NCERT Solutions for A Letter to God Class 10 First Flight English
Book Solutions1
What did Lencho hope for?
Answer
Lencho hoped for a good rain as it was required to reap a good harvest.
2
Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Answer
Lencho said the raindrops were like new coins because they assured him of a good harvest which in turn meant more prosperity as more prosperity comes from more money.
3
How did the rain change ? What happened to Lencho’s fields ?
Answer
The rain changed into hailstorm as a strong wind began to blow and huge hailstones began to fall along with heavy rain. The crops in Lencho's field got ruined due to the adverse weather conditions.
4
What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped ?
Answer
Lencho was filled with sorrow when the hail stopped as everything was destroyed; there seemed to be a complete loss of all the crops and there was nothing left with what he could feed his family. He could foresee an unsheltered and unprotected future for his family members.
1
Answer
Lencho had firm faith in God. He wrote a letter to God in his hour of need believing that God sees everything and helps one in one's problems saying that he needed a hundred pesos to sow his field again.
2
Who read the letter ?
Answer
The Postmaster read the letter.
3
What did the postmaster do then ?
Answer
The postmaster laughed aloud after reading the letter written by Lencho to God but soon realized the importance and value of that letter. He was moved by Lencho' s faith in God. He decided to help Lencho on behalf of God as he did not want to shake his faith in Him. So, he decided to collect money and send it to Lencho.
1
Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Answer
No, Lencho was not surprised to find a letter for him with money in it as he believed that God would definitely help him.
2
What made him angry ?
Answer
There were only seventy pesos in the envelope instead of hundred pesos as demanded by Lencho. So, the difference in the amount made him angry. He was confident that God could neither make a mistake nor deny him what he had requested. Therefore, he concluded that the post office employees must have taken the remaining thirty pesos.1
Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Answer
Lencho has complete faith in God as he trusts that God sees everything and helps everyone in their worries. The following are the sentences that tell us the same :
- "God", he wrote," if you don't help me, my family and I will go hungry this year".
- But 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, sees everything, even what is deep in one's conscience.
- He wrote 'To God' on the envelope, put the letter inside and still troubled, went to town.
- God could not have made a mistake, nor could He have denied Lencho what he had requested.
- It said, "God of the money that I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me, send me the rest, since I need it very much."
2
Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Answer
The postmaster sends money to Lencho in order not to shake Lencho's faith in God and also, he himself is completely driven by it. The postmaster wants Lencho to believe that the money has been sent by God himself. The postmaster wants that Lencho should not feel disappointed.3
Answer
No, Lencho does not try to find out who had sent the money to him because he never doubted the presence of God and had absolute trust in Him. His belief in God was so strong that he started believing that God had sent him money to help him in his problem.
4
Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation?
[Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.]
Answer
Lencho thinks that the post office employees had stolen the rest of the money because he had demanded for a hundred pesos and in the envelope there were only seventy pesos and God could not commit such a big error. So, he concluded that they had taken the money. The irony is that Lencho suspected those people who had helped him in his problem and tried to keep Lencho's faith in God alive and firm.
5
Answer
It is indeed very difficult to find a person like Lencho in the real world as he is a naive and unquestioning kind of person. He is not stupid if he thinks that God has sent him money. It is because Lencho has tremendous faith in God. In real world, people are greedy and selfish but Lencho is completely different from others.
6
Answer
Conflict between Humans and Nature
The conflict between humans and nature has been described by the knocking down of Lencho's faith for good rain for a good harvest of his crops as it was the source of bread for his family. He works very hard to feed his family but nature is violent and destroyed everything when the drops of rain turned into hailstorm.
Conflict between Humans
We also came across another conflict in the chapter, that is between humans themselves. This was experienced when the postmaster along with the other employees of the post office thought to help Lencho and for the same, they collected money that Lencho requested from God though they were not familiar with Lencho. At the same time, Lencho found them accountable for the difference in the amount that he got and demanded for. He called them a 'bunch of crooks'. This proved to us that one man does not have faith in other man.
1
Answer
- Cyclone
- Gale
- Typhoon
- Tornado
- Hurricane
- Whirlwind
2
Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B.
|
A |
B |
||
|
1. |
Will you get the subjects you want to study in college? |
− |
a feeling that something good will probably happen |
|
2. |
I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I don’t like the way you are arguing. |
− |
thinking that this would happen (It may or may not have happened). |
|
3. |
This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers. |
− |
stopped believing that this good thing would happen |
|
4. |
We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes. |
− |
wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible) |
|
5. |
I called early in the hope of speaking to her before she went to school. |
− |
showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being polite |
|
6. |
Just when everybody had given up hope, the fishermen came back, seven days after the cyclone. |
− |
wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely |
Answer
|
A
|
B
|
||
|
1.
|
Will you get the subjects you want to study in college? I hope so. |
−
|
wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible) |
|
2.
|
I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I don’t like the way you are arguing. |
−
|
showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being polite |
|
3.
|
This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers. |
−
|
a feeling that something good will probably happen |
|
4.
|
We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes. |
−
|
wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely |
|
5.
|
I called early in the hope of speaking to her before she went to school. |
−
|
thinking that this would happen (It may or may not have happened.) |
|
6.
|
Just when everybody had given up hope, the fisherman came back, seven days after the cyclone. |
−
|
stopped believing that this good thing would happen |
3
Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which as suggested.
1. I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. (which)
2. My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)
3. These sports persons are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)
4. Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds. (whose)
5. This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)
Answer
- I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.
- My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.
- These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.
- Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.
- This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.
4
Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically.
- The trees lost all their leaves.
____________ - The letter was addressed to God himself.
____________ - The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.
____________
Answer
1. The trees lost all their leaves.
Not a leaf remained on the trees.
2. The letter was addressed to God himself.
It was nothing less than a letter to God.
3. The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.
Never in his career as a postman had he known that address.
5
In pairs, find metaphors from the story to complete the table below. Try to say what qualities are being compared. One has been done for you.
|
Object |
Metaphor |
Quality or Feature Compared |
|
Cloud |
Huge mountains of clouds |
The mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains. |
|
Raindrops |
||
|
Hailstones |
||
|
Locusts |
||
|
An epidemic (a disease) that spreads very rapidly and leaves many people dead. |
||
|
An ox of a man. |
Answer
|
Object
|
Metaphor
|
Quality or Feature Compared
|
|
Cloud
|
Huge mountains of clouds | The mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains |
|
Raindrops
|
A curtain of rain | The draping or covering of an area by a curtain |
|
Hailstones
|
The frozen pearls | The resemblance in colour and hardness of a pearl |
|
Locusts
|
A plague of locusts | The consequences (destruction) of plague |
|
Locusts
|
A plague of locusts | An epidemic (a disease) that spreads very rapidly and leaves many people dead |
|
Man
|
An ox of a man | The working of an ox in the fields (hard work) |