Q1. [5]
He felt certain that his wings would never support him; so he bent his head and ran away back to the little hole under the ledge where he slept at night. Even when each of his brothers and his little sister, whose wings were far shorter than his own, ran to the brink, flapped their wings, and flew away, he failed to muster up courage to take that plunge which appeared to him so desperate. His father and mother had come around calling to him shrilly, upbraiding him, threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away. But for the life of him he could not move.
Read the following extracts and answer the questions for any one of the given two, (a) or (b):
- (i) State any one inference about the parents of the baby seagull from the given statement.
"His father and mother had come around calling to him shrilly, upbraiding him, threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away." [1]
- (ii) Where did the little seagull sleep at night? [1]
- (iii) Which factors contributed to the young seagull's reluctance to fly despite the encouragement and threats from his parents? Elaborate in about 40 words, with reference to the extract. [2]
- (iv) Which phrase or word would correctly substitute 'muster up' in the given sentence from the extract?
He failed to 'muster up' courage to take that plunge which appeared to him so desperate. [1]
- (A) review
- (B) resolve
- (C) distribute
- (D) gather
Previously asked in CBSE board exam
2025 2/2/1 Q6 (a)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:18 · grounding stimulus+chapter
Model Answer
(i) The parents were concerned yet strict — they wanted the young seagull to fly by any means, even threatening to starve him, showing they were both caring and tough in pushing him towards independence.
(ii) The little seagull slept at night in a little hole under the ledge.
(iii) The young seagull was reluctant to fly due to two main reasons: first, he was convinced his wings would never support his weight in the air. Second, the act of leaping off the ledge seemed utterly desperate and terrifying to him. Even watching his siblings — with shorter wings — fly successfully could not overcome his deep-rooted fear and self-doubt.
(iv) (D) gather
Source: Two Stories about Flying – His First Flight
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Explanation
- (i) Any valid inference about the parents earns the mark — focus on their tone (shrill, upbraiding) and motivation (want him to fly). Don't just quote; infer.
- (ii) Lift the answer directly from the extract: "little hole under the ledge." One line is enough for 1 mark.
- (iii) Two factors must be identified for 2 marks: (a) belief that his wings couldn't support him, and (b) the plunge seeming desperate/frightening. Stay within the extract; ~40 words is the target.
- (iv) "Muster up courage" = gather courage. 'Gather' is the closest synonym. 'Resolve' is tempting but means to decide, not accumulate — 'gather' fits best as a direct substitute.
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