CBSE Class 12 English HOTs Deep Water Set 02

Think as you Read 

Question. What is the ‘misadventure’ that William Douglas speaks about? Or What shocking experience did Douglas have at the YMCA pool?
Answer: William Douglas speaks about the ‘misadventure’ which happened at the YMCA swimming pool when he was about ten or eleven years old. A big bully threw Douglas into the deep end of the pool when no one was around. As a result, Douglas almost drowned.

Question. What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was thrown into the pool? What plans did he make to come to the surface?
Answer: When Douglas was thrown into the pool, he was much scared but he did not lose his mind. He planned that he would make a big jump when his feet would touch the bottom. Thus, he would come to the surface. Unfortunately, the plan failed. Consequently, Douglas was frightened and he panicked. He felt paralysed and screamed to get help, but in vain.

Question. How did this experience affect him?
Answer: The near drowning experience had a very deep meaning for and impact on Douglas. It left a haunting fear lurking in his heart. He was extremely scared of water and avoided going near it whenever he could. The fear deprived him of the joys of boating and fishing and destroyed his social life.

Think as you Read 

Question. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Answer: Douglas regretted being deprived of enjoying water-based activities and sports like canoeing, boating, fishing and swimming. His ardent wish to enjoy such activities and regain his lost confidence while staying in water were the reasons for his determination to get over his fear of water.

Question. How did the instructor ‘build a swimmer’ out of Douglas?
Answer: The haunting fear of the water followed Douglas in all of his fishing trips, and activities like swimming, boating and canoeing activities. To get rid of this fear, he employed an instructor who practiced with him five days a week, an hour each day. To build a good swimmer out of Douglas, the instructor trained him slowly and step by step.
First, the instructor made him shed his initial fear of water by making him cross a pool suspended by a rope attached through a pulley to his belt. This went on for three months. Then, Douglas was taught to exhale under the water and raise his nose above water and inhale. In the next step, Douglas was made to kick his legs until they were relaxed. Finally, after seven months, the instructor told him to swim the length of the pool. By performing all the steps that he had learned at the time, Douglas became a swimmer.

Question. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Answer: To make sure that Douglas had in fact conquered the old terror, he tested his skills at different water bodies. He swam alone in the pool, went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire and swam two miles across the lake. Further, he went to the Warm Lake and swam to the other shore and back.

Understanding the Text 

Question. How does Douglas make clear to the reader the sense of panic that gripped him as he almost drowned? Describe the details that have made the description vivid.
Answer: Douglas tells us about the fear that gripped him as he almost drowned by providing a vivid image of the situation. The use of words creates a clear picture in our mind about how the event took place and how Douglas felt and reacted to it.
The descriptions show how initially not panicked, Douglas plans to save himself. His panic and terror emerges when his plans fails and he saw nothing but water with a yellow glow. As a result, Douglas was screaming under water. He seemed to have been paralysed. He tries to look for ropes, ladders and water wings to save himself but found nothing. This frightened him even more. His arms and legs stopped moving. He tried to call for his mother, but nothing happened.

Question. Why does Douglas as an adult recount a childhood experience of terror and his conquering of it? What larger meaning does he draw from this experience? Or What lesson did Douglas learn when he got rid of his fear of water?
Answer: Douglas, as an adult, recounted the horrific experience and his conquering of it as it had completely changed his life.
He felt that the sensation of dying somehow intensified his zest for life. The fight against the terror taught him the very important lesson that ‘All we have to fear is fear itself.’ When he finally shed his fear, it proved that nothing is impossible for one with a firm will and determination.

Talking about the Text 

Question. “All we have to fear is fear itself”. Have you ever had a fear that you have now overcome? Share your experience with your partner.
Answer: Like Douglas, I too had a terrible experience in my life, but now I have overcome the fear of drowning which started due to an incident.
A small river flows near our village. During the summer vacation, we used to go there for bathing and learning swimming. Very often, we were cautioned by the villagers not to bathe in it, as there is a deeper part near the bank where we swam. Being children, we never really bothered. One day my brother and I took off our clothes and plunged into the river.
By chance, the water was overflowing the bank and the current was fast. While diving, both of us were stuck in the deeper portion and started drowning. We cried out loudly as we thought that it was the end of our lives. When one of my friends saw us, he shouted to the other villagers to call them. They soon came and brought us out of the water.
Since then, we shifted our bathing to another part of the river and took the guidance of another villager who was an expert in swimming. Soon, I became an expert swimmer and overcame the fear of drowning.

Extract Based Questions

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Question. I went to the pool when no one else was there. The place was quiet. The water was still, and the tiled bottom was as white and clean as a bathtub. I was timid about going in alone, so I sat on the side of the pool to wait for others.
I had not been there long when in came a big bruiser of a boy, probably eighteen years old. He had thick hair on his chest. He was a beautiful physical specimen, with legs and arms that showed rippling, muscles. He yelled,

Question. Why did the narrator sit on the side of the pool?
Answer: The narrator sat on the side of the pool because he was afraid of entering the pool alone.

Question. Select the suitable word from the extract to complete the following analogy.
Specimen : Sample :: Apprehensive : ___________
Answer: Timid

Question. Complete the sentence with an appropriate explanation, as per the extract.
Douglas decided to wait for the others because ___________ .
Answer: he was fearful of swimming alone

Question. What do you think is the purpose of the description of the bully in the extract?
Answer: The description of the bully in the extract is central to understanding the low confidence of the narrator. Douglas as a child was a skinny and lean boy. In contrast the bully was muscular and was handsome.

Question. How did the pool look like when the narrator went there?
(a) Pleasant and lively
(b) Thrilling and attractive
(c) Timid and indifferent
(d) Still and clean
Answer: (d) Still and clean

Question. What did big bruiser of a boy do?
(a) He flashed his rippling muscles.
(b) He frightened the narrator.
(c) He picked the narrator and tossed him into the deep end.
(d) He took the narrator along to make him learn swimming.
Answer: (c) He picked the narrator and tossed him into the deep end.

Question. My breath was gone. I was frightened. Father laughed, but there was terror in my heart at the overpowering force of the waves. My introduction to the YMCA swimming pool revived unpleasant memories and stirred childish fears. But in a little while I gathered confidence. I paddled with my new water wings, watching the other boys and trying to learn by aping them. I did this two or three times on different days and was just beginning to feel at ease in the water when the misadventure happened.

Question. Why do you think the father laughed at the narrator?
Answer: Father laughed at the narrator because he found the situation of the narrator being swept by the wave to be amusing. He did not think that the incident would scare the narrator so much that he would develop a fear of water.

Question. Select the correct option from those given in brackets to fill in the blank.
The author was finally comfortable with water at ___________ . (YMCA pool/Yakima river)
Answer: YMCA pool

Question. Complete the sentence appropriately.
The purpose of the water wings is to ___________ .
Answer: protect the narrator from drowning

Question. Do you think calling Douglas’ aversion to swimming as ‘childish fears’ is correct?
Answer: No, I do not think that the calling Douglas’ aversion to swimming as ‘childish fears’ is correct as Douglas was deeply impacted by his fear.

Question. The misadventure that took place right after the author felt comfortable was that
(a) the author slipped and fell into the swimming pool.
(b) a bully tossed him into the pool for the sake of fun.
(c) his coach forgot to teach him how to handle deep water.
(d) his father couldn’t help him from drowning into the water.
Answer: (b) a bully tossed him into the pool for the sake of fun.

Question. “My introduction to the YMCA swimming pool revived unpleasant memories and stirred childish fears.” It can be inferred that this was a clear case of
(a) suppression
(b) oppression
(c) depression
(d) repression
Answer: (d) repression

Question. Then all effort ceased. I relaxed. Even my legs felt limp; and a blackness swept over my brain. It wiped out fear; it wiped out terror. There was no more panic. It was quiet and peaceful. Nothing to be afraid of. This is nice... to be drowsy... to go to sleep... no need to jump... too tired to jump... it’s nice to be carried gently... to float along in space... tender arms around me... tender arms like Mother’s... now I must go to sleep... I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell. 

Question. Why do you think Douglas stopped attempting to come out of the pool?
Answer: Douglas stopped attempting to come out of the pool because he was tired and his body had stopped working. His mind as well as body felt paralysed due to his fear.

Question. Select the correct option from those given in brackets to fill in the blank.
The ‘curtain (of life) fell’ corresponds to an aspect of ___________ . (history/drama)
Answer: drama

Question. Complete the sentence appropriately.
The efforts referred to in the extract is ___________ .
Answer: regarding jumping up to the surface of the pool

Question. Do you think Douglas accepted his death by drowning?
Answer: Yes, the given extract tells us that Douglas had accepted his fate of death by drowning.

Question. Which option indicates that the poet lost consciousness?
(a) ‘It was quiet and peaceful’
(b) ‘I crossed to oblivion’
(c) ‘Tender arms like Mother’s’
(d) ‘It wiped out fear’
Answer: (b) ‘I crossed to oblivion’

Question. The purpose of using “...” in the above passage is to
(a) show omission
(b) indicate pauses
(c) shorten a dialogue
(d) replace an idea
Answer: (b) indicate pauses

Question. The next I remember I was lying on my stomach beside the pool, vomiting. The chap that threw me in was saying, “But I was only fooling.” Someone said, “The kid nearly died. Be all right now. Let’s carry him to the locker room.”
Several hours later, I walked home. I was weak and trembling. I shook and cried when I lay on my bed. I couldn’t eat that night. For days a haunting fear was in my heart. The slightest exertion upset me, making me wobbly in the knees and sick to my stomach.
I never went back to the pool. I feared water. I avoided it whenever I could. 

Question. What physical problems did the narrator face after recovery?
Answer: After recovery, the narrator felt very weak and couldn’t stand as he was trembling. He couldn’t eat food properly. Even the slightest exertion would upset him, making him wobbly in the knees and sick to his stomach.

Question. Select the correct option from those given in bracket to fill in the blank.
After the incident, the narrator never went back to the pool as he was ___________ (afraid of/allergic to) water.
Answer: afraid of

Question. Complete the sentence with an appropriate explanation as per the extract.
The slightest exertion upset the boy because ___________ .
Answer: he was not only tired and scared but also his fear has increased.

Question. Identify the textual clue that allows the reader to infer that the chap threw the boy into the pool for fun.
Answer: ‘But I was only fooling’

Question. On the basis of the extract, choose the most correct option with reference to the two statements I and II given below.
I. The boy did not know how to swim.
II. The boy took long time to recover from his fear.
(a) I can be inferred from the extract, but II cannot
(b) II can be inferred from the extract, but I cannot
(c) I is true and II is false
(d) Both I and II are true
Answer: (d) Both I and II are true

Question. With reference to the extract, Douglas was vomiting because
(a) he had got severe food poisoning.
(b) he had just been rescued from nearly drowning in the pool.
(c) he was frightened when he saw the big man.
(d) he had gone for a swim on an empty stomach.
Answer: (b) he had just been rescued from nearly drowning in the pool.

Question. Tiny vestiges of the old terror would return. But now I could frown and say to that terror, ‘Trying to scare me, eh? Well, here’s to you! Look!’ And off I’d go for another length of the pool. This went on until July. But I was still not satisfied. I was not sure that all the terror had left. So, I went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Island, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island.
I swam the crawl, breast stroke, side stroke and back stroke.
Only once did the terror return. When I was in the middle of the lake, I put my face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. The old sensation returned in miniature.

Question. What was the reason for the ‘return’ of terror?
Answer: The terror returned in Douglas because of his prior drowning experiences.

Question. Select the correct option from those given in bracket to fill in the blank.
Douglas mentions that the old sensation returned in miniature. He means that he felt the familiar feeling of fear ___________ . (at irregular intervals/on a small scale)
Answer: on a small scale

Question. Complete the sentence suitably.
Douglas went to swim at Lake Wentworth to ___________ .
Answer: know for sure that he had overcome his fear of drowning in water

Question. What do the given lines tell us about Douglas’s swimming ability?
Answer: The given lines tells that with sincerity, dedication and practice, Douglas had become an expert swimmer with no fear of water.

Question. Select the option that lists the correct inference based on the information in the extract.
(a) Triggs Island and Stamp Act Island are both located in Lake Wentworth.
(b) Lake Wentworth is a part of Triggs Island.
(c) Stamp Act Island is two miles away from New Hampshire.
(d) Lake Wentworth is connected via docks to New Hampshire.
Answer: (a) Triggs Island and Stamp Act Island are located in Lake Wentworth.

Question. How did Douglas handle the ‘old sensation’?
(a) He addressed it
(b) He avoided it
(c) He submitted to it
(d) He stayed indifferent to it
Answer: (a) He addressed it