Stories About Flying — Class 10 MCQs with Answers

Stories About Flying — important questions & MCQs with answers (Class 10 English)

6 solved questions from this chapter's difficulty levels, each with its answer and explanation. Tap an option to check yourself.

0 of 6 answered

1. Q1 of 6Easy

   What had the young seagull seen his older brother catch and devour?

   AA small green crabBA piece of dog-fishCHis first herringDA tiny silver eel
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   Answer: His first herring

   Explanation: He had seen his older brother 'catch his first herring and devour it, standing on a rock'.

2. Q2 of 6Easy

   What aeroplane was the narrator of The Black Aeroplane flying?

   AA helicopterBA gliderCAn old DakotaDA jet fighter
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   Answer: An old Dakota

   Explanation: The narrator says, 'I was flying my old Dakota aeroplane over France back to England.'

3. Q3 of 6Medium

   What do the two stories have in common besides flying?

   AEach is set during a war between two countriesBEach is narrated by the bird who flies in itCEach ends with the death of the main characterDEach turns on a moment when fear must be overcome
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   Answer: Each turns on a moment when fear must be overcome

   Explanation: The pairing is thematic, not circumstantial.

4. Q4 of 6Medium

   Which of the two stories is told in the first person?

   ANeither of the twoBThe Black AeroplaneCHis First FlightDBoth of the stories
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   Answer: The Black Aeroplane

   Explanation: The narrator of The Black Aeroplane is the pilot himself, telling the story as 'I'.

5. Q5 of 6Hard

   Why does the story give the seagull's family so much presence?

   AIt explains where the fish came fromBTheir scolding and ease sharpen his isolationCThey are the real subject of the storyDIt shows that seagulls live in large colonies
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   Answer: Their scolding and ease sharpen his isolation

   Explanation: He is alone in the middle of a family, which is worse than being alone.

6. Q6 of 6Hard

   What was strange about the second pilot in the storm?

   AHe was a friend from the narrator's own squadronBHe landed beside him and shook handsCHe shouted directions over the radioDHe guided the pilot, yet no other plane was on radar
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   Answer: He guided the pilot, yet no other plane was on radar

   Explanation: Air controller saw no second plane on radar — eerie mystery.

Stories About Flying notes: key concepts (Class 10 English)

Two stories set against each other: Liam O'Flaherty's 'His First Flight', where a young seagull will not leave his ledge, and Frederick Forsyth's 'The Black Aeroplane', where a pilot follows a lightless plane out of a storm. They are paired so you can compare them — and that comparison is what the long answers ask for.

His First Flight — the situation

The young seagull has been alone on his ledge for twenty-four hours. His three siblings — two brothers and a sister — have already flown.

Why he goes hungry

He is afraid to fly, and cannot reach the food the others get. His parents scold him and threaten to let him starve on the ledge.

What finally moves him

His mother carries a piece of fish towards him and stops just out of reach. Hunger, not courage, takes him off the ledge — and the flight happens in the falling.

The ending

He comes to rest on the green sea, with his family gathered around him. The story closes completely: the fear is resolved.

The Black Aeroplane — the situation

The narrator is flying an old Dauphin from Paris towards England at half past one in the morning, eager to get home for a holiday with his family.

The storm

The storm clouds look like black mountains standing across the sky — something solid blocking his path. He flies into them rather than turning back.

What fails

Inside the clouds the compass and the radio both fail, so he loses his direction and his contact with the ground at the same moment.

The black aeroplane

It has no lights on its wings — the first strange thing about it. He follows it for about half an hour, by which time his fuel is nearly gone, and it leads him to a runway.

The unexplained ending

The woman in the control room says no other plane was flying that night. The story refuses to resolve, and that refusal is the point.

How the two fears differ

The seagull fears something untried; the pilot fears the consequence of a choice he has already made. One has never flown, the other flew into the storm.

The shared theme

Fear is overcome by acting, not by waiting to feel brave. Both protagonists move while still afraid.

Help offered, not given

The mother withholds the fish; the black aeroplane only leads. Neither carries the protagonist, so each must still act for himself — which is what makes the achievement his.

Narration

'The Black Aeroplane' is first person, so we inhabit the pilot's fear; the seagull's story is third person, so we watch him from outside and see his family's impatience alongside his terror.