Class 10 English - First Flight - Chapter From the Diary of Anne Frank NCERT Solutions | Why does Anne want to keep a diary?

What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?

Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?

Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher?

What does Anne write in her first essay?

How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?

How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you about her?

What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?

Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl?

Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?

What do these statements tell you about Anne Frank as a person?
(i) We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other.
(ii) I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would, but I want the diary to be my friend.
(iii) Margot went to Holland in December, and I followed in February, when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot.
(iv) If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth.
(v) Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking.

Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
 

What was Valli’s favourite pastime?

What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?

What did Lencho hope for?

When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?

Where did the ceremonies take place ? Can you name any public buildings in India that are made of sandstones?

What does Chubukov at first suspect that Lomov has come for? Is he sincere when he later says “And I’ve always loved you, my angel, as if you were my own son”? Find reasons for your answer from the play.

Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Do you think all young birds are afraid to make their first flight, or are some birds more timid than others? Do you think a human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first steps?

Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?
 

What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?

Are you concerned about traffic and road safety? What are your concerns? How would you make road travel safer and more enjoyable?

Match the words on the left with a word on the right. Some words on the left can go with more than one word on the right.

(i) a portion of – blood
(ii) a pool of – cotton
(iii) flakes of – stones
(iv) a huge heap of – gold
(v) a gust of – fried fish
(vi) little drops of – snow
(vii) a piece of – water
(viii) a pot of – wind

Use a bit of/a piece of/a bunch of/a cloud of/a lump of with the italicised nouns in the following sentences. The first has been done for you as an example.

(i) My teacher gave me some
(ii) Can you give me some clay, please.
(iii) The information you gave was very useful.
(iv) Because of these factories, smoke hangs over the city.
(v) Two stones rubbed together can produce sparks of fire.
(vi) He gave me some flowers on my birthday.

Have you made a journey that was unforgettable in some way? What made it memorable?

Have you ever planned something entirely on your own, without taking grown- ups into your confidence? What did you plan, and how? Did you carry out your plan?

Given below are some nouns, and a set of modifiers (in the box). Combine the nouns and modifiers to make as many appropriate phrases as you can. (Hint: The nouns and modifiers are all from the texts in this book.)

temple          girls                   triangle             dresses
person          thoughts            boys                 roar
gifts              scream              farewell             expression
time              subject              landscape         handkerchief
crossing       flight                  chatterbox         profession
physique      coffee                view                  celebration
college         rough                 hundred            stone                       ordinary
love             uncomfortable    white                 slang                       slack
bare             railroad              termendous       family                      marriage
plump          invigorating        panoramic         heartbreaking         birthday
incorrigible  ridiculous            loud                   first                         three

The author describes the things that Valli sees from an eight-year-old’s point of view. Can you find evidence from the text for this statement?

 Look at these examples from the text, and say whether the modifiers (in italics) are nouns, proper nouns, or adjective plus noun.    

(i) An otter fixation                          (iv) The London streets
(ii) The iron railings                         (v) soft velvet fur
(iii) The Tigris marshes                   (vi) A four-footed soccer player

What does Valli mean when she says, “I was just agreeing with what you said about things happening without our knowledge.”

 Read the story and find the sentences where Maxwell describes his pet otter. Then choose and arrange your sentences to illustrate those statements below that you think are true.

Maxwell’s description

(i) makes Mij seem almost human, like a small boy.
(ii) shows that he is often irritated with what Mij does.
(iii) shows that he is often surprised by what Mij does.
(iv) of Mij’s antics is comical.
(v) shows that he observes the antics of Mij very carefully.
(vi) shows that he thinks Mij is a very ordinary otter.
(vii) shows that he thinks the otter is very unusual.