First Flight ch01 A Letter to God - CBSE Test Papers

CBSE Test Paper 01
A Letter to God
  1. How did the postmaster help Lencho?
  2. What did Lencho write in the letter which he sent to God? How did he place it in the mailbox?
  3. Why did Lencho keep looking towards the northeast in the sky?
  4. Why did Lencho show no surprise on seeing the money?
  5. What did Lencho hope for?
  6. How and why did Lencho write a letter to God? Who received the letter and what did they do?
  7. What problems do Margot and Anne face with regard to the way their parents treat them?
  8. What lesson on death and suffering did the Buddha teach Gotami in the chapter, The Sermon at Benaras?
  9. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: (1 × 4 = 4)
    So, in order not to shake the writer’s faith in God, the postmaster came up with an idea to answer the letter. But when he opened it, was evident that to answer it, he needed something more than goodwill, ink, and paper. But he stuck to his resolution: he asked for money from his employees, he himself gave part of his salary and several friends of his were obliged to give something for an act of charity’. It was impossible for him to gather together the hundred pesos, so he was able to send the farmer only a little more than half. He put the money in an envelope addressed to Lencho and with it a letter containing only a single word as a signature: God. The following Sunday Lencho came a bit earlier than usual to ask if there was a letter for him. It was the postman himself who handed the letter to him while the postmaster, experiencing the contentment of a man who has performed a good deed, looked on from his office.
    1. What was the reason that the postmaster decided to help Lencho?
    2. How did the postmaster collect money to be sent to Lencho?
    3. Find out the words from the extract which have opposite meanings:
      1. closed
      2. very few
    4.  What were the things the postmaster kept in the envelope?
  10. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: (1 × 4 = 4)
    The house—the only one in the entire valley sat on the crest of a low hill. From this height, one could see the river and the field of ripe corn dotted with the flowers that always promised a good harvest. The only thing the earth needed was a downpour or at least a shower. Throughout the morning Lencho—who knew his fields intimately had done nothing else but see the sky towards the north-east, “Now we’re really going to get some water, woman.” The woman who was preparing supper, replied, “Yes, God willing”
    1. Where was the house situated?
    2. Which two things could one see from this height?
    3. Which word in the passage means the same as “heavy fall of rain”?
    4.  What was Lencho's prediction?
CBSE Test Paper 01
A Letter to God
Solution
  1. The postmaster didn't want to shake Lencho's faith in God. So he decided to help Lencho by sending him some money. He asked the post office employees, relatives and friends, to contribute some amount for this good cause.
  2. In his first letter to God, Lencho requested him to send one hundred pesos for him to sow his fields again and to survive his family till the new crop would grow. Then, he put it into an envelope. He wrote “To God” on the envelope, placed a stamp and dropped it into the mailbox.
  3. Lencho was a hard-working farmer. He worked in his fields like an ox. It was the result of his hard work that his fields were full of ripe corn with flowers. He knew his field deeply and his field needed a downpour. It was necessary for a good crop. He saw huge clouds coming from north-east. So he kept looking towards the north-east in the sky.
  4. Lencho had a firm faith in God. He did expect help from him. He didn’t show any surprise when he received the sum of seventy pesos. He believed in the mercy of God and expected definite help from him. So, he showed no surprise when he received the money.
  5. Lencho was a hard working. He worked as an ox in his fields. His fields needed a downpour in order to grow. He knew his field deeply. It was necessary for good crop. So, he hoped for rain.
  6. Lencho was a poor and hard-working farmer. The hailstones destroyed his crop completely. Lencho and his family members became very sad. He thought that year they won't have any crop. So they have to starve. But, Lencho had great faith in God. So, he thought that God won't let them hungry and it was only the God who can help them. So he wrote a letter to God. Lencho was an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields, but still, he knew how to write. The following Sunday he began to write a letter which he himself carried to town and placed in the mail. He wrote 'To God' on the envelope. He requested God to send him one hundred pesos. That amount was enough to sow his fields again and feed his family. The postman received the letter and showed to the postmaster. The postmaster was much impressed and came up with an idea. He decided to send money to Lencho. He collected the money from his employees, friends and gave a part of his salary and sent the money to Lencho.
  7. The parents of Anne and Margot were over-protective. Margot and Anne both had become tired of their parents in spite of the fact that they still loved them. They wanted to make their own decisions without being chaperoned by their parents. Their parents were not so strict. They let them read everything but Margot and Anne were sick of having to listen to their comments all day long. Her mother's sarcasm and quick temper had been the source of Anne's anger and depression. They often fought. The customary ritual of giving them little kisses at all hours of the day was also quite tiresome for these girls, who were almost on the threshold of adulthood. The cute nicknames seemed affected. They would have liked nothing better than to get a break from their parents. They did not talk about their personal feelings with their parents because they thought that they would not understand. These young women were growing up with their own set of opinions, ideas, and principles. Therefore, they wanted their parents to acknowledge their maturity and independence of spirit, taking them as young adults rather than children. They expected a cordial approach and understanding from them.
  8. The first time Kisa Gotami approached her neighbours to ask for medicine for her deceased son, she could not procure any medicine. Next, at the advice of Buddha, she went to procure a handful of mustard seed from some household which had never lost any relative to death. She again failed to get the required mustard. During her pursuit she felt weariness, and sat down a wayside. She watched the lights of the city flickering up and getting extinguished continuously, and finally every light died forever. She started realising the fate of man being no different from city lights. She realised that she was selfish in her grief, as death was common to all. She realised that the only way out of the tragedy was to surrender one’s selfishness. This was what Buddha wanted to make her understand. Buddha wanted her to understand that whosoever was born had to fall to death and that the world was troubled and brief. Death did not spare rich or poor, fool or wise. Hence, Kisa Gotami learned to endure the pain of her departed son and got busy with the routine course of life.
    1. The postmaster decided to help Lencho because, he didn't want to shake Lencho's faith in God.
    2. He collected money from his employees, friends and himself gave a part of his salary to send to Lencho.
      1. opened
      2. several.
    4. The postmaster kept money and a letter containing a signature: God in the envelope addressed to Lencho. 
    1. The house was situated on the crest of a low hill.
    2. One could see from this height the river and the field of ripe corn.
    3. Downpour.
    4. Lencho predicted that it was going to rain heavily or at least a shower.