Gujarat Board GSEB Class 10 English Textbook Solutions First Flight Chapter 1 A Letter to God Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers, Notes Pdf.
Gujarat Board Textbook Solutions Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 1 A Letter to God
GSEB Class 10 English A Letter to God Text Book Questions and Answers
Oral Comprehension Check (Textbook Page No. 5)
Question 1.
What did Lencho hope for?
Answer:
Lencho hoped that there would be a good shower of rain for his crop.
Question 2.
Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’ ?
Answer:
Lencho hoped that these drops of rain would give him a good crop and then he would have a rich store of corn for his family. That was why he called the raindrops ‘new coins’.
Question 3.
How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields ?
Answer:
The rain turned into hailstorm and it destroyed Lencho’s crop completely.
Question 4.
What were Lencho’s feelings when the rain / hail stopped ?
Answer:
Lencho was filled with sadness aft§r the rain / hail had stopped. His corn was totally destroyed. He said to his sons that they would have no corn that year. But he was hopeful of getting help from God.
(Textbook Page No. 6)
Question 5.
Who or what did Lencho have faith in ? What did he do ?
Answer:
Lencho had faith in God. He wrote a letter to God requesting Him to send money as his crop had failed completely.
Question 6.
Who read the letter?
Answer:
The postmaster read the letter.
Question 7.
What did the postmaster do then ?
Answer:
In order to not break Lencho’s firm belief / faith in the Almighty / God, the postmaster decided to answer the letter as God himself. He collected money from his employees, friends and contributed a part of his salary to send to Lencho. He put the money in an envelope and sent it.
(Textbook Page No. 7)
Question 8.
Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it ?
Answer:
Lencho was not the least surprised to find a letter for him with money in it. He was totally sure that it came from God. Such was his faith in God.
Question 9.
What made him angry ?
Answer:
Lencho was angry after opening the letter because he found only seventy pesos inside the envelope. He had demanded a hundred pesos from God. Instead of getting angry on God, he got angry on the post office employees because he thought that they must have misappropriated the money.
Thinking about the Text
Question 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 is instructed that God knows everything and helps us in our problems. There are few sentences which show this:
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, see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience.
“God”, he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year”.
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.
Question 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 to keep Lencho’s faith in God alive and firm as he was completely moved by it. When postmaster reads the letter of Lencho to God, he becomes serious and does not want to shake his faith and decides to answer the letter. He gathers money with the help of his post office employees and friends on behalf of God and signs the letter ‘God’ so that Lencho’s faith does not get shaken.
Question 3.
Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him ? Why or why not ?
Answer:
Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him because he never suspected the presence of God and had complete faith in God. He could not believe that it could be – anybody else other than Him who would send him the money.
His faith in God was so strong that he believed that He had sent money to him for his help in his problem.
Question 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 ironTc situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected).
Answer:
Lencho thinks that the post office employees have taken the rest of the money as he had demanded a hundred pesos from God arid in the envelope there was only seventy pesos and God cannot make such a mistake. So, he assumes that they have stolen the money.
The irony in this situation is that Lencho suspects those people who helped him in his problem and tried to keep his faith alive in God.
Question 5.
Are there people like Lencho in the real world ? What kind of a person would you say he is ? You may select appropriate S words from the box to answer the question.
greedy,
naive,
stupid,
ungrateful,
selfish,
comical,
unquestioning
Answer:
It is almost impossible to find a person like Lencho as he is an unquestioning and naive kind of person. He is not stupid if he doesn’t know who has sent him money or a letter will reach God without any address. It is Lencho’s faith in God. In real world, people are selfish and greedy and Lencho is totally lovable and different.
Question 6.
There are two kinds of conflict in } the story between humans and nature and / between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated ? ,
Answer:
Conflict between Humans and i Nature:
The conflict between humans and nature ( is illustrated by the destruction of Lencho’s crop by the hailstorm as Lencho was expecting a c good rain to have good harvest as that was the only hope he had for his earning. He worked ;; so Hard to feed his family, but nature turned violent and destroyed everything.
Conflict between Humans and Humans:
The story also illustrated another conflict, between humans themselves as the postmaster along with his friends and staff sent Lencho money that Lencho demanded from God although they didn’t know Lencho. Lencho blamed them for ) taking away some amount of money. He called them ‘a bunch of crooks’. This shows that man S does not have faith in other man, thereby giving rise to this conflict.
Thinking about Language
Question 1.
There are different names in different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill s in the blanks ? You may use a dictionary to help you.
gale,
whirlwind,
cyclone,
hurricane,
tornado,
typhoon
(1) A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle – cyclone
(2 An extremely strong wind – gale
(3) A violent tropical storm with very strong winds – typhoon
(4) A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel – tornado
(5) A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean – hurricane
(6) A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage – whirlwind
Question 2.
Match the sentences in column ‘A’ with the meaning of ‘hope’ in column ‘B’:
| Column ‘A’ | Column ‘B’ |
| 1. Will you get the subjects you want to study in college ? I hope so. | a. 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. | b. thinking that this would happen (it may or may not have happened.) |
| 3. This discovery will give new hope to HIV/ AIDS sufferers. | c. stopped believing that this good thing would happen. |
| 4. We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes. | d. 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. | e. 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. | f. wishing for something to happen,, although this is very unlikely. |
Answer:
(1 – b), (2 – e), (3 – a), (4 – f), (5 – d), (6 – c).
Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which, as suggested:
Question 1.
I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India, (which)
Answer:
I often go to Mumbai which is the commercial capital of India.
Question 2.
My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well, (who)
Answer:
My Mother who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.
Question 3.
These sportsperson are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)
Answer:
These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President:
Question 4.
Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds, (whose)
Answer:
Jbencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.
Question 5.
This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)
Answer:
This man whom I trusted cheated me.
Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically:
Question 1.
The trees lost all their leaves.
Answer:
Not a leaf remained on the trees.
Question 2.
The letter was addressed to God himself.
Answer:
It was nothing less than a letter to God.
Question 3.
The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.
Answer:
Never in his career as a postman had he seen that address.
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:
Answer:
| Object | Metaphor | Quality or Feature Compared |
| Cloud | Huge mountains of clouds | The mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains |
| Raindrops | Coins | Money that a good crop will bring |
| Hailstones | Frozen pearls | brightness of pearls |
| Locusts | a plague of locusts | An epidemic (a disease) that spreads very rapidly and leaves many people dead |
| Lencho | An ox of a man | strong, hard-working |
GSEB Class 10 English A Letter to God Additional Important Questions and Answers
Read the following passages and select the most appropriate answers for the questions given below them:
Question 1.
“Now we’re really going to get some water, woman.”
The woman who was preparing supper, replied, “Yes, God willing”. The older boys were working in the field, while the smaller ones were playing near the house until the woman called to them all, “Come for dinner”. It was during the meal that, just as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall. In the north¬east huge mountains of clouds could be seen. approaching. The air was fresh and sweet. The man went out for no other reason than to have l the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body, and when he returned he exclaimed, “These aren’t raindrops falling from the sky, they are new coins. The big drops are ten cent pieces and the little ones are fives.”
1. The meaning of the phrase ‘God willing’ is ………………..
A. ‘By the grace of God’.
B. ‘If God wants it to happen’.
C. ’God will not wish this to happen’.
D. ‘Man proposes, God disposes’.
Answer:
B. ‘If God wants it to happen’.
2. Lencho had predicted that ………………….
A. they would surely have rain soon.
B. they would not have the rain that year.
C. there would be a great hailstorm soon.
D. they will have very nice crop that year.
Answer:
A. they would surely have rain soon.
3. Lencho went out in the rain ……………..
A. to see the huge north-east clouds.
B. to see his crop swaying in the breeze.
C. to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body.
D. to give offerings to the first rain.
Answer:
C. to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body.
4. Seeing the raindrops falling from the sky, Lencho exclaimed that they were …………………
A. ten cent coins.
B. five cent coins.
C. new coins.
D.All of these three
Answer:
D.All of these three
Question 2.
All through the night, Lencho thought s only of his one hope : the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, ? even what is deep in one’s conscience. Lencho s was an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields, but still he knew how to write. The following Sunday, at daybreak, he began to write a letter which he himself would carry to town, and place in the mail. It was nothing less than a letter to God.
‘God,’ he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again ? and to live until the crop comes, because the s hailstorm…………..”
1. After his crops having been completely ruined, Lencho hoped that ………….
A. the next year he would have good crop.
B. he would get help from God.
C. other villagers would help him to recover the loss.
D. None of these three.
Answer:
B. he would get help from God.
2. ‘Lencho was an ox of a man’ means ……………….
A. ‘Lencho was a simple man’.
B. ‘Lencho was strong like an ox’.
C. ‘Lencho was a very hard-working-man’,
D. ‘Lencho had sense like an ox’.
Answer:
C. ‘Lencho was a very hard-working-man’,
3. Lencho needed money from God to ……………….
A. sow his field again and to live until he had new crop.
B. rebuild his house.
C. help his family.
D. buy seeds for his field.
Answer:
A. sow his field again and to live until he had new crop.
4. Lencho’s crop was ruined because of ……………..
A. heavy rain.
B. hailstorm.
C. hailstones.
D. Both ‘B’ and ‘C’
Answer:
D. Both ‘B’ and ‘C’
Question 3.
Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence – but he became angry when he counted the money. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.
Immediately, Lencho went up to the window to ask for paper and ink. On the public writing- table, he started to write, with much wrinkling of his brow, caused by the effort he had to make to express his ideas. When he finished, he went to the window to buy a stamp which he licked and then affixed to the envelope with a blow of his fist. The moment the letter fell into the mailbox the postmaster went to open it. 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. But don’t send it to me through the mail because the post office employees are a bunch of crooks. Lencho.”
1. The sentence showing Lencho’s confidence is ……………….
A. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.
B. Lencho showed not the slightest surprise
on seeing the money.
C. he became angry when he counted the money.
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’.
Answer:
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’.
2. Lencho’s brow got wrinkled for …………………..
A. the efforts he had to make to express his ideas.
B. getting angry.
C. the disappointment he had.
D. not getting favourable reply from God.
Answer:
A. the efforts he had to make to express his ideas.
3. Lencho affixed the ticket on the envelope …………………
A. by applying gum to it.
B. by applying saliva on it.
C. with a blow of his fist.
D. Both ‘B’ and ‘C’
Answer:
D. Both ‘B’ and ‘C’
4. Lencho refused God to send money by post because …………….
A. he had a doubt that the post office employees would take away that money.
B. he thought that money sent by post did not reach in time.
C. he did not have trust on the postmaster.
D. he had a doubt that others would come to know about it if thus sent.
Answer:
A. he had a doubt that the post office employees would take away that money.
Answer the following questions in three to four, sentences each:
Question 1.
Give a brief description of Lencho’s house.
Answer:
Lencho’s house was the only one in the entire valley. It sat on the crest of a low hill overlooking the river and the field of ripe corn dotted with flowers that always promised a good harvest.
Question 2.
Give a brief description of Lencho’s family.
Answer:
Lencho had a wife and at least four boys. It was a happy family The family members were deeply religious. They lived in a solitary house on a hilltop.
Question 3.
When did the rain start? How did the family of Lencho welcome the rain ?
Answer:
The rain started during the meal. The family of Lencho welcomed the rain warmly. Lencho was so excited that he went out to feel the rain on his body.
Question 4.
Describe the destruction caused by hailstones in Lencho’s fields.
Answer:
The hail rained on Lencho’s house, ; garden, cornfield, the hillside and the entire valley for an hour. The field was white, as if covered with salt. Not a leaf remained on the trees. The corn in Lencho’s cornfield was totally destroyed.
Question 5.
What did Lencho write in the first letter addressed to God ?
Answer:
In the first letter, Lencho wrote,.“God, if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again and to live until the crop comes, because the hailstorm …………….”
Question 6.
Why was the postmaster amazed after seeing the letter?
Answer:
The postmaster was amazed to see that the letter was addressed to none other than God. He was amazed at the sender’s deep faith in God.
Question 7.
What did the postmaster do in order to not break Lencho’s firm belief/faith in the Almighty / God ?
Answer:
In order to not break Lencho’s firm belief / faith in the Almighty / God, the postmaster
decided to answer the letter as God himself. He collected money from his employees, friends and contributed a part of his salary to send to Lencho. He put the money in an envelope and sent it.
Answer the following questions in five to six sentences each:
Question 1.
Who was Lencho and what circumstances forced him to write a letter to God ?
Answer:
Lencho was a hard-working farmer who lived with his family on a crest of a low hill. He was very caring and God loving man. Though, he was a farmer he could read and write. Lencho eagerly waited for the rainfall in order to get good harvest and he became happy when it came. But the pleasing rain changed into hailstorm and destroyed his crop. He became sad and was worried about his family as they might remain hungry that year. His last hope was the help from God as he had complete faith in him. Hence, he wrote a letter to God asking Him to send hundred pesos to survive and to reharvest.
Question 2.
Give a character sketch of Lencho.
Answer:
Lencho was a simple man and a hard-working farmer. He worked as an ox in his field. Lencho’s entire crops were badly destroyed by s the hailstorm. So, he became very sad as he was worried about his family. He was an optimistic person. Although his only source of living was taken away, he didn’t lose hope. He had his last hope in God. He was confident that God s would help him in his distress. Lencho was an innocent atheist who didn’t know that there was s no such living person as God who could send him money. He had blind faith in God and l sought solution of his problem from God only.
Question 3.
Sketch the character of the postmaster in the story ‘A Letter to God’.
OR
How do you like, the character of the s postmaster in the story ‘A Letter to God’?. Give reason for your answer.
Answer:
The postmaster was a fat and friendly fellow. He was a sensible human being, lie first laughed looking at the letter which had a s strange address. But soon he became serious. He was surprised at the faith that Lencho had s in God. He wanted his faith not to be shaken. The postmaster himself gave a part of his salary and also requested his employees and a few friends to contribute for charity. He felt happy and satisfied when Lencho received the money. This shows that he was a kind and empathetic person as well. He loved to help others.
Question 4.
How did the postmaster and post office Employees help Lencho ? How did he s react to their help ? OR
Why does the postmaster send money to ; Lencho ? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’ ? (August 20)
Answer:
The postmaster and post office employees were very generous as they contributed for the act of charity. First they laughed when they saw Lencho’s letter to God, but soon they were impressed by his faith in God. They decided to send some money to Lencho so that his faith in God does not get shaken. They collected seventy pesos and sent it to Lencho. When Lencho got the envelope and opened it to count money, he became angry.
He again wrote a letter to God demanding the remaining thirty pesos. He thought that post office employees had taken away the remaining money and called them a bunch of crooks, which was not justified at all as they were the people who had helped him. But it shows his innocence and firm faith in God.
Question 5.
How did the hailstones affect Lencho’s field ? What was Lencho’s only hope ?
Answer:
Lencho, a hard-working farmer, worked like an ox for a good harvest, depended completely on his fields to take care of his family. He expected a good harvest that year. He needed a downpour for the crops to ripe, but the rain followed by hailstorm completely destroyed the crops.
It made him sad. He was worried for his family as he loved them so much. But Lencho had firm faith in God and believed that nobody died of hunger. So, he decided to seek help from God. He wrote a letter to God and asked Him for a hundred pesos to survive and to sow new crop.
Question 6.
‘Lencho had immense faith in God.’ – Comment. (March 20)
Answer:
Lencho had complete faith in God as he is instructed that-‘God knows everything and helps us in our problems.’ All through the night of the hail-storm, he thought only of one hope : the help from God. He was instructed that eyes of God see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience. He had faith that God lets no one die of hunger. With this deep faith in God, he wrote a letter to God that if He didn’t help him, his family and he would go hungry that year. He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and went to town to post it.
When he received the money he had asked for, it was less than his demand. He firmly believed God could not have made the mistake, nor could He have denied what Lencho had asked for. And once more he wrote to God, “Send me the rest (money) since I need it very much.” What an immense faith in God!
Grammar
Question 1.
Rectify the errors in each of the following lines as shown in the example:
Answer:
He wrote ‘To God’ in the envelope, put a letter inside and, still trouble, went to town. To the post office, he placed a stamp on the letter and dropped it in the mailbox.
Example:
| Error | Correction |
| in | on |
| a | The |
| trouble | troubled |
| To | At |
| in | In to |
Question 2.
Convert the following dialogue into Indirect s Speech:
Wife: There is no one who can help us. We’ll all go hungry this year.
Lencho: Don’t be so upset, even though this seems like a total loss.
Answer:
Lencho’s wife told him sorrowfully that there was nobody who could help them. She added that they would all go hungry that year. Then Lencho consoled her telling not to be so upset, even though that seemed like a total loss.
Question 3.
Rewrite as directed:
(1) The only thing the earth needed was a downpour. (Use ‘what’.)
(2) The air was fresh and sweet. (Use ‘not only…but also’.)
(3) The man went out for no other reason than to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body. (Use ‘only’.)
(4) What a satisfied expression! (Turn into Assertive.)
(5) It’s really getting bad now. (Turn into Negative.)
(6) The field was white, as if covered with salt. (Use ‘yet’.)
(7) A plague of locusts would have left more than this hailstorm. (Change the Degree.)
Answer:
(1) What the earth needed was a downpour.
(2) The air was not only fresh but also sweet.
(3) The man went out only to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body.
(4) It was indeed a satisfied expression.
(5) It’s really not getting good/desirable now.
(6) The field was not covered with salt, yet it was/looked white.
(7) This hailstorm had not left as much as a plague of locusts (would have).
A Letter to God Summary in English
A Letter to God Introduction:
Gregorio Fuentes (July 11, 1897-January 13, 2002) was a fisherman and the first mate of the Pilar, the boat belonging to the American writer Ernest Hemingway. Fuentes is credited by some as a model for Hemingway’s protagonist Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea, though this is most likely the result of Fuentes’ longevity and how he purposefully grew into the incarnation of the role of Santiago for tourists visiting Cojimar.
A Letter to God Summary:
‘A Letter to God’ is a story of extreme faith in god. The writer has tried to depict the faith of a poor and simple farmer in God. Lencho was an honest and hard-working farmer. Once there was a hailstorm. It destroyed his crop completely. Lencho had great faith in God. He asked God to send him money. The postmaster saw the letter. He decided to help Lencho. He collected some money. He put it inside the envelope. Lencho came to the post office to check his mail.
The post office people gave him the envelope. Lencho opened the envelope. He took out the money and counted it. He found that it was less than he had asked for. He wrote another letter to God. He asked God to send him rest of the money. But he wanted God not to send the money through the mail. He considered the post office employees a bunch of crooks who had stolen thirty pesos from the hundred pesos sent by God.