CBSE Class 12 English HOTs Deep Water Set 04

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.

It has happened when I was ten or eleven years old. I had decided to learn swim. There was a pool at the YMCA in Yakima that offered exactly the opportunity. The Yakima river was treacherous. Mother continually warned against it, and kept fresh in my mind the details of each drowning in the river. But the YMCA pool was safe. It was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end; and while it was nine feet deep at the other.

Question. What happened when the narrator was ten or eleven years old?
(a) He decided to swim
(b) He swam across the Yakima river
(c) A big bully threw him up in the YMCA Pool
(d) The waves knocked him down and swept over him
Answer: (a) He decided to swim

Question. Why was the Yakima river treacherous?
(a) Because it was deep and fast flowing
(b) Because it had whales and sharks
(c) Because it was unpredictable
(d) Because it was uneven
Answer: (a) Because it was deep and fast flowing

Question. How was the YMCA pool safe?
(a) As it was within protected premises
(b) As its depth was within two to nine feet
(c) As it contained pure water
(d) As it contained no water animals
Answer: (b) As its depth was within two to nine feet

Question. .......... in the extract means 'dangerous'.
(a) Drowning
(b) Shallow
(c) Subdued
(d) Treacherous
Answer: (d) Treacherous

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.

This started when I was three or four years old and father took me to the beach in California. He and I stood together in the surf. I hung on to him, yet the waves knocked me down and swept over me. I was buried in water. 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.

Question. Why did the narrator start fearing water?
(a) The waves had knocked him downed at the age of two or three
(b) The shark had attacked him in the sea
(c) Surfing had turned him upside down in the sea
(d) The swimming coach had frightened him
Answer: (a) The waves had knocked him downed at the age of two or three

Question. What stirred the childish fears in the mind of the narrator?
(a) The whale in the river Yakima
(b) His being thrown in the YMCA pool by a big bully
(c) His being knocked down at the sea by the waves
(d) His loss of breath
Answer: (c) His being knocked down at the sea by the waves

Question. How had the narrator overcome the childish fears?
(a) By forgetting unpleasant memories
(b) By watching and aping the other swimmers besides using water wings
(c) By ignoring the mocking
(d) By laughing out the fearful happenings
Answer: (b) By watching and aping the other swimmers besides using water wings

Question. The word 'buried' in the extract means .......... .
(a) rapport
(b) esteem
(c) fondness
(d) underground
Answer: (d) underground

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.

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. “Hi, Skinny! How’d you like to be ducked?”

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. Why did the narrator sit on the side of the pool?
(a) To enjoy the beauty of the pool
(b) He was afraid of entering the pool alone
(c) To wait for the coach to arrive
(d) To prepare himself mentally to enter the pool
Answer: (b) He was afraid of entering the pool alone

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. The word 'bruiser' in the extract means ......... .
(a) aggresor
(b) genius
(c) brain
(d) gentle
Answer: (a) aggresor

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.

I flailed at the surface of the water, swallowed and choked. I tried to bring my legs up, but they hung as dead weights, paralysed and rigid. A great force was pulling me under. I screamed, but only the water heard me. I had started on the long journey back to the bottom of the pool. I struck at the water as I went down, expending my strength as one in a nightmare fights as irresistible force. I had lost all my breath. My lungs ached, my head throbbed. I was getting dizzy . But I remembered the strategy - I would spring from the bottom of the pool and come like a cork to the surface.

Question. Why did the narrator scream?
(a) Out of fear
(b) For help
(c) To frighten the water animals
(d) To yell at the bully
Answer: (b) For help

Question. What strategy did the narrator remember?
(a) To sit straight and jump
(b) To fold both hands and legs and move up
(c) To shut the mouth and breath deep
(d) To spring from the bottom and come up like a cork
Answer: (d) To spring from the bottom and come up like a cork

Question. What happened to his legs?
(a) They hung as dend weights
(b) They were moving away
(c) They were sort of joined
(d) They got folded temporarily
Answer: (a) They hung as dend weights

Question. .......... in the extract means 'smashed'.
(a) Swallowed
(b) Paralysed
(c) Flailed
(d) Throbbed
Answer: (c) Flailed

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.

And then in the midst of the terror came a touch of reason. I must remember to jump when I hit the bottom. At last I felt the tiles under me. My toes reached out as if to grab them. I jumped with everything I had. But the jump made no difference. The water was still around me. I looked for ropes, ladders, water wings. Nothing but water. A mass of yellow water held me. Stark terror took an even deeper hold on me, like a great charge of electricity. I shook and trembled with fright. My arms wouldn't move.

Question. What does the narrator mean by a touch of reason?
(a) To jump when one hits the bottom
(b) To reach out to grab
(c) To look for ropes
(d) To lie flat
Answer: (a) To jump when one hits the bottom

Question. How did the jump help the narrator?
(a) He got to the surface
(b) He reached the bottom
(c) It made no difference
(d) It provided him with a rope
Answer: (c) It made no difference

Question. What held the narrator in between
(a) his toes amid the tiles
(b) a mass of yellow water
(c) stark horror
(d) his legs and arms
Answer: (b) a mass of yellow water

Question. ......... is the antonym of 'trembled' used in the extract.
(a) Oscillate
(b) Jitter
(c) Quaver
(d) Stabilise
Answer: (d) Stabilise

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.

A few years later when I came to know the waters of the Cascades, I wanted to get into them. And whenever I did-whether I was wading the Tieton or Bumping River or bathing in Warm Lake of the Goat Rocks-The terror that had seized me in the pool would come back. It would take possession of me completely. My legs would become paralysed. Icy horror would grab my heart.

Question. What did the narrator want to do?
(a) Visit YMCA pool
(b) Visit the Yakima river
(c) Enter the waters of the Cascades
(d) Visit the sea
Answer: (c) Enter the waters of the Cascades

Question. What would come back while wading through the waters of any place in the mind of the narrator?
(a) The big bully's remark
(b) Advice of the saviour
(c) Words of his mother
(d) Terror of the YMCA pool
Answer: (d) Terror of the YMCA pool

Question. Why was the narrator deprived of the joy of canoeing boating and swimming?
(a) Because of shortage of money
(b) Because of guidelines of the water bodies
(c) Because of terror of water
(d) because of his father's misadventures
Answer: (c) Because of terror of water

Question. ..............in the extract means 'plod.'
(a) Wading
(b) Seized
(c) Land-locked
(d) Haunted
Answer: (a) Wading

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.

And then, strangely, there was light. I was comming out of the awful yellow water. At least my eyes were. My nose was almost out too. Then I started down a third time. I sucked for air and got water. The yellowish light was going out. 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.

Question. What strange this is the narrator talking about?
(a) That he was coming out
(b) That the water had receded
(c) That it was getting dark
(d) That he had fallen asleep
Answer: (a) That he was coming out

Question. Why did all efforts come to cease?
(a) He had lost hope
(b) His energy levels had exhausted
(c) Drowsiness had overpowered him
(d) He had come out
Answer: (b) His energy levels had exhausted

Question. What did the narrator feel?
(a) He must try again
(b) His legs felt limp
(c) He must seek revenge from the big bully
(d) His mother must come to help him
Answer: (b) His legs felt limp

Question. .......... is the antonym of the word 'limp' used in the extract.
(a) Supple
(b) Fragile
(c) Frail
(d) Firm
Answer: (d) Firm

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.

The experience had a deep meaning for me, as only those who have known stark terror and conquered it can appreciate. In death there is peace. There is terror only in the fear of death, as Roosevelt knew when he said, “All we have to fear is fear itself/’ Because I had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror that fear of it can produce, the will to live somehow grew in intensity.

Question. Why did the experience hove deep meaning for the narrator?
(a) Because only sufferers and survivors of a horrific experience can understand and appreciate it
(b) Because imagining about a horror is a real challenge
(c) Because those who face and fail, truly realise its worth
(d) Because failure is the first step to success
Answer: (a) Because only sufferers and survivors of a horrific experience can understand and appreciate it

Question. When is terror experience in reality?
(a) In peace
(b) In death
(c) In the fear of death
(d) In victory
Answer: (c) In the fear of death

Question. What should we afraid of ?
(a) Death
(b) Fear
(c) Life
(d) Peace
Answer: (b) Fear

Question. The word 'intensity' used in the extract means ......... .
(a) moderation
(b) apathy
(c) confidence
(d) passion
Answer: (d) passion

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question. How and when did Douglas develop a fear of water for the first time?
Answer: Refer to the summary or long answer questions above regarding the California beach incident at age three or four.

Question. Why was Douglas' plan to come up in the water of the pool a failure?
Answer: Refer to the NCERT folder section above regarding his attempts in the YMCA pool.

Question. What impact did the 'misadventure' have on Douglas' activities?
Answer: Refer to question 3 in 'Think as you read' section regarding how it deprived him of boating and fishing.

Question. Why didn't Douglas dare to learn swimming in the Yakima river?
Answer: Refer to NCERT Folder question 1 regarding the river being deep and treacherous.

Question. What lesson did Douglas learn when he got rid of his fear of water?
Answer: Refer to Understanding the Text question 3 regarding Roosevelt's quote.

Question. 'And then in the midst of the terror came a touch of reason.' What was this 'touch of reason' and did it work?
Answer: Refer to Exam Practice Extract 5 regarding the plan to jump when hitting the bottom.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question. What made Douglas decide to overcome his fear of water? What systematic method did he follow to succeed?
Answer: Refer to NCERT folder question 3 on the instructor's method.

Question. Draw a character sketch of William O Douglas.
Answer: William Douglas was a determined and perseverant individual. Despite a traumatic childhood experience with water, he did not let fear define him forever. He was a leading advocate of individual rights and a Justice in the USA courts. His journey from a terrified child to an expert swimmer shows his willpower, patience, and ability to follow a systematic approach to overcome obstacles. He believed in Roosevelt's words that fear itself is the only thing to fear, and used this philosophy to reclaim his life and joy for activities like fishing and boating.

Question. "If we run away from our fears, they grow, if we fight them, they shrink." Discuss.
Answer: This statement is perfectly illustrated through Douglas' life in 'Deep Water'. For years, Douglas avoided water because of his childhood terror. This avoidance only made the fear more deep-rooted, depriving him of social life and simple pleasures like fishing. However, once he decided to face his fear head-on with an instructor, the fear began to 'shrink'. Through consistent practice and determination, he eventually conquered it. The lesson is that running away provides only temporary relief but permanent handicap, while fighting challenges leads to liberation and growth.