Chapter 1 – A Letter to God Questions and Answers: NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English (First Flight (Prose))

Ques: Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?

Answer: Lencho had complete faith in God. The following sentences in the text shows this:

• “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.

Ques: Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?

Answer: The postmaster sent money to Lencho, to keep alive the trust of Lencho in God. As he read Lencho’s letter he grew serious and wished he had the same faith in God. Even after seeing that Lencho had asked for money, he stuck to his pledge to answer the message. He raised as much money as he was able to and sent it to Lencho. He signed it as God so as not to shake Lencho’s faith in him.

Ques:Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?

Answer: Lencho did not try to find out who sent the money because he never suspected that anyone else other then God would send him the money. He has strong faith in God and believed that God had sent him the money.

Ques: 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 ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.]

Answer: Lencho figured that the majority of the money had been taken from the post office workers. The irony of the case was that the workers that he called “a bunch of crooks” and accused them of stealing some of the money actually contributed their shares to send him the money.

Ques: Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?

Answer: Lencho was not surprised to see the letter from God with money inside it because of his confidence and faith in God. HE was anyways expecting a reply from God.

Ques: What made him angry?

Answer: When Lencho counted the money he became furious. The envelope held only seventy pesos. He was sure that God would not make a mistake, or refuse him what he had asked. Therefore, he concluded that the remaining thirty pesos would have been taken by post office employees.

Ques: Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.

Greedy	Naïve	stupid	ungrateful
selfish	comical	unquestioning

Answer:There might be a few people like Lencho in the real world. He is an unquestioning and naïve kind of person.

Ques: There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?

Answer: The conflict between human beings and nature is demonstrated by the devastation by hailstorms of Lencho’s crops. Lencho had been working very hard on his fields and for him, the harvest was very important. He required the money to feed his family. Nature turned violent though. Accompanying the rains was a hailstorm that killed the crops. The tale also highlights a particular dispute, between people themselves. Together with the help of the other post office staff, the postmaster gave Lencho the money they could raise. They were in no way linked to Lencho. On their part, it has been an act of generosity and selflessness. While they have done a good deed, Lencho has blamed them for taking some money away. He called them “a crooks ‘bunch.” This shows that man has no faith in his fellow human beings, and thus gives rise to this conflict.

Ques: 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 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:__ __ c __ __ __ __
2. An extremely strong wind: __ a __ __
3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds: __ __ p __ __ __ __
4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel:__ __ __ n __ __ __
5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic ocean: __ __ r __ __ __ __ __ __
6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: __ __ __ __ l __ __ __ __

Answer:

1. Cyclone
2. Gale
3. Typhoon
4. Tornado
5. Hurricane
6. Whirlwind

Ques: Join the sentences given below using who,whom,whose,which has suggested.

1. I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. (which)
2. My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)
3. These sportspersons are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)
4. Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds. (whose)
5. This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)

Answer:

1. I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.
2. My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.
3. These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.
4. Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.
5. This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.