Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:

'But when she was just opposite to him, she halted, her wings motionless, the piece of fish in her beak almost within reach of his beak. He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer, and then, maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish. With a loud scream he fell outwards and downwards into space.'

1. Who does 'him' refer to in these lines?
2. Who halted when she was opposite to the young seagull?
3. What did the young seagull do ?
4. What happened when he dived at the fish?

Q1. Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:

The young seagull was alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his sister had already flown away the day before. He had been afraid to fly with them. Somehow when he had taken a little run forward to the brink of the ledge and attempted to flap his wings he became afraid. The great expanse of sea stretched down beneath, and it was such a long way down — miles down. He felt certain that his wings would never support him; so he bent his head and ran away back to the little hole under the ledge where he slept at night.

1. Who had already flown away the day before?
2. Who had become afraid and why?
3. Find the word from the text that means 'sure'.
4. What did he do when he thought that his wings would never support him?

Q3. Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :

The day before, all day long, he had watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister, perfecting them in the art of flight, teaching them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish. He had, in fact, seen his older brother catch his first herring and devour it, standing on a rock, while his parents circled around raising a proud cackle.

Q4. Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :

“Ga, ga, ga,” he cried begging her to bring him some food. “Gaw-col-ah,” she screamed back derisively. But he kept calling plaintively, and after a minute or so he uttered a joyful scream. His mother had picked up a piece of the fish and was flying across to him with it.

Why was the young seagull alone on his ledge?

What was the young seagull afraid of?

Why was the young seagull afraid of flying?

How was the young seagull different from his brothers and sister?

What did the seagull do when his brothers and sister flapped their wings and flew away?

How did the young seagull's father and mother react on his fear of flying?