NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 Glimpses of India – A Baker from Goa, Coorg, Tea From Assam PDF download is available here. NCERT questions and answers of Class 10 English Glimpses of India are prepared by expert teachers. All these solutions are updated as per the latest CBSE syllabus and contain questions related to the story, which will help you to score good marks in the exams.
Glimpses of India – A Baker from India
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 64)
Question 1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
Answer: The elders in Goa are nostalgic about the good old Portuguese days and their love of bread and loaves. The writer says that the eaters of loaves have left but the makers still exist.
Question 2. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?
Answer: Yes, bread making is still popular in Goa. This is very clear from the narrator’s statement that the eaters have gone away leaving the makers behind. There are mixers, moulders and the ones who bake the loaves. The time tested furnaces still exist there.
Question 3. What is the baker called?
Answer: The baker is called a pader in Goa.
Question 4. When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children run to meet him?
Answer: The baker came twice every day, once when he set out in the morning on his selling round, and then again when he returned after emptying his huge basket. The children ran to meet him not because of their love for the loaf, which was bought by the maid-servant of the house; they actually longed for the bread bangles, which they chose very carefully. Sometimes, it was a sweet bread of special make.
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 65)
Question 1. Match the following. What is a must
| (i) as marriage gifts? | – cakes and bolinhas |
| (ii) for a party or a feast? | – sweet bread called bol |
| (iii) for a daughter’s engagement? | – bread |
| (iv) for Christmas? | – sandwiches |
Answer:
| (i) as marriage gifts? | – sweet bread called bol |
| (ii) for a party or a feast? | – bread |
| (iii) for a daughter’s engagement? | – sandwiches |
| (iv) for Christmas? | – cakes and bolinhas |
Question 2. What did the bakers wear: (i) In the Portuguese days? (ii) When the author was young?
Answer: (i) The bakers were usually dressed up in a peculiar dress called kabai. It was a single piece long frock reaching down to the knees.
(ii) During his childhood days, the author saw the bakers wearing a shirt and trousers which were shorter than full length ones and longer than half pants.
Question 3. Who invites the comment – “he is dressed like a pader” Why?
Answer: Any person who is wearing a half pant which reaches just below the knees invites this comment. This is because the baker, known as a pader, used to dress like that.
Question 4. Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded?
Answer: Monthly accounts of the baker were recorded on some wall in the house with a pencil.
Question 5. What does a ‘jackfruit-like appearance’ mean?
Answer: A ‘jackfruit–like appearance’ means a plump physique. Such a physique was linked to the bakers because they never starved. Baking was a profitable profession. The baker, his family, and his servants always looked happy and prosperous and had a ‘jackfruit –like appearance’.
Thinking About the Text
Question 1. Which of these statements are correct?
(i) The pader was an important person in the village in old times.
(ii) Paders still exist in Goan villages.
(iii) The paders went away with the Portuguese.
(iv) The paders continue to wear a single-piece long frock.
(v) Bread and cakes were an integral part of Goan life in the old days.
(v) Traditional bread-baking is still a very profitable business.
(vii) Paders and their families starve in the present times.
Answer:
(i) Correct
(ii) Correct
(iii) Incorrect
(iv) Incorrect
(v) Correct
(vi) Correct
(vii) Incorrect
Question 2. Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this?
Answer: Yes, bread is an important part of Goan life. It is needed for marriage gifts, parties and feasts. Bread is also needed by a mother for preparing sandwiches during her daughter’s engagement. Thus, it is necessary to have breads for every occasion, because of which the presence of a baker’s furnace in the vi .age is very important
Question 3. Tick the right answer. What is the tone of the author when he says the following?
(i) The thud and the jingle of the traditional baker ‘s bamboo can still be heard in some places, (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
(ii) Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries on the family profession, (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
(iii) I still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves, (nostalgic, hopeful, naughty)
(iv) The tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash and clean up everything so nicely, after all. (naughty, angry, funny)
(v) Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals, (sad, hopeful, matter-of-fact)
(vi) The baker and his family never starved. They always looked happy and prosperous, (matter-of-fact, hopeful, sad)
Answer:
(i) Nostalgic
(ii) Hopeful
(iii) Nostalgic
(iv) Funny
(v) Matter-of-fact
(vi) Matter-of-fact
Glimpses of India – Coorg
Thinking About the Text (70 – 71)
Question 1. Where is Coorg?
Answer: Coorg or Kodagu is the smallest district of Karnataka. It is situated midway between Mysore and the coastal town of Mangalore.
Question 2. What is the story about the Kodavu people’s descent?
Answer: The fiercely independent people of Coorg are descendents of Greeks or Arabs. A section of Alexander’s army moved South along the coast and settled here only when they were unable to return to their country. These people married among the locals. This is the story about the descent of Kodavu people.
Question 3. What are some of the things you now know about?
- the people of Coorg?
- the main crop of Coorg?
- the sports it offers to a tourist?
- the animals you are likely to see in Coorg?
- its distance from Bangalore and how to get there?
Answer:
1. They are fiercely independent people and have descended from the Greeks or the Arabs.
2. Coffee is the main crop of Coorg.
3. It mostly offers adventure sports which include river rafting, canoeing, rappelling, rock climbing and mountain biking.
4. The animals likely to be seen in Coorg are macaques, Malabar squirrel, langurs, slender loris, elephants etc.
5. The distance between Bangalore and Coorg is 260 km. There are two routes to Coorg from Bangalore and both are of the same distance. The most frequented route is the one via Mysore. The other route is via Neelamangal, Kunigal, and Chanrayanapatna.
Question 4. Here are six sentences with some words in italics. Find phrases from the text that have the same meaning. (Look in the paragraphs indicated)
(i) During monsoons it rains so heavily that tourists do not visit Coorg. (Para 2)
(ii) Some people say that Alexander’s army moved south along the coast and settled there. (Para 3)
(iii) The Coorg people are always ready to tell stories of their son’s and father’s valour. (Para 4)
(iv) Even people who normally lead an easy and slow life get smitten by the high energy adventure sports of Coorg. (Para 6)
(v) The theory of the Arab origin is supported by the long coat with embroidered waist-belt they wear. (Para 3)
(vi) Macaques, Malabar squirrels observe you carefully from the tree canopy. (Para 7)
Answer:
(i) to keep visitors away
(ii) As one story goes
(iii) are more than willing to recount
(iv) The most laidback individuals become converts to
(v) draws support from
(vi) keep a watchful eye
Thinking About Language
1. Here are some nouns from the text.
| culture | monks | surprise |
| experience | weather | tradition |
Work with a partner and discuss which of the nouns can collocate with which of the adjectives given below. The first one has been done for you.
| unique | terrible | unforgettable | serious |
| ancient | wide | sudden |
- culture: unique culture, ancient culture
- monks: _____________
- surprise: ___________
- experience: __________
- weather: ___________
- tradition: ___________
Answer:
- culture : unique culture, ancient culture
- monks: serious monks, unique monks
- surprise: unique surprise, sudden surprise, unforgettable surprise, terrible surprise
- experience: unique experience, terrible experience, unforgettable experience, sudden experience
- weather: terrible weather, unforgettable weather
- tradition: unique tradition, ancient tradition
2. Complete the following phrases from the text. For each phrase, can you find at least one other word that would fit into the blank?
(i) tales of _____________
(ii) coastal ____________
(iii) a piece of __________
(iv) evergreen __________
(v) ____________ plantations
(vi) ________ bridge
(vii) wild _____________
Answer:
(i) tales of valour
(ii) coastal town
(iii) a piece of heaven
(iv) evergreen rainforest
(v) coffee plantations
(vi) rope bridge
(vii) wild elephants
Glimpses of India – Tea from Assam
Thinking About Language
Question 1. Look at these words: upkeep, downpour, undergo, dropout, walk-in. They are built up from a verb (keep, pour, go, drop, walk) and an adverb or a preposition (up, down, under, out, in).
Use these words appropriately in the sentences below. You may consult a dictionary.
- A heavy _____ has been forecast due to low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
- Rakesh will _____ major surgery tomorrow morning.
- My brother is responsible for the ____ of our family property.
- The ____ rate for this accountancy course is very high.
- She went to the Enterprise Company to attend a _____ interview
Answer:
- downpour
- undergo
- upkeep
- dropout
- walk-in
Question 2. Now fill in the blanks in the sentences given below by combining the verb given in brackets with one of the words from the box as appropriate.
| over | by | through | out | up | down |
- The Army attempted unsuccessfully to ____ the Government, (throw)
- Scientists are on the brink of a major _____ in cancer research, (break)
- The State Government plans to build a ____ for Bhubaneswar to speed up traffic on the main highway, (pass)
- Gautama’s ____ on life changed when he realised that the world is full of sorrow, (look)
- Rakesh seemed unusually _____ after the game, (cast)
Answers:
- overthrow
- breakthrough
- bypass
- lookout
- downcast
II. 1. Think of suitable -ing or -ed adjectives to answer the following questions. You may also use words from those given above.
How would you describe
- a good detective serial on television? ____
- a debate on your favourite topic ‘Homework Should Be Banned’? ____
- how you feel when you stay indoors due to incessant rain? ____
- how you feel when you open a present? ____
- how you feel when you watch your favourite programme on television? ____
- the look on your mother’s face as you waited in a queue? ____
- how you feel when tracking a tiger in a tiger reserve forest? _____
- the story you have recently read, or a film you have seen? _____
Answers: (Sample answers are given; you may have a different answer.)
- exciting
- interesting
- bored
- excited
- interested
- disappointed
- thrilled
- thrilling
Question 2. Now use the adjectives in the exercise above, as appropriate, to write a paragraph about Coorg.
Answer: Do it yourself.