A Journey By Air

How many people have the good fortune to travel by plane? I was one of the fortunate few. My first flight in the air was the most exciting experience in my life.
I was travelling from Delhi to London by air. I entered the aeroplane in the morning. It was like getting into a car or bus but the noise of the machine made us feel that it was different. Soon the plane took off and rose in the air higher and higher. The buzzing sound which had fascinated me continued. When I looked down, things looked tiny.
The plane rushed fast through the air without

a bump or a jolt, when all of a sudden bad weather overtook us. The plane began to swing from side to side and the pilot was a little troubled in controlling it, but I felt happy like a bird swinging in the air. Due to weather, some of the passengers felt sick. Some slept in their seats but I sat still. I took great pleasure in looking at the scenery of the different places as we passed over.
After flying for a few hours, we were told that we were passing over a big desert which looked like a meadow from the air. It was a lovely sight. The sun was just setting. The ships below looked like toys floating in a tub of water. The blue sea was simply enchanting.
We stopped at Cairo for the night. The coming down of the plane was quite pleasant. The plane had made some peculiar movements while landing. I was told that it was due to some engine trouble.
During dinner I was introduced to the members of the plane crew. There was the chief pilot who commanded the plane. Then there was a co-pilot, a radio officer .and three officers belonging to the plane. One of them was an engineer, another radio expert and the third radioman. There were also pursers and air hostesses to look after the passengers.
We retired for rest very soon as the plane

was to take off very early in the morning. But I could not sleep. If ever I closed my eyes, I was awakened by a constant buzzing sound in my brain and I began to think again of the lands I had passed over.
My father woke me up. Soon we took off again. It seemed to be a big dash through the air. I was very anxious to get a glimpse of Paris But when we were approaching France, strong winds overtook us. Fog blinded our view. I was badly dis­appointed. Our plane finally touched down at Heathrow Airport, from where we drove off to a hotel in the heart of London.
The total flight had taken us nearly twelve hours, excluding the night's halt at Cairo. From Delhi to Karachi it was about two hours' flight. Karachi to Cairo took us about five hours, from Cairo to Paris about four hours and from Paris to London about an hour. It was a very interesting and exciting journey indeed.

A Bus Conductor

A bus conductor is the most important organ of public transport system. He has a very difficult duty. His day starts early in the morning as he is to reach the depot early. He is picked by the staff bus to reach the depot.
As soon as he reaches depot he marks his attendance and takes charge of his bus. He is provided a form known as waybill.
He notes down the opening number of the tickets of different denominations on the waybill. He issues tickets of different denominations to the com­muters and keeps an account of the tickets sold on each trip. At the end of the trip he notes the closing number of the tickets.
His job is comparatively easy in the morning and noon time. He has to deal with passengers from every walk of life But he is much busy at the hours of the day.
He has a small leather bag to keep money and tickets. He moves from one end to the other to distribute tickets to the passengers.
At peak hours there is a great rush of passengers at every stop. Generally there is no queue at the stops so he has to prevent the overcrowding of the bus. Very often he has to deal with typical passengers.
He has to keep a watch on pick pocketeers also. He has to be very vigilant and tactful. Some passengers try to cheat him. They try to travel without paying fare. College students generally tease him for the sake of fun.
He gets a rest of few minutes at the end of each trip. During this period he takes a cup of tea or smokes. At the end of his duty, he deposits the cash with the cashier.

A Birthday Party

Fiona is my neighbor. She turned twelve recently and her parents held a birthday party for her. I was one of those invited.
The party began at about three in the afternoon. There were about twenty of us children gathered in Fiona's house. We were all dressed in our best clothes. Everyone, especially Fiona, wore a happy smile.
We gave our presents to Fiona and she happily opened them. It must really be exciting to receive all those presents.
After that Fiona's mother served us soft drinks and delicious tidbits. We then played some games like "Musical Chairs" and "Treasure Hunt". The winners were given prizes.
At about four-thirty Fiona's mother brought out the birthday cake. It was beautifully decorated with pink and white icing. Twelve colorful candles sat in the middle of the cake. We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Fiona after which she blew out the candles and cut the cake. We clapped out hands eagerly.
We helped ourselves to slices of the delicious cake. Then we continued our games.
Finally at about six in the evening the party came to an end. We were all tired but happy. The parents of the other children came to collect them. I helped Fiona and her mother clean up the mess we made. After that I walked home which was only two doors away. 

A Bicycle Ride

I joined this school three years ago. Then I lived with my parents in a small village about eight miles from here. I could not walk to school and back daily, and the journey by bus was considered to be too costly. My father decided to buy me a bicycle.

It took me nearly a fortnight to learn how to ride it. Then one day, I left for school on my life I was riding a bicycle to school and that bicycle was my own.

I took it into my head to beat every cyclist riding a head of me and to let none overtake me from behind. For some time I succeeded in achieving this aim, but them my untrained muscles let me down.  I had to pedal slowly. After a while I speeded up once more but soon found myself climbing a steep hill. It was a hard job to go along, but my sense of pride, and my excitement would not let me get off the bicycle, and push it along somehow or other, I reached the top.

I felt the greatest thrill of my life, when my bicycle began to free-wheel down the hill at a tremendous speed. I felt as if I had been flying in an aero plane soaring to earth. This taught me a useful  lesson one must first sweat and toil to win ease and comfort in the end.  After my effortless journey down the hill, I found myself fit enough to challenge a few more cyclist to race against me. I would not be beaten by anybody.

I reached school very early that day indeed, I was the first to arrive I parked my bicycle outside our classroom in full view of all my classmates. But what disappointment I had! Far from admiring it, none of them even enquired to whom it belonged. It was something wonderful to me, but nothing unusual to them.

The Game of Badminton

Badminton is a court or lawn game played with lightweight rackets and a shuttlecock, a small, cork hemisphere with 14 to 16 feathers attached and weighing about 80 grains (0.17-ounce [5 g]). A nylon shuttlecock with the apron furnished by feathers is also used. The game is named for Badminton, the country estate of the dukes of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England, where it was first played in about 1873. It may have started much earlier in India. In the 1860s British army officers stationed there reportedly played the game out of doors and called it poona. Ultimately, badminton derives from an old children's game, battledore and shuttlecock.
The first unofficial All-England badminton championships for men were held in 1899, and the first badminton tournament for women was arranged the next year. The International Badminton Federation (IBF), world governing body of the sport, was formed in 1934. Its headquarters are in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Eng. Badminton is also popular in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and Denmark. A number of regional, national, and zonal badminton tournaments are held in several countries. The best known of these matches is the All-England Championships. Other well-known international tournaments include the Thomas Cup (donated 1939) for men's team competition and the Uber Cup (donated 1956) for women's team competition. Badminton first appeared in the Olympic Games as a demonstration sport in 1972 and as an exhibition sport in 1988. At the 1992 Games it became a full-medal Olympic sport, with competition for men's and women's singles (one against one) and doubles (two against two).