t the narrator fly back to Paris when he saw the storm clouds in front?
A. He wanted to get home fast and have English breakfast
B. He didn’t have enough fuel
C. His compass was dead
D. His radio was dead
Answer: A. He wanted to get home fast and have English breakfast
31. What did the narrator decide to do when he saw the storm clouds?
A. To fly back to Paris
B. To go around the clouds
C. He flew straight into the storm
D. He looked for a nearby runway
Answer: C. He flew straight into the storm
32. What happened when the narrator flew into the storm?
A. Lightning struck his aeroplane
B. His compass and other instruments stopped working
C. The Paris control asked him to turn South
D. The Paris control asked him to turn West
Answer: B. His compass and other instruments stopped working
33. Who came to show the narrator a way out in the storm?
A. A fighter plane
B. A rescue plane
C. A black aeroplane
D. A blue aeroplane
Answer: C. A black aeroplane
34. How long did the narrator follow the black aeroplane?
A. 10 mins
B. 20 mins
C. 30 mins
D. 45 minutes
Answer: C. 30 mins
35. Where did the black aeroplane lead the narrator to?
A. Paris
B. A field
C. An airport runway
D. A ship deck
Answer: C. An airport runway
36. What did the woman in the control room tell the narrator when he asked about the other plane?
A. She said there were no other planes on the radar except his old Dakota
B. She said there were many other aeroplanes
C. She said the radar wasn’t working accurately
D. She led him to the pilot of the black aeroplane
Answer: A. She said there were no other planes on the radar except his old Dakota
37. “I’ll take the risk.” What risk did the narrator want to take?
A. Find a different runway to land
B. Fly back to Paris
C. Go around the storm
D. Fly straight through the storm
Answer: D. Fly straight through the storm
38. Why did the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
A. He made a joke about the storm
B. He was angry at her for not helping him
C. He didn’t know where he wanted to go next
D. He asked her about another plane that guided him to the airport, but she couldn’t see any other plane on the radar except his.
Answer: D. He asked her about another plane that guided him to the airport, but she couldn’t see any other plane on the radar except his.
39. (The word ‘black’ can have different meanings depending on the context. Choose the correct meaning of ‘black’ for the sentences below)
Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black.
A. Your hands and face are dirty.
B. Your hands and face are dark in colour.
C. Your skin is dark.
D. Your hair is dark.
Answer: A. Your hands and face are dirty.
40. The taxi driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green.
A. A happy look.
B. An angry look.
C. The taxi driver was dark-skinned.
D. The taxi driver couldn’t see Ratan.
Answer: B. An angry look.
41. The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity.
A. Unfair, sad and shameful for humanity.
B. Bombed by people who were dark-skinned.
C. The day was dark and cloudy.
D. There was no sunlight.
Answer: A. Unfair, sad and shameful for humanity.
42. Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter’s black comedy.
A. Comedy portrayed by Black people.
B. A type of comedy in which tragic or distressing subject matter is dealt with in a humorous way.
C. Boring comedy
D. Humorous play
Answer: B. A type of comedy in which tragic or distressing subject matter is dealt with in a humorous way.
43. I prefer black tea.
A. I prefer tea without milk.
B. I prefer dark-coloured tea.
C. I prefer special tea that looks dark.
D. I prefer burnt tea.
Answer: A. I prefer tea without milk.
44. With increasing pollution the future of the world is black.
A.The future is dark and depressing.
B. The future is full of black smoke.
C. There will be less sunlight.
D. The sky will be full of black clouds.
Answer: A. The future is dark and depressing.
45. Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black.
A. Illegal and unfair market without regulations.
B. A black-coloured market.
C. A flea market.
D. A fair market.
Answer: A. Illegal and unfair market without regulations.
46. Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue.
A. Beating repeatedly until badly bruised.
B. Beating with black and blue coloured objects.
C. Turning the criminal black in colour.
D. Turning the criminal blue in colour.
Answer: A. Beating repeatedly until badly bruised.
47. (For the following sentences, choose the correct meaning of the word ‘fly’)
Fly a flag.
A. Move quickly/suddenly
B. Be successful
C. Display a flag on a long pole
D. Escape from a place
Answer: C. Display a flag on a long pole
48. Fly into a rage.
A. Move quickly/suddenly
B. Be successful
C. Display a flag on a long pole
D. Become suddenly very angry
Answer: D. Become suddenly very angry
49. Fly along.
A. Move quickly/suddenly
B. Be successful
C. Display a flag on a long pole
D. Escape from a place
Answer: A. Move quickly/suddenly
50. Fly high.
A. Move quickly/suddenly
B. Be successful
C. Display a flag on a long pole
D. Escape from a place
Answer: B. Be successful
51. Fly the coop.
A. Move quickly/suddenly
B. Be successful
C. Display a flag on a long pole
D. Escape from a place
Answer: D. Escape from a place
52. Choose the word that does not have a similar meaning to ‘fly’.
Set 1:
A. Soar
B. Hover
C. Sail
D. Descend
Answer: D. Descend
Set 2:
A. Float
B. Sink
C. Skim
D. Glide
Answer: B. Sink
Set 3:
A. Dart
B. Flutter
C. Swoop
D. Paddle
Answer: D. Try answering this question in the comment section below. To know the right answer to this question please join us on our Telegram channel.
These were our model MCQs based on the chapter, ‘Two Stories About Flying’. I hope that going through this session helped you gain an understanding of the question mentality and demand of CBSE. For your further help, you can download this entire session and store it as a PDF. Previously on our website, we have covered multiple sessions on MCQs exclusively focused on English Writing skills. Don’t forget to check those important sessions out on our site.
If you have liked this initiative and found the session useful, kindly leave a quick comment to let us know. Besides, if you want me to cover such MCQ sessions on any specific topic of English literature/language, please let us know that as well. To get the latest update about our upcoming sessions please join our telegram channel. Thank you for being with us. Wish you the very best of luck.
MCQs for CBSE Class 10 English with Answers First Flight Prose:
CHAPTER-1: A Letter To God MCQs
CHAPTER-2: Nelson Mandela MCQs
CHAPTER-3: Two Stories about Flying MCQs
CHAPTER-4: The Hundred Dresses – I
CHAPTER-5: The Hundred Dresses – II