Class 9 English — First Flight Chapter 3: Two Stories About Flying / How to Tell Wild Animals Previous Year Questions (2020–25)

Reading your textbook chapter multiple times creates a false sense of familiarity. You recognise phrases when you see them, but you don't know how to *apply* them under exam pressure. Past papers reverse this: they force you to extract key ideas quickly, write under time constraints, and discover gaps in your understanding before the board exam. For Chapter 3 specifically, examiners test four layers: 1. **Plot recall** — Can you summarise 'The Wright Brothers' Flying Machine' or 'Black Aeroplane'? 2. **Character analysis** — Why did Lala Lajpat Rai's decision matter? What drove the pilot in 'Black Aeroplane' to land? 3. **Poetic devices in 'How to Tell Wild Animals'** — Identify rhyme, rhythm, satire, and Hilaire Belloc's tone. 4. **Inference** — Why did the author include these stories together? What connects adventure and humour? Past papers compress all four layers into timed questions. Working 5–10 solved PYQs in sequence trains your brain to spot what matters: topic sentences, transitions, and evidence. You'll answer faster, write more clearly, and score higher. This guide gives you exactly that—no filler theory, just tested question patterns with full solutions.

1-mark questions test basic recall and require ONE sentence. Examiners test whether you've read the text and grasped the core event or detail. **Q1: Who designed the first successful aeroplane?** *Ans:* The Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur Wright) designed the first successful aeroplane that flew at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on 17 December 1903. **Q2: What is the nationality of the pilot in 'The Black Aeroplane'?** *Ans:* The pilot is Indian (from Madhya Pradesh). He is flying a Dakota aeroplane in 1946, just after Indian independence. **Q3: Which animal does the poet warn is most dangerous in 'How to Tell Wild Animals'?** *Ans:* The poet warns that the Bengal Tiger is the most dangerous because its roar can be heard from far away, making it easy to identify. **Q4: Why did Lala Lajpat Rai decide to send his son abroad?** *Ans:* Lala Lajpat Rai sent his son abroad to study modern science and engineering, inspired by the Wright Brothers' achievement and the industrial progress of Western nations. **Q5: What is the rhyme scheme of the first stanza in 'How to Tell Wild Animals'?** *Ans:* The rhyme scheme is AABB (lines 1–2 rhyme as AA, lines 3–4 rhyme as BB). For example, 'face/place' and 'dear/fear' in the opening stanza.

3-mark questions ask for explanation, comparison, or character analysis. You need 3–4 sentences that include a statement, evidence from the text, and reasoning. **Q1: How do the two stories in Chapter 3 celebrate human courage? Explain with reference to at least one character.** *Ans:* Both stories celebrate different forms of courage. In 'The Wright Brothers', Orville and Wilbur showed mechanical courage—they risked failure, injury, and ridicule to achieve powered flight. Lala Lajpat Rai showed parental courage by believing in his son's dream and sending him abroad, despite societal norms. In 'The Black Aeroplane', the Indian pilot showed wartime courage—he flew his damaged Dakota through a thunderstorm, navigating by instinct and will, refusing to bail out over enemy territory. Each character chose action over fear, embodying the spirit of adventure. **Q2: Why is 'How to Tell Wild Animals' primarily a humorous poem rather than an educational one?** *Ans:* Hilaire Belloc's poem is humorous because it exaggerates and inverts expectations. The poet claims to offer practical advice—'How to tell a leopard' or 'How to tell a bear'—but the 'advice' is absurd and impossible. For example, he suggests you can identify a Bengal Tiger by its roar from far away, but by then you're already dead. The humour lies in the irony: the poem pretends to teach but actually mocks the reader's desire for a simple guide. Belloc's tone is tongue-in-cheek, using wit and satire rather than factual information. **Q3: Compare the ending of 'The Wright Brothers' Flying Machine' with 'The Black Aeroplane'. What do both endings suggest about human resilience?** *Ans:* Both endings affirm human resilience despite obstacles. The Wright Brothers' story ends with Lala Lajpat Rai's son studying abroad, fulfilling a dream born from seeing their achievement—this suggests inspiration leads to action and progress. The Black Aeroplane story ends with the Indian pilot landing safely, guided by the mysterious black aeroplane, and reuniting with fellow pilots—this suggests human determination and brotherhood overcome danger. Both endings are hopeful: they show that courage, planning, and belief in oneself result in survival and triumph. The Wright Brothers inspired nations; the pilot inspired hope in a time of war. **Q4: Identify and explain one instance of personification or metaphor in 'How to Tell Wild Animals'.** *Ans:* In 'How to Tell the Hyaena', the poet uses metaphor: 'his dewy eye' suggests the hyaena's eye is gentle and innocent like morning dew, contrasting with the animal's actual danger. This is deliberate irony—the hyaena *looks* harmless but is deadly. Another example is treating animals as characters with human qualities (personification), such as describing the leopard's spots as if they're deliberate fashion choices. These devices reinforce the poem's satirical tone: it pretends to humanise wild animals but actually exposes how unpredictable and dangerous they are. **Q5: What role does Lala Lajpat Rai play in connecting the two 'flying' stories to Indian nationalism and progress?** *Ans:* Lala Lajpat Rai represents the Indian intellectual who believes in modern science as a tool for national independence. After seeing the Wright Brothers' achievement, he is inspired to send his son to study engineering—a deliberate investment in India's technological future. This connects to 'The Black Aeroplane', where an Indian pilot, decades later, successfully flies a military aircraft, embodying the nation's growth. Both stories, through Lala Lajpat Rai's choice, suggest that embracing innovation and education is how post-colonial nations build strength and self-reliance. He is not just a character; he is a symbol of India's aspirational modernity.

5-mark questions require analysis, synthesis, or extended narrative explanation. You must provide introduction, evidence from text, and conclusion across 5–7 sentences. **Q1: Analyse the theme of 'adventure' in both stories. How does each story define courage or risk differently?** *Full Solution:* Adventure in Chapter 3 takes two forms: technological and personal. In 'The Wright Brothers', adventure is defined as the relentless pursuit of an impossible dream. The brothers spent years experimenting with engines, wings, and materials, risking failure and financial ruin. Their courage was methodical and scientific—they tested, failed, learned, and tried again. The story emphasises planning, collaboration, and patience. Lala Lajpat Rai's decision to send his son abroad mirrors this: he adventures into the unknown by believing his child can bridge Indian and Western knowledge. In contrast, 'The Black Aeroplane' defines adventure as immediate survival under extreme pressure. The Indian pilot faces a real threat—an engine fire, a thunderstorm, enemy territory—and must act instantly, relying on instinct and skill. His courage is reactive and heroic: he chooses to land safely rather than abandon the aircraft. While the Wright Brothers' adventure was about *creating* possibility, the pilot's adventure was about *surviving* reality. Together, these stories show that courage is not one thing—it is both patient innovation and bold decision-making, both calculated risk and instinctive bravery. Chapter 3 celebrates how individuals and nations progress by embracing both types of adventure. **Q2: How does Hilaire Belloc use language, structure, and tone to create humour in 'How to Tell Wild Animals'? Discuss with at least two examples from the poem.** *Full Solution:* Hilaire Belloc employs three techniques to craft satirical humour. First, *contradiction*: the poem claims to teach 'how to tell' dangerous animals as if providing practical advice, but each 'method' is absurd or self-defeating. For example, the poet advises: 'If your life is worth living, don't venture out in the sun / For the Bengal Tiger will eat you.'—by warning you about the tiger's roar from a distance, he admits you cannot escape. The contradiction between the title's promise and the content's impossibility is the joke. Second, *rhyme and rhythm*: the poem uses steady AABB rhyme and sing-song metre (as in 'Here is the briefest boast / Of the lion of the east'), which makes serious danger sound light and comical. The cheerful form clashes with morbid content, creating ironic humour. Third, *exaggeration and anthropomorphism*: Belloc describes animals as if they were characters in a drawing room. He notes the leopard has a 'pleasing' way of warning you before attacking, or that the hyaena's 'dewy eye' looks innocent—these human judgments are ridiculous when applied to wild animals, and readers laugh at the absurdity. Together, these devices show that Belloc's purpose is not education but entertainment—he mocks both the naïve reader who expects a survival guide and the pretension of Victorian naturalist writing. The humour invites readers to enjoy the absurd rather than fear the animals.

The CBSE restructured the board exam format from 2024–25 onwards. For English First Flight, key changes affect how Chapter 3 is tested: **Former Pattern (Pre-2024):** Multiple choice, short answer, and long answer were separate. Chapter 3 could be tested via isolated 1-mark, 3-mark, or 5-mark questions, sometimes without explicit focus on textual evidence. **Current Pattern (2024–25 onwards):** - **Reading Comprehension dominates:** Unseen passages (50% of Paper 1) test inference and analysis rather than textbook recall alone. - **Integrated skills:** A single question may ask you to compare Chapter 3 characters with an unseen text, or analyse language techniques across prose and poetry without explicit prompts. - **Application over recall:** Examiners now test whether you can *transfer* knowledge. For example: 'How would Lala Lajpat Rai's character respond to a modern dilemma about AI and education?' rather than 'Who was Lala Lajpat Rai?' - **Pointer-based marking:** Even 5-mark answers are marked via checkpoints. You must hit 4–5 specific content markers to score full marks; vague analysis loses points. **For Chapter 3 specifically:** Expect fewer pure plot-recall questions. Instead, predict essay-style questions like: 'Analyse how adventure narratives ('Two Stories About Flying') differ from verse satire ('How to Tell Wild Animals') in their approach to human behaviour.' Or: 'Extract three language techniques from 'How to Tell Wild Animals' and explain how each creates tone.' Prepare by linking both stories thematically and practising unseen passages on adventure, risk, and humour. Start a 3-day free trial at cbsetutor.ai to access guided analysis of new-pattern questions and real-time feedback.

Exam day demands speed, accuracy, and confidence. Use this three-step strategy when you encounter Chapter 3 questions: **Step 1: Decode the Question (30 seconds)** Identify the *type* (recall, explain, compare, analyse). Underline keywords. For 'Compare the ending of the two stories,' you must find parallels and differences. For 'Analyse tone in 'How to Tell Wild Animals',' you need evidence from language choices. This step prevents you from writing on the wrong topic. **Step 2: Plan Your Answer (1 minute for 3-mark, 2 minutes for 5-mark)** For 3-mark questions, write three bullet points: (1) topic sentence, (2) textual evidence, (3) explanation. For 5-mark questions, sketch an outline with introduction, two developed points with evidence, and conclusion. This skeleton takes 2 minutes but saves 5 minutes of rambling. **Step 3: Write and Link** Write in clear sentences, not fragments. Reference the text by title, character name, or quoted phrase (e.g., 'Lala Lajpat Rai's decision to send his son abroad shows...' or 'The Bengal Tiger verse mocks the reader by...'). Use connectors: 'This suggests...', 'Conversely...', 'As a result...' Examiners reward clarity and evidence; mark schemes rarely give full credit for vague answers. **Common mistakes to avoid:** - Retelling the plot instead of analysing it. (Wrong: 'The Wright Brothers made an aeroplane.' Right: 'The Wright Brothers' persistence despite repeated failure shows that innovation requires courage and experimentation.') - Forgetting to reference the poem or story title. (Always say 'In 'How to Tell Wild Animals'...' not 'In the poem...') - Confusing the two stories or mixing up character names. (Re-read the question to ensure you're discussing the correct text.) - Writing too much for 1-mark. (One sentence suffices; extra writing wastes time.) Practise this strategy with the 13 PYQs above. Time yourself: 1-mark in 1 minute, 3-mark in 5 minutes, 5-mark in 8 minutes. Speed + accuracy wins.

**'Two Stories About Flying':** - *The Wright Brothers*: Orville and Wilbur Wright, 1903, Kitty Hawk, persistence, experimentation, mechanical innovation. - *Lala Lajpat Rai*: Indian nationalist, inspired by the Wright Brothers, sends his son to study engineering in the West, symbol of India's embrace of modernity. - *The Black Aeroplane*: An Indian pilot (1946, post-independence), flies a damaged Dakota, navigates a thunderstorm, guided by a mysterious black aeroplane, returns safely, heroism under pressure. **Key themes:** Courage takes many forms (scientific, parental, martial). Nations progress through investment in education and innovation. Personal ambition and national aspiration are intertwined. **'How to Tell Wild Animals'** by Hilaire Belloc: - *Structure:* Six stanzas, each describing a different animal (Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Lion, Boa Constrictor, Hyaena). - *Form:* Rhyming couplets (AABB), regular rhythm (primarily iambic), creating a nursery-rhyme-like tone that contrasts with deadly content. - *Technique:* Satire (mocking the reader's desire for a survival guide), irony (the poem pretends to help but gives useless advice), personification (animals treated as characters), exaggeration. - *Tone:* Humorous, tongue-in-cheek, darkly comic. Belloc pokes fun at Victorian naturalists and human presumption. - *Central irony:* By the time you've identified the animal by the poet's method, you're already in danger. The poem's 'advice' is inherently flawed. **Examinable elements:** - Identify rhyme, rhythm, and poetic devices in context. - Explain how satire and irony function. - Compare Belloc's intent (entertainment) with the poem's surface (instruction). - Link both stories' themes to risk, ambition, and human nature. Use this summary to refresh your memory before sitting down to answer PYQs.