Lesson-2
Breaking Barriers
(New) Word-Meanings
| Word | Meaning |
1. | remarkable | likely to be noticed |
2. | cockpit | a space in a vehicle from which it is driven (control) |
3. | take off | to leave the surface |
4. | disastrous | causing suffering |
5. | supersonic | sound related to aeroplanes |
6. | barriers | obstacles |
7. | excerpt | a passage selected from a book |
8. | full- fledged | fully developed |
A. Answer in brief.
1. Who were India’s first batch of women fighter pilots?
Ans- Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawna Kanth and Mohana Singh were India’s first batch of women fighter pilots.
2. What made Avani’s achievement so extraordinary?
Ans- At 24 years, Avani Chaturvedi became the first Indian woman to fly a solo sortie on a fighter aircraft.
3. Who all continue to the third stage of training?
Ans- Those who fit to be fighter pilots, continue to the third stage of training.
4. What is Avani’s next goal?
Ans- Avani’s next goal is to become a full- fledged operational pilot.
B. Read these lines from the text and answer the questions.
1. “I don’t carry them with me.”
a. What does the speaker refer to as ‘them’?
Ans- The speaker refers to ‘them’ as any feelings of achievement and empowerment.
b. Where does the speaker not ‘carry them’? What does the speaker do then?
Ans- The speaker did not ‘carry them’ to the aircraft. She wisely focused on flying her aircraft.
c. What does this tell you about the speaker?
Ans- It tells us that the speaker is very focused towards her work.
2. “On Avani’s second sortie of the day, during the training, there was a warning as she was preparing to take off.”
a. Why was there a warning?
Ans- There was a warning as the second sortie was part of the training session.
b. What did Avani do then? Was her reaction correct?
Ans- When Avani got the warning; she immediately decided to abort the take off. Yes, her reaction was correct.
c. What did Avani learn from this incident?
Ans- Avani learnt from the incident that how the decision made in a split second can get the situation under control or push it out of control.
C. Answer in detail.
1. What happened on February 19, 2018? Why was it so special?
Ans- On February 19, 2018, a supersonic fighter jet, a MiG-21 Bison, took off from the Jamnagar Air Force Station in Gujarat. It was so special because this was the first solo flight by Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi.
2. How were fighter pilots trained in the Indian Air Force?
Ans- The Indian Air Force has a three-stage process for training pilots. In Stage 1, pilots have to practice flying in a basic aircraft for 55 hours; while in Stage 2, they have to practise flying for 87 hours in an advanced jet trainer. After this training, the trainees are separated into different streams, according to what they will be flying--- helicopter, transport planes, or fighter jets.
3. How did Avani progress from stage two to stage three?
Ans- Avani’s progress from stage two to stage three was gradual and there was a structured syllabus to become an operational pilot. She started her advanced training in July 2016 and completed it in October 2017.
