NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight
Chapter 1 A Letter to God
Updated For 2024-2025
Exams
Thinking about the Text
Q.1: Who does Lencho have complete
faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Answer:
Lencho has complete faith in God. The sentences that reflect this are:
- “In the hearts of all who
lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a
single hope: help from God.” - “All through the night,
Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he
had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one’s
conscience.” - “God,” he wrote,
“if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this
year.”
Q.2: Why does the postmaster send money
to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Answer:
The postmaster was touched by Lencho’s strong faith in God and didn’t want to
shake that faith. He collected money from his employees and friends, adding
some of his own, to help Lencho. He signed the letter as ‘God’ to maintain
Lencho’s belief that the help came directly from God.
Q.3: Did Lencho try to find out who had
sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Answer:
No, Lencho did not try to find out who sent the money. He had absolute faith in
God and believed the money came directly from Him, without considering any
human involvement.
Q.4: Who does Lencho think has taken
the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation?
Answer:
Lencho believes that the post office employees took the remaining money. The
irony is that the very people who worked hard to collect the money to help
Lencho are the ones he accuses of stealing. Instead of being grateful, he
suspects them of dishonesty.
Q.5: Are there people like Lencho in
the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select
appropriate words from the box to answer the question.
(Greedy, naive, stupid, ungrateful, selfish, comical, unquestioning)
Answer:
Yes, there are people like Lencho in the real world. Lencho can be described as
naive and unquestioning because he believed completely in divine
intervention without considering human efforts. He can also be considered ungrateful,
as instead of appreciating the help he received, he accused others of
wrongdoing.
Q.6: There are two kinds of conflict in
the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are
these conflicts illustrated?
Answer:
The conflict between humans and nature is shown when Lencho’s crops are
destroyed by a hailstorm, a natural calamity that devastates his livelihood.
The conflict between humans themselves is reflected in Lencho’s belief
that the post office employees stole part of the money, despite their
charitable actions in trying to help him.
Thinking about Language
Q.1: There are different names in
different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Can you
match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the
blanks?
(gale, whirlwind, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, typhoon)
- A violent tropical storm in which
strong winds move in a circle: Cyclone - An extremely strong wind: Gale
- A violent tropical storm with very
strong winds: Typhoon - A violent storm whose center is a
cloud in the shape of a funnel: Tornado - A violent storm with very strong
winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane - A very strong wind that moves very
fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: Whirlwind
Q.2: Notice how the word ‘hope’ is used
in these sentences from the story:
(a) I hope
it (the hailstorm) passes quickly.
(b) There was a single hope: help from God.
In the first
sentence, ‘hope’ is a verb meaning you wish for something to happen. In the
second, it is a noun meaning a chance for something to happen.
Now match the
sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B:
Column A
- Will you get the subjects you want
to study in college?
Answer: I hope so. – Wanting something to happen (and
thinking it quite possible). - I hope you don’t mind my saying
this, but I don’t like the way you are arguing.
Answer: I hope you don’t mind – Showing concern that what
you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being
polite. - This discovery will give new hope
to HIV/AIDS sufferers.
Answer: Give new hope – A feeling that something good will
probably happen. - We were hoping against hope that
the judges would not notice our mistakes.
Answer: Hoping against hope – Wishing for something to
happen, although this is very unlikely. - I called early in the hope of
speaking to her before she went to school.
Answer: In the hope of – Thinking that this would happen (It
may or may not have happened). - Just when everybody had given up
hope, the fishermen came back, seven days after the cyclone.
Answer: Given up hope – Stopped believing that this good
thing would happen.
Q.3: Join the sentences given below
using who, whom, whose, which, as suggested.
- I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is
the commercial capital of India. (which)
Answer: I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of
India. - My mother is going to host a TV
show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)
Answer: My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV
show on cooking. - These sportspersons are going to
meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)
Answer: These sportspersons, whose performance has been
excellent, are going to meet the President. - Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see
into our minds. (whose)
Answer: Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds. - This man cheated me. I trusted
him. (whom)
Answer: This is the man whom I trusted and who cheated me.
Q.4: Find sentences in the story with
negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically.
- The trees lost all their leaves.
Answer: Not a leaf remained on the trees. - The letter was addressed to God
himself.
Answer: It was nothing less than a letter to God. - The postman saw this address for
the first time in his career.
Answer: Never in his career as a postman had he known that
address.
Q.5: In pairs, find metaphors from the
story to complete the table below. Try to say what qualities are being
compared.
|
Object |
Metaphor |
Quality or |
|
Clouds |
Huge mountains |
The mass or hugeness of mountains |
|
Raindrops |
New coins |
The value of water to the farmer |
|
Hailstones |
Frozen pearls |
Preciousness of the stones |
|
Locusts |
A plague of locusts |
Complete destruction caused by |
|
Lencho |
An ox of a man |
Strength and hard work like an ox |