Class 10

Sub.- English
Book- First Flight
The chapter ‘Glimpses of India’ consists of three parts

1. A Baker from Goa by Lucio Rodrigues

2. Coorg by Lokesh Abrol
3. Tea from Assam by Arup Kumar Datta

The first part is a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker or pader who still has
an important place in Goan culture although the Portuguese have left India long the
back.
The second part is a pen-portrait of Coorg, which is a coffee country, famous for its
rain forests and spices.
The third part is about the tea plantations in Assam.

PART I A BAKER FROM GOA

Chapter Highlights

1. The Portuguese in Goa were lovers of bread.

2. Those eaters of bread have now gone but its makers still exist.
3. During the childhood days of the narrator, a baker used to be their friend,
companion and guide.
4. The baker came twice a day- once in the morning and again while returning home
after finishing his selling.
5. The jingling thud of the baker’s bamboo woke up the sleeping children.
6. The loaves were delivered to the servants of the house.
7. The children would peep into the baker’s basket for the bread bangles.
8. The children would eat bread with hot tea.
9. The marriages were incomplete without the popular bol bread.
10. Bolinhas was a must during Christmas and all other festivals.
11. The bakers wore a particular knee length frock known as kabai.
12. Baking was a profitable profession. Bakers had a plump physique testifying to this.
13. The bakers collected their bills at the end of the month.

PART II COORG

1. Coorg or Kodagu, the smallest district of Karnataka, is a heavenly place.

 2. The best season to visit it is from September to March.

3. The people living there are probably the descendants of Arabs or Greeks.

4. Their culture is apparent in their martial traditions, marriages and religious

rites.

5. The Kodavus wear a long, black, embroidered coat called Kuppia.

6. The Coorg Regiment is one of the most decorated regiments in the Indian
Army.

7. Kodavus are the only people in India permitted to carry firearms without a
license.

8. The river Kaveri begins from the hills and forests of Coorg.

9. A variety of plants, birds and animals can be seen there.

10. The place offers a number of adventure sports for the tourists.

11. The Tibetan monks are amongst many surprises that can be seen there.

PART III TEA FROM ASSAM

1. Pranjol and Rajvir were visiting Assam by train.

2. Rajvir was busy looking at the beautiful scenery outside the train.
3. It was green everywhere as far as the eye could see.
4. The soft green paddy bushes gave way to tea bushes.
5. Assam has the largest concentration of tea plantation in the world.
6. The Chinese are said to have discovered tea.
7. There is also an Indian legend saying that Bodhidharma discovered tea.
8. From China, tea came to the European countries and then to Asian countries.
9. Pranjol’s father managed Dhekiabari, a tea garden.
10. There were many tea pluckers around the tea bushes.
11. The best tea is obtained between May to July.

Chapter 9 Madam Rides the Bus

This is a sensitive story of an 8 years old girl. It describes her first bus journey into the
world outside her village. The outside world is fascinating and the bus ride a mysterious
journey. She wants to experience this mysterious journey alone. She finds each minute
information provided by her neighbours, regarding the bus journey and collected money
for the bus fare. One day she goes on the bus ride alone and comes back with new The
 story is about an eight year old girl named Valliammai. She was very curious to
know about things.

1. Her favourite pastime was to stand at the front doorway of her house and see
what was happening in the street outside.
2. She would watch the bus that passed every hour from her village to the nearest
town.
3. She developed a desire to ride the bus. This became her deepest desire.
4. Valli found out the details of the bus journey by listening carefully to the
conversations between her neighbours and regular bus users.
5. She came to know that the town was just six miles from her village and the fare for
the bus journey was thirty paise one way. The trip took 45 minutes.
6. Valli planned her visit to the town. She saved sixty paise for the fare. Finally, one
day she took the one o’clock bus to the town.
7. Valli was very happy to have got into the bus.
8. On the way to the town, Valli saw a cow running right in front of the bus. She
clapped as the cow kept on running towards the bus despite the continuous
honking by the driver.
9. Valli did not get off the bus when it reached the town. She also declined the offer
of a cold drink by the conductor.
10. On the return journey, she saw the same cow lying dead by the roadside. This
unpleasant sight made her very sad.
11. The bus reached the village at three forty. She ran straight for her home after
getting down the bus.Her mother did not come to know about her journey.

Ch.10 The Sermon at Benares

The Sermon at Benares throws light upon the early life of Lord Buddha who was
originally born as a prince in the royal family. On being exposed to the sufferings
of the world which he was earlier shielded from, he left his princehood and went
in search of salvation thus leaving all the worldly pleasures behind. Upon
attaining spiritual awakening, he gave his first sermon in the city of Benares
hereby making a lady named Kisa Gotami realise that men are mortal and a wise
person should not grieve at what is bound to happen for it only enhances pain
and suffering.
About the Characters
Buddha Gautama Buddha is the founder of the Buddhist Religion. He was a spiritual
teacher who had gained enlightenment after seeing the World’s pains and greed.
Kisa Gotami She was a young mother whose only son had died. She was a loving and
caring mother, but at the same time, she became selfish and wanted to get her son
back after death

Chapter Highlights
 1. This lesson is about the life of Gautama Buddha, who was born in a royal family
as Siddhartha.
2. He was sent to study Hindu scriptures, and later married a princess.
3. Once he saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession and a monk begging
for money.
4. These sights moved him and he went to search for enlightenment’.
5. He started meditating under a peepal tree and got enlightened after 7 days and
became known as the Buddha.
6. He preached his first sermon at Benares.
7. Once a woman came to him requesting to bring her dead son to life.
8. Gautama Buddha asked the lady to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a
house where there had been no death.
9. The lady moved from one house to another but she could not find a single house
where no one has lost a child, husband, parent or friend.
10. Then, she came to know that death is common to all and is the ultimate truth of life

Chapter 11 The Proposal

Chapter Sketch
The proposal is a one act play by the Russian short story writer and dramatist Anton
Chekov. The play is set in a rural countryside of Russia. A long time wealthy neighbour
of Stepan Chubukov, Ivan Lomov, comes to seek the hand of Stepan’s daughter,
Natalya. As three of them are very proud and quarrelsome, they start fighting over petty
issues. The proposal of marriage is made finally but the quarrelling continues.

About the Characters

Lomov
Lomov is a hypochondriac who wants to get married for the sake of appearances. He
doesn't seem to love Natalya but decides to marry her because she's the best woman
available. He has difficulty coming to the point, which makes conversing with him
difficult. Because of his tendency to digress, he becomes involved in silly arguments
with Natalya and Chubukov about land ownership and dogs. What seems most
important to him is maintaining a superior appearance, which is also true of the other
two characters.

Natalya
Natalya is a strong-willed woman who is more effective than Lomov in speaking clearly
and getting to the point. However, her will is focused on maintaining a superior
appearance. As a result, she insists that Oxen Meadows belongs to her family and not
to Lomov. She also argues that her dog is better than Lomov's dog. Yet, she feels the
burden of being a potential if not actual spinster and, thus, desperately wants to marry
Lomov. Despite this, her concern for being right about superficial matters takes
precedence.

Chubukov
Chubukov seems happy about the potential marriage between Lomov and Natalya.
However, he sees marriage in a mercenary way, referring to Lomov's proposal as a
merchant buying goods. For him, the match is advantageous as a good business
arrangement for both families. Whether Lomov and Natalya really love each other
probably doesn't matter much. Despite his eagerness for the marriage to happen,
Chubukov places greater value on maintaining a superior appearance. As a result, he
gets embroiled in the inane arguments between Lomov and Natalya.

1. Lomov goes to Chubukov’s house to seek hand of Chubukov’s daughter.

2. Lomov tells Chubukov the purpose of his visit. Chubukov consents him to marry
his daughter.
3. Lomov starts talking of his land ( oxen meadows) that Natalya thinks it is owned
by her.
4. Lomov explains Natalya that he owns the land. Argument continues between
Lomov and Natalya.
5. Chubukov arrives and takes side with Natalya.
6. Agrument continues and Lomov leaves their house.
7. Chubukov tells the purpose behind Lomov’s visit to Natalya.
8. Natalya tells Chubukov to call Lomov. Lomov arrives and they quarrel again
regarding whose pet dog is better.
9. Lomov becomes unconscious. Chubukov gives her daughter’s hand to Lomov

Poem 5

Amanda

Poet- Robin Klein

The poem describes a girl named Amanda and her mother who is nagging her
for her mistakes. She is first pointed out most probably by her mother for biting
her nails and for not sitting in the right posture. The mother also feels that
Amanda sits in a very lazy manner. To this, Amanda imagines herself as a
mermaid who lives a calm and relaxing life in the beautiful green sea. Further,
she is nagged for not cleaning her room and shoes and also for not doing her
homework. She then imagines herself to be an orphan because she is now fed
up of being watched by her parents continuously. She says that she would have
enjoyed her freedom then, by making the patterns of her bare feet on the sand
and would live a peaceful life. Next, Amanda is scolded for eating too many
chocolates as this causes pimples. She is also scolded for not listening to her
mother. So, now Amanda thinks of being Rapunzel, a character from a fairy tale
and wants to live in a huge tower like her. In the tower she will be alone and will
live a peaceful life and will never allow anyone to come in. Finally, the mother
asks her to stop being moody because she doesn’t want anyone to blame her for
harassing her daughter. At this time the poet has not written any reaction from
Amanda’s side. This constant nagging has made her so sad that she has even
stopped to imagine herself as someone else. She used to do so in order to
escape from the continuous harassment and dominance of her parents.

Following poetic devices have been used in the poem Amanda

Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action

to which it is not literally applicable. In the poem, Amanda imagines herself as mermaid and
Rapunzel.

1. Repetition: It is a literary device in which a word or phrase is repeated two or more

times. In the poem, words like Amanda, Don’t etc are repeated again and again

for poetic effect.

2. Alliteration: It is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of
adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “Stop that slouching and sit
up straight”, “Did you tidy your room” etc.
3. Allusion: It is a literary device in which the writer or speaker refers either directly or
indirectly to a person, event, or thing in history or to a work of art or literature. In the
poem, Amanda imagines herself to be mythological characters like mermaid and
Rapunzel.

Poem 6
Animals
Poet- Walt Whitman
In the poem animals, the poet has described his will to become an animal
because he thinks animals are far better than human beings. Human beings are
greedy and full of jealousy against each other. But animals are calm and self
contained. The animals are happy with what they have. They never complain
about miseries and sorrows. On the other hand human beings complain about
their miseries. They give more importance to the rich and strong people, stay
restless because of their wrongdoings and run behind the luxurious things of this
world. Whereas animals are honest about their relations and don’t give
importance to a particular class. They live a life which is full of honesty and less
of greed and jealousy.

Following figures of speech/literary devices have been used in the poem Animals:

1. Personification: It is the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to

something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. In
the poem, poet says that animals patient, well-satisfied, ascetic, impartial. All these
qualities are possessed by humans.
2. Repetition: It is the repetitive used of a word or phrase. The poet repeats the word
long in the 3rd line, “long and long” to tell that he keeps watching animals for a long
time.
3. Alliteration: It is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of
adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “look at them long and long”,
“they do not make me sick”, “plainly in their possession”,
“I wonder where they…”.

Poem 7

- The Tale of Custard the Dragon

Poet- Frederic Ogden Nash
‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ is a humorous poem about a cowardly
dragon named, Custard. Custard is one of the pets of Belinda, a little girl who
lives in a white house. Among other pets of Belinda is a black kitten named
Ink, a grey mouse named Blink, and a yellow dog – Mustard. Ink, Blink and
Mustard are described as brave in the poem and they are compared with
animals like tiger or lion, but the dragon is very timid. He always demands a
safe place for himself. All other animals make fun of him.

One night, a pirate breaks into the house, frightening all of them. They start
running and hiding here and there. But to everyone’s surprise, Custard not
only tackles him but also eats him up. Everyone thanks him for saving their
lives. They also realise that they used to make fun of the dragon because of
his lack of courage. So, all of them suddenly start saying that they are braver
and could have handled the situation in a much better way, and Custard
agrees. The poet has tried to put forward the idea that sometimes a timid
person comes out to be the actual hero in the toughest situations of life.

Literary/ Poetic Devices used

Rhyme scheme: Each of the 14 stanzas in the poem follows the AABB rhyme
scheme. Each stanza is composed of a pair of rhymed couplets.
Oxymoron: In this poem, the poet uses the device of an oxymoron when he
writes the phrase ‘pet dragon’. We know that dragons are dangerous
creatures, and therefore, cannot be kept as pets.
Simile: In this poem, the poet uses the device of simile in the 3rd line of the
2nd stanza when he compares Belinda’s dog with mustard, saying that both
are sharp, and also uses the word ‘as’ while making the comparison. The poet
also uses this device in the 3rd line of the 3rd stanza when he compares the
dragon’s mouth with a fireplace, and also uses the word ‘like’ while making
this comparison.
Metaphor: In this poem, the poet uses the device of metaphor in the 3rd line
of the 3rd stanza when he compares the dragon’s nose with a chimney.
Personification: In this poem, the poet uses the device of personification with
respect to Belinda’s kitten, mouse, and dog. In the 2nd line of the 5th stanza,
he gives them all the human ability to speak to and tease another being.
Onomatopoeia: In this poem, the poet uses the device of onomatopoeia in
the 2nd line of the 6th stanza, where he uses the word ‘week’ to describe the
sound a mouse makes while giggling.

Themes:
The poem revolves around the theme that one should not judge a book by its
cover: Custard is always mocked for being cowardly, whereas the others are
quite brave. However, when a pirate breaks into Belinda’s house, she, Ink,
Blink and Mustard- are all very frightened. It is Custard who charges at the
pirate and eats him alive. The one who had seemed to be the biggest coward
is the one who saves everyone at the end. On the other hand, the pirate had
been full of bravado when he was entering the house, but he loses all of that
as soon as he sees Custard approaching him. He can only stare at Custard
and have a drink to prepare himself for the unavoidable fate of being gobbled
up. Thus, neither Custard nor the pirate is what they seem to be. Therefore,
we should never judge someone without fully getting to know them. When the
situation demands it, they are bound to show their true colours which may
surprise us.

Book- Footprints Without Feet

Chapter-6
The Making of a Scientist
Robert W. Peterson
1. Richard’s article on how cells work published in a science journal at the age of
twenty-two.
2. Richard was a single child and didn’t have friends to play with. So, he became
interested in collecting butterflies and various other items.
3. His mother bought him all the equipment he needed. She guided him and helped
him to learn.
4. He read a book ‘The Travels to Monarch X’ which created a love for science in
him.
5. He raised thousands of monarch butterflies at home over a few years. He tagged
them as they grew and freed them to study their migration.
6. Richard put up a slide of frogs at the County science fair but did not win any
award.
7. His defeat inspired him to experiment. He took help from Dr Urquhart to work on
various projects.
8. He won many awards at the County and International science fairs in subsequent
years.
9. His work on viceroy butterflies got him the first position award in a fair.
10. Richard discovered a hormone necessary for the growth of, monarch butterfly.
11. He worked at the Army laboratory and the US Department of Agriculture
laboratory.
 12. Richard spent a year at Harvard as a freshman before going back to the
laboratory to discover the chemical structure of the hormone responsible for the
gold spots on the monarch pupa.
13. His findings motivated him to study cells and how they read their DNA.
14. His theory may help to prevent many kinds of cancers and other diseases.
15. He graduated from Harvard with second position among 1510 students.
16. His other interests include debating, public speaking and photography. ‘
17. Richard’s social studies teacher praises him for his excellent mind, curiosity and
a will to win – the essential qualities of a scientist.

Conclusion of the making of a scientist

The story teaches us that with perseverance, dedication and hard work
any dream is achievable.

Chapter 7
The Necklace
Guy De Maupassant
1. Matilda, an ordinary woman, unhappy with her monotonous simple life, dreams of
grandeur all the time.
2. M. Loisel, Matilda’s husband, is satisfied with what he has. He is also happy being a clerk.
3. Loisels get invited to a ball at the Minister of Public Instruction’s place.
4. Loisel thinks that his wife would be happy to know about the invitation to the ball.
5. Matilda is displeased and refused to go as she does not have a dress to wear to the ball.
6. Her husband offers to buy her a dress for four hundred francs.
7. Matilda buy a good dress but is still unhappy as she has no jewell to complement the
beautiful dress.
8. Her husband suggests to borrow jewels from her friend, Mme Forestier.
9. Mme Forestier lends Matilda a diamond necklace.
10. Matilda becomes a celebrity at the ball party as everyone admires her beauty.
11. Unfortunately, the couple discovers the necklace is lost as they reach home.
12. M Loisel contacts the police, cab offices, advertises to award the finder of the necklace but
to no avail. They decide to buy a new necklace to replace it.
13. M Loisel collects 18000 francs and they borrow eighteen thousand more to pay for the
necklace.
14. The couple spend ten years to pay back the debt, working day and night and suffering from
dire poverty.
15. Ten years of poverty and misery render them old and weary.
 16. M Loisel meets Mme Forestier one day and narrates the story of the necklace.
17. Mme Forestier informs her the necklace was worth just five hundred Francs

Chapter 8
The Hack Driver
Sinclair Lewis
1. The narrator completed his graduation in law and joined a big firm as a junior
assistant clerk.
2. He was given the dirty and dangerous job of serving summons.
3. He gets an opportunity to go to a village to serve summons.
4. A helpful hack driver at the station offers to take him in his cart and find Lutkins.
5. The driver takes him to all the places where Lutkins could be found but fails to
locate him.
6. He shows him the village and describes the country life.
7. They do not find Lutkins but, the lawyer is very happy to find such a friendly and
helpful man.
8. They visit Lutkin’s home and meet his mother who frightens them away.
9. The Lawyer ends up paying for six hours to the hack driver.
10. He returns to the city. His chief is angry at his failure to find Lutkins.
11. The chief sends the lawyer back the next day with a man who knows Lutkins.
12. The lawyer shows him the helpful hack driver.
13. His companion tells him that the hack driver was Oliver Lutkins.
14. The lawyer feels embarrassed and unhappy when he serves summons to a
laughing Oliver Lutkins.

Chapter 9
Bholi
K.A. Abbas

1. Bholi, the fourth daughter of Numberdar Ramlal in a village, was a simple and
pock-marked girl. Her real name was Sulekha.
2. At ten months she fell off her cot, damaging her brain and making her a simpleton.
3. At two years she was a victim of small pox, which left her pock-marked.
4. She learnt to talk at five years, but used to stammer.
 5. When a primary school was opened in the village, the Tehsildar told Ramlal to
send his daughters to school.
6. Though Ramlal’s wife felt that sending daughters to school affected their chances
of marriage, Bholi’s parents decided to send Bholi to school because they felt she
would be difficult to get married anyway as she is ugly.
7. Bholi was initially afraid of going to school, but due to the encouragement of her
teacher, she continued her studies.
8. After a few years the village became a small town and Bholi received an offer of
marriage from a widower who was lame but rich. He also did not ask for any
dowry.
9. At the time of the wedding, the bridegroom saw Bholi’s pock-marked face and
demanded ? 5000 as dowry, which Ramlal gave.
10. Bholi refused tp marry the greedy widower. She later on said that she will take
care of her parents and teach in the same school where she got her education.

Deleted Part

FIRST FLIGHT – TEXTBBOK

· How to tell Wild animals

· Trees

· Fog

· Mijbil the Otter

· For Anne Gregory

SECTION-C SUPPLEMENTARY READER

FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET

· The Midnight visitor

· A Question of Trust

· The Book that saved the Earth