Summary
A pilot flying a Dakota aeroplane over France towards England at night encounters a storm and becomes lost. His instruments and radio fail, leaving him without a compass or any way to communicate. In the storm, he sees another aeroplane flying next to him and the pilot signals for him to follow. The pilot follows the other aeroplane for half an hour, until they both come out of the clouds and he sees a runway and airport in front of him. He lands safely but when he tries to find the other pilot, the black aeroplane is gone and the air traffic control denies any other planes were flying in the storm. The pilot is left wondering who the mysterious pilot on the black aeroplane was and how he safely guided him to the airport.
Create Summary in 300 Words
A pilot flying a Dakota aeroplane over France towards England at night encounters a storm and becomes lost. His instruments and radio fail, leaving him without a compass or any way to communicate. In the storm, he sees another aeroplane flying next to him and the pilot signals for him to follow. The pilot follows the other aeroplane for half an hour, as they navigate through the black clouds. As the fuel tank was getting low, the pilot was starting to feel frightened, but then he saw the other aeroplane going down, and he followed it. Suddenly, he came out of the clouds and saw two long straight lines of lights in front of him, which was a runway and an airport. He had safely landed.
The pilot turned to look for the other pilot, but the sky was empty, and the black aeroplane was gone. He could not see it anywhere. He walked towards the control tower and asked a woman in the control centre where he was and who the other pilot was, He wanted to say ‘Thank you’, but the woman looked at him very strangely and laughed. She said, “Another aeroplane? Up there in this storm? No other aeroplanes were flying tonight. Yours was the only one I could see on the radar.” So who helped him to arrive there safely without a compass or a radio, and without any more fuel in his tanks? Who was the pilot on the strange black aeroplane, flying in the storm, without lights?
The story leaves the readers with many questions and a sense of mystery and uncertainty. The pilot’s experiences in the storm, the mysterious black aeroplane, and the strange behaviour of the control tower staff, all add to the intrigue of the story. The story also highlights the importance of communication and navigation in flying and the dangers of flying in adverse weather conditions. The pilot’s sense of gratitude towards the unknown pilot who helped him, despite the fact that the air traffic control denies the existence of other planes in the storm, is a powerful reminder of the importance of human connection and the power of one person’s actions to make a difference in someone else’s life.
Prose Passage -01
The sun was setting over the mountains, casting a warm orange glow across the sky. As the last rays of sunlight faded away, a group of hikers made their way down a dirt trail, deep in conversation.
“What kind of tree is that?” one hiker asked, pointing to a tall, slender tree with smooth, gray bark.
“That’s a Douglas Fir,” another hiker replied. “It’s a type of evergreen tree that’s commonly found in the western United States.”
As they continued on their hike, they came across a small stream with a wooden bridge spanning across it. One of the hikers paused to take a drink from the stream.
“Is it safe to drink water straight from the stream like that?” he asked.
“It depends on the location and the source of the water,” a third hiker explained. “In general, it’s best to filter or boil water from natural sources before drinking it to be on the safe side.”
As they reached the summit, the hikers were greeted by a breathtaking view of the valley below. One of the hikers pulled out a map and compass to navigate the way back.
“How does a compass work?” he asked.
“A compass works by using the Earth’s magnetic field,” the first hiker replied. “The needle inside the compass points towards the magnetic North Pole, which helps us determine direction.”
Multiple Choice Questions:
1)Question. What kind of tree is that?
a) Douglas Fir
b) Oak
c) Pine
d) Maple
Answer: a) Douglas Fir
2)Question. Is it safe to drink water straight from the stream?
a) Yes
b) No
Answer: b) No
3)Question. How does a compass work?
a) Uses the Earth’s magnetic field
b) Uses the Sun’s rays
c) Uses GPS
d) Uses the wind direction
Answer: a) Uses the Earth’s magnetic field
4)Question. What is the general advice when drinking water from natural sources?
a) Drink it as is
b) Boil it
c) Filter it
d) All of the above
Answer: c) Filter it
5)Question. What was the hikers’ destination?
a) The summit
b) The valley
c) The stream
d) The tree
Answer: a) The summit
The story “The Black Aeroplane” tells of a pilot flying his Dakota aeroplane over France towards England at night. He encounters a storm and becomes lost, as his instruments and radio fail, leaving him without a compass or any way to communicate. In the storm, he sees another aeroplane flying next to him, and the pilot signals for him to follow. The pilot follows the other aeroplane for half an hour, as they navigate through the black clouds. As the fuel tank was getting low, the pilot was starting to feel frightened, but then he saw the other aeroplane going down, and he followed it. Suddenly, he came out of the clouds and saw two long straight lines of lights in front of him, which was a runway and an airport. He had safely landed.
Multiple Choice Questions:
1.Question. What was the main problem faced by the pilot in the story “The Black Aeroplane”?
a) Technical issues with the aeroplane
b) Lack of fuel
c) Adverse weather conditions
d) Communication failure
Answer: d) Communication failure
2.Question. Who helped the pilot navigate through the storm?
a) Paris Control
b) Another pilot on a black aeroplane
c) The map
d) None of the above
Answer: b) Another pilot on a black aeroplane
3.Question. What did the pilot see in the storm?
a) A runway
b) A airport
c) A city
d) A storm clouds
Answer: d) A storm clouds
4.Question. What did the air traffic control say about the other aeroplane?
a) They confirm the existence of another plane
b) They deny the existence of another plane
Answer: b) They deny the existence of another plane
5.Question. What was the pilot’s destination?
a) England
b) France
c) Paris
d) The storm clouds
Answer: a) England
Question and Answers
1. Question. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?
Answer; The risk that the narrator is referring to is flying into the storm, despite the potential dangers it poses. The narrator takes this risk because he wants to get home and have a big English breakfast, rather than returning to Paris.
2. Question. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Answer; As the narrator flew the aeroplane into the storm, he experienced complete darkness, as he could not see anything outside the aeroplane. The old aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air, and the narrator’s compass and other instruments were suddenly dead. He tried to use the radio, but it was also dead. The narrator was lost in the storm and could not see where he was going.
3.Question. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?
Answer; The narrator says, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…” because he had had a difficult and stressful experience flying the aeroplane into the storm. He was glad to be on the ground and away from the aeroplane.
4. Question. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
Answer; The woman in the control centre looked at the narrator strangely because he asked her about the other pilot and the black aeroplane, which she denied ever existing.
5. Question. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among
Answer; The narrator does not know who helped him reach safely, it is left to the reader’s interpretation. Some readers may believe that it was an angel or a guardian, others may think it was a hallucination, and others may believe that the narrator himself was able to navigate through the storm. There are many possibilities, but the text does not provide enough information to determine the true identity of the mysterious pilot on the black aeroplane.
One Liner
Who is the narrator of the story?
A: The narrator is a pilot flying a Dakota aeroplane.
Where is the narrator flying to?
A: The narrator is flying to England.
What time of day is it when the story begins?
A: It is one thirty in the morning.
What does the narrator see in front of him as he flies?
A: The narrator sees the lights of a big city in front of him.
What direction does Paris Control tell the narrator to turn towards?
A: Paris Control tells the narrator to turn twelve degrees west.
What kind of weather does the narrator encounter?
A: The narrator encounters a storm with huge clouds.
What instruments on the aeroplane stop working in the storm?
A: The compass and radio stop working in the storm.
A: The narrator has only enough fuel in the last tank to fly for five or ten more minutes.
How does the pilot in the other aeroplane help the narrator?
A: The pilot in the other aeroplane waves and signals for the narrator to follow him.
What does the narrator see when he emerges from the storm?
A: The narrator sees two long straight lines of lights, which he realizes is a runway and an airport.
Where does the narrator land safely?
A: The narrator lands safely at an airport.
Who does the narrator ask about the other pilot?
A: The narrator asks a woman in the control center about the other pilot.
What does the woman in the control center tell the narrator?
A: The woman in the control center tells the narrator that no other airplanes were flying that night and that his was the only one on the radar.
How does the narrator feel after landing the airplane?
A: The narrator is relieved to walk away from the old Dakota and is happy to be safe.
What is the narrator’s main concern after the storm?
A: The narrator is concerned about finding the pilot of the other aeroplane and thanking him.
What does the narrator’s fuel gauge read when he encounters the storm?
A: The narrator’s fuel gauge read that the tank is empty.
What does the narrator’s compass do when he’s in the storm?
A: The narrator’s compass starts spinning round and round, it was dead and wouldn’t work
Who is the narrator of the story?
A: The narrator of the story is a pilot flying a Dakota aeroplane.
What does the narrator want after the flight?
A: The narrator wants to have a good big English breakfast.
Difficult words
- Aeroplane (noun): a vehicle with wings and one or more engines that is used for flying.
- Compass (noun): an instrument used for determining direction, typically consisting of a magnetized needle that indicates magnetic north and is mounted on a rotating housing.
- Obedient (adjective): willing to obey; dutiful.
- Radar (noun): a system for detecting the presence, direction, distance, and speed of aircraft, ships, and other objects by radio waves that are reflected from their surfaces.
- Strange (adjective): unusual or unexpected; difficult to understand or explain.
- Storm (noun): a disturbance of the atmosphere marked by wind, rain, snow, sleet, or thunder and lightning.
- Frightened (verb): to cause fear in (someone).
- Emerges (verb): To come out or appear from a particular place or situation.
- Runway (noun): a strip of hard surface, typically asphalt or concrete, on an airport along which aircraft can take off and land.
- Compassionate (adjective): feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.
- Oblique (adjective): not straight or direct; slanting or inclined.
- Navigational (adjective): of or relating to the navigation of ships or aircraft.
- Dutiful (adjective): showing a sense of moral or legal responsibility; conscientious.
- Perplexed (adjective): confused and uncertain about what to think or do.
- Resilience (noun): the ability to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
- Inscrutable (adjective): difficult to understand or interpret; mysterious.
- Adversity (noun): a difficult or unpleasant situation; misfortune.
- Inclement (adjective): unpleasantly cold or wet.
- Askew (adjective): not in a straight or level position; crooked.
- Visceral (adjective): relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect.