NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 11 The Proposal

NCERT Solutions for CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 11 The Proposal are provided here. This story is written by Anton Chekov and includes many questions that are important for exams. We have solved all the NCERT questions of the lesson with a detailed explanation that help students to complete their assignments & homework. We have provided NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 11 The Proposal in PDF format so that you can download them for offline use.

Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 11 NCERT Questions and Answers

Thinking About the Play

Question 1. 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.

Answer: At first Chubukov suspected that Lomov had come to borrow money as he was in his evening dress. He was not sincere when he told Lomov that he had always loved him and that he was like his own son, because he had decided to not give any money to Lomov. It was only when Lomov asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage that his attitude changed and he rushed out to call his daughter, Natalya.

Question 2. Chubukov says of Natalya: “……. as if she won’t consent! She’s in love; egad, she’s like a lovesick cat……” Would you agree? Find reasons for your answer.

Answer: Chubukov thinks that Lomov was a good marriage prospect for his daughter. He had been waiting for this proposal. When Lomov expressed his doubt regarding Natalya’s consent to the proposal, Chubukov immediately told him that she was in love with him. However, this was not true. Natalya did not seem to be in love with Lomov at any point in the play. It seemed like she was more attached to her land, meadows and dog than to Lomov. In fact, the way they kept getting into arguments about trivial matters suggest that neither Lomov nor Natalya was in love with the other.

Question 3. (i) Find all the words and expressions in the play that the characters use to speak about each other, and the accusations and insults they hurl at each other. (For example, Lomov in the end calls Chubukov an intriguer; but earlier, Chubukov has himself called Lomov a “malicious, doublefaced intriguer.” Again, Lomov begins by describing Natalya as “an excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking, well-educated.”)

(ii) Then think of five adjectives or adjectival expressions of your own to describe each character in the play.

(iii) Can you now imagine what these characters will quarrel about next?

Answer: (i) The words and expressions that have been used in the play by various characters to describe each other are listed below:

Chubukov: intriguer, grabber, old rat, Jesuit

Natalya: a lovesick cat, an excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking’ well-educated.

Lomov: a good neighbour, impudent, pettifogger, malicious, double-faced intriguer, rascal, blind hen, turnip-ghost, a villain, a scarecrow, the stuffed sausage, a monster, the wizen-faced frump, pup, fool, milksop, etc.

(ii) & (iii) Activity to be done by yourself.

Thinking About the Language

Question I:

1. This play has been translated into English from the Russian original. Are there any expressions or ways of speaking that strike you as more Russian than English? For example, would an adult man be addressed by an older man as my darling or my treasure in an English play?

Read through the play carefully, and find expressions that you think are not used in contemporary English, and contrast these with idiomatic modern English expressions that also occur in the play.

2. Look up the following words in a dictionary and find out how to pronounce them. Pay attention to how many syllables there are in each word, and find out which syllable is stressed, or said more forcefully.

palpitationsinterfereimplorethoroughbred
pedigreeprincipleevidencemisfortune
maliciousembezzlementarchitectneighbours
accustomedtemporarybehaviourdocuments

3. Look up the following phrases in a dictionary to find out their meaning, and then use each in a sentence of your own.

(i) You may take it that
(ii) He seems to be coming round
(iii) My foot’s gone to sleep

Answer: 1. The expressions that are not used in contemporary English include:

(i) “my darling”, “my angel”, “my beloved”, “my beauty”, “my treasure” – All these expressions were used for an adult man by an older man.

(ii) “…and all that sort of thing” – This expression does not explain what it is, just leaves it as it is.

(iii) “…and all that” – This expression leaves the sentence as it is.

(iv) “how may you be getting on?” – In this expression, Lomov is asking Chubukov about his well-being.

(v) “the scarecrow”, “the stuffed sausage”, “the wizen-faced frump” – This expressions were used by Chubukov to hurl abuses to Lomov.

Some of the modern English expressions used in the play were:

Lomov addressing Natalya: “Madam”, “my heart”, “honoured Natalya Stepanovna”.

Lomov addressing Chubukov: “Honoured Stepan Stepanovitch”, “I beg pardon Stepan Honouritch”.

Chubukov addressing Lomov: “My dear fellow”.

Chubukov insulting Lomov: “malicious, doublefaced intriguer”, “fool”, “guzzling gambler”.

Natalya to Lomov: “shout yourself hoarse”

2. Activity to be done by yourself.

3. (i) You may take it that I’m lying, but I’m actually not feeling well.

(ii) He seems to be coming round after the tragic accident that he met last year in which he lost his wife.

(iii) My foot’s gone to sleep after exercising in the gym for two hours.

Question II: Reported Speech

You must have noticed that when we report someone’s exact words, we have to make some changes in the sentence structure. In the following sentences fill in the blanks to list the changes that have occurred in the above pairs of sentences. One has been done for you.

1. To report a question, we use the reporting verb asked (as in Sentence Set 1).

2. To report a statement, we use the reporting verb _______________.

3. The adverb of place here changes to __________________.

4. When the verb in direct speech is in the present tense, the verb in reported speech is in the ________________ tense (as in Sentence Set 3).

5. If the verb in direct speech is in the present continuous tense, the verb in reported speech changes to _____________ tense. For example, ________ changes to was getting.

6. When the sentence in direct speech contains a word denoting respect, we add the adverb ______________ in the reporting clause (as in Sentence Set 1).

7. The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in the first person in direct speech, change according to the subject or object of the reporting verb such as , ____________, ____________, _______________ or ____________ in reported speech.

Answer: 2. To report a statement, we use the reporting verb said/declared.

3. The adverb of place here changes to there.

4. When the verb in direct speech is in the present tense, the verb in reported speech is in the past tense.

5. If the verb in direct speech is in the present continuous tense, the verb in reported speech changes to past continuous tense. For example, am getting changes to was getting.

6. When the sentence in direct speech contains a word denoting respect, we add the adverb respectfully in the reporting clause.

7. The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in the first person in direct speech, change according to the subject or object of the reporting verb such as he/she, him/her, their or his/her’s in reported speech.

Question III: Here is an excerpt from an article from the Times of India dated 27 August 2006. Rewrite it, changing the sentences in direct speech into reported speech. Leave the other sentences unchanged.

“Why do you want to know my age? If people know I am so old, I won’t get work!” laughs 90-year-old A. K. Hangal, one of Hindi cinema’s most famous character actors. For his age, he is rather energetic. “What’s the secret?” we ask. “My intake of everything is in small quantities. And I walk a lot,” he replies. “I joined the industry when people retire. I was in my 40s. So I don’t miss being called a star. I am still respected and given work, when actors of my age are living in poverty and without work. I don’t have any complaints,” he says, adding, “but yes, I have always been underpaid.” Recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Hangal never hankered after money or materialistic gains. “No doubt I am content today, but money is important. I was a fool not to understand the value of money earlier,” he regrets.

Answer: 90-year-old A.K. Hangal, one of Hindi cinema’s most famous character actors, asked laughingly why we wanted to know his age. He said that if people knew he was that old, he would not get work. For his age, he is rather energetic. We asked him about the secret. He replied that his intake of everything in small quantities was the secret and he walked a lot. He said that he had joined the industry when people usually retire. He was in his 40s, so he did not miss being called a star. He was still respected and given work, when actors of his age were living in poverty and without work. He said he had no complaints and adding that he had always been underpaid. Being the recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Hangal never hankered after money or materialistic gains. He said that no doubt he was content at present, but money was an important aspect. He said regretfully that he was a fool not to understand the value of money before.