CBSE Class 12 English Deep Water Worksheet Set E

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

1. 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 Y.M.CA. 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. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The author’s father laughed to mock his son’s inability to swim.
Statement 2: The author wanted to swim just to prove to his father that he can swim.
(i) Statement 1 is true but Statement 2 is false.
(ii) Statement 1 is false but Statement 2 is true.
(iii) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred.
(iv) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred.
Answer. C

Question. “My introduction to the Y.M.CA. swimming pool revived unpleasant memories and stirred childish fears.” It can be inferred that this was a clear case of:
(i) suppression
(ii) oppression
(iii) depression
(iv) repression
Answer. D

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

2. 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. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The author tried his best to jump out of water.
Statement 2: After a while, the author was not anxious in water.
(i) If Statement 1 is the cause, Statement 2 is the effect.
(ii) If Statement 1 is the effect, Statement 2 is the cause.
(iii) Both the statements are the effects of a common cause.
(iv) Both the statements are the effects of independent causes.
Answer. A

Question. The ‘curtain (of life) fell’ corresponds to an aspect of:
(i) Geometry
(ii) History
(iii) Sports
(iv) Drama
Answer. D

Question. The purpose of using “…” in the above passage is to:
(i) show omission
(ii) indicate pauses
(iii) shorten a dialogue
(iv) replace an idea
Answer. B

Question. Which option indicates that the poet lost consciousness?
(i) ‘It was quiet and peaceful.
(ii) ‘I crossed to oblivion.’
(iii) ‘Tender arms like Mother’s.’
(iv) ‘It wiped out fear.’
Answer. B

3. 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.

Question. Who is narrating the incident?
(i) Douglas
(ii) instructor
(iii) the big boy
(iv) Douglas’ mother
Answer. A

Question. Identify the literary device used in ‘the terror that had seized me in the pool would come back’.
(i) metaphor
(ii) foreshadowing
(iii) flashback
(iv) allegory
Answer. C

Question. Which terror is he talking about?
(i) drowning in the pool
(ii) seized by the big boy
(iii) pushed by someone in the water
(iv) mocked by the other trainees
Answer. A

Question. In which of the following the speaker went for swimming?
(i) Tieton River
(ii) Water of Cascades
(iii) Bumping River
(iv) All of these
Answer. D

4. 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 !”

Question. Who is the speaker of the above lines ?
(i) Douglas
(ii) Douglas’ trainer
(iii) Douglas’ mother
(iv) the big boy
Answer. A

Question. Which of the following word cannot be used in place of ‘vestige’?
(i) fragments
(ii) signs
(iii) non-indication
(iv) traces
Answer. C

Question. What does the last line show about the speaker’s attitude?
(i) his confidence
(ii) his negligence
(iii) his rudeness
(iv) his arrogance
Answer. A

Question. What did he do after saying ‘Look!’?
(i) he stopped swimming
(ii) he went down again in the pool
(iii) he fought with the boy who bullied him
(iv) he took up another hobby
Answer. B

Question. Who is the author of the story ‘Deep Water’?
(a) William Shakespeare
(b) William George Bernard Shaw
(c) William Wordsworth
(d) William Douglas
Answer. D

Question. In which subject has the author graduated?
(a) English and History
(b) English and Science
(c) Science and Social studies
(d) English and Economics
Answer. D

Question. For how many years had the author taught in high school in Yakima?
(a) 2 years
(b) 4 years
(c) 3 years
(d) 5 years
Answer. A

Question. After the author was fed up with teaching, he decided to opt for which career?
(a) Medical
(b) Gardening
(c) Engineering
(d) A legal career
Answer. D

Question. Deep water is an excerpt from which book?
(a) Fear of water
(b) Of Men and Mountains
(c) How to Swim
(d) Fearless
Answer. B

Question. What is the theme of the story ‘Deep Water’?
(a) Victory in facing the fear
(b) Being fearful
(c) To learn swimming
(d) All of the above
Answer. A

Question. What does ‘Deep Water’ signify?
(a) Beauty
(b) Depth of Sea
(c) Depth of Ocean
(d) Fear
Answer. D

Question. What does the story ‘Deep Water’ talks about?
(a) Fear of water and the way to overcome it
(b) Fear of people
(c) Fear of dogs
(d) Fear of swimming
Answer. A

Question. What does Y.M.C.A stands for?
(a) Young Men’s Christian Authority
(b) Young Men’s Christian Association
(c) Young Men’s Christian Army
(d) Young Men’s Christopher Association
Answer. B

Question. His mother warned him against swimming in the Yakima River because it had:
(a) strong currents
(b) it was meant only for boating
(c) many people had drowned there
(d) it had no lifeguards around
Answer. C

Question. Where did the writer go when he was 3 or 4 years old in the story?
(a) Washington
(b) New Zealand
(c) California
(d) Canada
Answer. C

Question. Why did he develop a fear of water?
(a) Because of knocking down by waves at a beach
(b) Because of a young boy
(c) Because of instructor
(d) Because of drowning at a young age
Answer. A

Question. What haunts the author in the lesson ‘Deep Water’?
(a) Terrible experience in the pool
(b) Ghosts
(c) His mother’s words
(d) A push by a young boy
Answer. A

Question. Why did Douglas hate to walk with bare legs?
(a) because of ugly looking legs
(b) because of fat legs
(c) because of skin colour
(d) because of skinny legs
Answer. D

Question. Who threw Douglas into the swimming pool?
(a) A young boy
(b) Instructor
(c) Instructor
(d) Watchman
Answer. A

Question. At first, why was the writer not much frightened when he was thrown into the pool?
(a) Because he was sleeping
(b) Because he was intoxicated
(c) Because he thought that the lifeguard would come to his rescue
(d) Because of confidence
Answer. D

Question. What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was thrown into the pool?
(a) Fear
(b) Confidence
(c) Happy
(d) Mixed feelings of confidence and fear
Answer. D

Question. How many times did Douglas try to come to the surface of the pool?
(a) Twice
(b) Once
(c) Five times
(d) Thrice
Answer. D

Question. “I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell”.What does oblivion mean?
(a) spavilion
(b) changing room
(c) unconsciousness
(d) death
Answer. C

Question. When he regained consciousness, he:
(a) laughed at his experience
(b) had 104° F fever
(c) shook and cried and didn’t eat anything
(d) told his mother about his misadventure
Answer. C

Question. What was the impact of the pool incident on Douglas?
(a) Learned swimming
(b) Became confident
(c) Became overconfident
(d) Hydrophobia was revived
Answer. D

Question. What lesson did Douglas learn from his experience of drowning and then learning to swim?
(a) Learnt swimming
(b) Love for swimming
(c) Swimming is not difficult
(d) Face the fear
Answer. D

Question. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
(a) because he wanted to swim in the waters of the Cascade
(b) because his friend had challenged him
(c) because he had a bet on it
(d) because he wanted to win a medal
Answer. A

Question. How did the instructor make Douglas a good swimmer?
(a) Planning
(b) With the help of ropes
(c) By pushing him into the pool
(d) With the help of ropes and belts
Answer. D

Question. Douglas had to repeat exhaling and inhaling exercises.
(a) hundred times
(b) forty times
(c) fifty times
(d) ten times
Answer. A

Question. Where is Metolius located?
(a) New Zealand
(b) California
(c) Oregon
(d) Japan
Answer. C

Question. How much distance did Douglas cover while swimming across the lake Wentworth?
(a) 4 miles
(b) 3 miles
(c) 5 miles
(d) 2 miles
Answer. D

Question. Where is the lake Wentworth?
(a) New Hampshire
(b) Washington
(c) California
(d) Washington D.C
Answer. A

Question. Whenever terror struck again, Douglas would start.
(a) shouting
(b) laughing
(c) crying
(d) talking to terror
Answer. D

Question. ‘What do you think you can do to me’? These words were spoken by Douglas to:
(a) a shark
(b) to his instructor
(c) to his friend
(d) to terror
Answer. D

Question. All we have to fear is fear itself. Who said these words?
(a) Douglas
(b) his instructor
(c) his father
(d) President Roosevelt
Answer. D

Question. The writer decided to learn to swim when he was about ______ years old.
(a) ten or eleven years old
(b) fifteen or sixteen years old
(c) twenty years old
(d) eighteen years old
Answer. A

Question. He practised in the pool _________days a week.
(a) three
(b) five
(c) two
(d) four
Answer. B

Question. The pool’s depth at the deep end was _______.
(a) twenty feet
(b) nine feet
(c) six feet
(d) eight feet
Answer. B

Question. The nine feet seemed to Douglas like ________.
(a) hundred feet
(b) ninety feet
(c) fifty feet
(d) twenty-five feet
Answer. B

Question. The water in the pool had a __________ colour.
(a) dirty yellow tinge
(b) a blue reflection
(c) green colour
(d) no colour
Answer. A

Find the correct statement in the following:

Question.
(i) From the beginning — I had a fascination towards water.
(ii) My introduction to the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool revived — pleasant memories.
(iii) I flailed at the surface of the water, — swallowed and choked.
(iv) This handicap stayed with me — as the days rolled by.
Answer. C

Question.
(i) I went to the pool when — everyone was there.
(ii) I struck at the water — as I went up.
(iii) Finally one December — I decided to get an instructor and learn swim.
(iv) A mass of yellow water — held me.
Answer. D

Rearrange the sentences in the correct sequence and choose the correct option :

Question. (i) I was frightened, but not frightened out of my wits.
(ii) My lungs ached, my head throbbed.
(iii) The water was still, and the tiled bottom was as white and clean as a bathtub.
(iv) The next I remember I was lying on my stomach beside the pool, vomiting.
Options:
(a) (ii)-(iv)-(i)-(iii)
(b) (iii)-(i)-(ii)-(iv)
(c) (iv)-(ii)-(i)-(iii)
(d) (ii)-(i)-(iv)-(iii)
Answer. A

Question. (i) With that he picked me up and tossed me into the deep end.
(ii) For days a haunting fear was in my heart.
(iii) Tiny vestiges of the old terror would return.
(iv) I imagined I would bob to the surface like a cork
Options:
(a) (i)-(iv)-(ii)-(iii)
(b) (iii)-(i)-(ii)-(iv)
(c) (iv)-(ii)-(i)-(iii)
(d) (ii)-(i)-(iv)-(iii)
Answer. A

Question. Assertion: Douglas’ mother kept warning him about the Yakima River.
Reason: There were many drowning incidents in the river.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer. A

Question. Assertion: Douglas had a liking for the water from the beginning.
Reason: The waves had knocked him down when he was very young.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer. B

Question. Assertion: Douglas’ introduction to the YMCA pool revived unpleasant memories of his childhood.
Reason: He went into the pool when many people were there to help him.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer. C

Question. Assertion: A big tough eighteen year old boy tossed Douglas in the pool.
Reason: Douglas landed in a sitting position and was out of his wits.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer. B

Question. Assertion: The swimming instructor made Douglas worse than before.
Reason: Douglas swam across the Warm Lake to the other shore and back.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer. D

CBSE Class 12 English Chapter 3 Deep Water Very Short Answer

Question. What two things did Douglas dislike to do? Which one did he have to do and why?
Answer. Douglas was very thin and hated to show his skinny legs. He was also scared of going into the pool alone. So he sat by the poolside and waited for others to come.

Question. Give two-character traits of Douglas that enabled him to overcome his fear of water.
Answer. Douglas had a strong will and steadfastness of purpose. It is with the help of these two traits, i.e., his determination and fixity of purpose that he was able to conquer terror and learn swimming.

Question. In what connection does Douglas mention ‘a big bruiser of a boy’? 
Answer. Douglas talks about the boy who tossed him into the deep end of the Y.M.C.A pool. This boy was eighteen, he had a good physique and was a big bruiser according to Douglas.
This boy after Douglas almost drowned exclaimed that he was only fooling.

Question. What were the thoughts that came to Douglas’s mind when he was going towards the bottom of the pool for the third time?
Answer. When Douglas went down the third time, his efforts ceased. He relaxed and his legs felt limp. He felt there was nothing to be afraid of. It was nice and he felt drowsy, ready to sleep, too tired to jump. He felt he was floating and the tender arms of his mother were carrying him gently and putting him to sleep.

Question. How did Douglas initially feel when he went to the Y.M.C.A pool? What made him feel comfortable?
Answer. As Douglas started going to the Y.M.C.A pool to learn how to swim. His childhood fears and memories of the unpleasant experience were revived. He gradually regained some confidence and started paddling with the help of water wings. He watched other boys and copied their style. Slowly he started feeling more comfortable.

CBSE Class 12 English Chapter 3 Deep Water Short Answer

Question. Why does Douglas recount a childhood experience of terror and his overcoming it?
Answer. Douglas suffered a handicap. He could not go for boating, swimming, canoeing and fishing. His will power and determination made him overcome it. He realised that there is the terror that fear produces. In death there is peace. He had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror that fear of it can produce. So the will to live somehow grew in intensity. He felt a release when he overcame his fear.

Question. Douglas was tossed into the pool by a bruiser of a boy bullying is prevalent in schools and colleges. Write an article on ‘Bullying, a threat to the development of a child.
Answer. Douglas had developed a fear of water since childhood. At the Y.M.C.A Swimming Pool, a big bruiser of a boy suddenly played a dangerous prank and pushed him into the
water. The narrator was frightened.
Bullying can cause long- term problems to the victims of bullying. Educators and students themselves have to take measures to curb this problem. Children must take the initiative and report the immediately to parents and teachers. Douglas, with his determination perseverance, could overcome his fear. Similarly, victims of bullying can also do so. It is important for children to have open communication with parents.

Question. What shocking experience did Douglas have at YMCA pool? 
Answer. At the age of ten or eleven, William O Douglas decided to learn and swim at the YMCA pool because it was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end. He had an aversion to the water but he felt comfortable when he paddled with his new water wings in the water. One day he went to the pool when no one else was there. He was waiting for
others to come. Then there came a big bruiser of a boy who picked Douglas and ducked him into the deep end. He landed in a sitting position, swallowed water and went at once to the bottom. Though he was saved, his fear of water intensified after his misadventure.

Question. Answer the following questions: -
(1) How did the instructor make Douglas a swimmer bit by bit?
(2) What did Douglas plan to save himself when he went down for the first time in water?
Answer. (1) The instructor ensured that Douglas would not drown by using a device of a rope and a pulley. Then he taught him to exhale with face under the water. While the instructor held on, Douglas kicked inside the water. At last bit by bit he learnt to swim.
(2) He was tossed into the deep water. He hit the water in a sitting position. He swallowed water and went at once to the bottom. He planned to spring up when his feet touched the bottom. He would come to the surface and paddle to the edge of the pool.

Question. Why did Douglas fail to come to the surface of the pool as he hoped to? 
Answer. When Douglas was thrown into the pool by a muscular boy, he landed in a sitting position, swallowed water and touched the bottom. He was frightened but he had not lost his wit. He thought of a strategy to up to the surface by making a big jump when his feet touched the bottom. But his lungs were about to burst. He thought to spring back to the
surface like a cock but he moved slowly. He grew panicky and saw water everywhere. He reached up as if to catch a rope with his hands but he could not clutch water and was paralysed.

CBSE Class 12 English Chapter 3 Deep Water Long Answer

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 his experience?
Answer. 
William Douglas recounts his experience of terror that he underwent as a boy of ten or eleven years. This experience had very deep impression on his mind. By recounting it, he wants to share it with his readers. By sharing it, he shows how intense his will to live has become. Next, he wants to convey to his readers that an emotional trauma, however deep it may be, can be erased from the mind piece by piece. What is needed is the will to do it. He himself underwent great traumatic experience as a boy. This created a permanent scar on his mind. The terror of water became a permanent handicap with him. He lost the joy of swimming, fishing, boating, and canoeing. By hard practice, he was able to shed his fear of water.
From this experience, he learnt that there is peace in death. It is the fear of death that has terror. Death itself is not terrible, but its fear is. Since he had been so near death and felt the terror that fear of it can produce, his will to live grew intenser.

Question. Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear’. Do you agree? Take evidence from ‘Deep water’ and express your views in 120-150 words.
Answer. Roosevelt rightly said that it is fear that is the greatest impediment in the path of success. It hampers progress as it limits us. It is only when he overcome the fear that we can achieve success.
Douglas had an aversion for water. It deprived him of activities like swimming, boating,fishing and canoeing. He decided to take steps to overcome this fear. He resolved to learn swimming by engaging an instructor. The instructor-built Douglas into a swimmer.
In six months, he conquered his fear. However, even though he could now swim, he still felt terrified of water. With willpower and determination, he gradually overcame fear.

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. As a child I was much attached to my grandmother. I often shared her bed. She used to tell me and my brothers and sisters’ stories at bed time. Her stories had ghosts, witches and other supernatural creatures as characters. Her way of telling stories was so attractive that all of us listened to her with rapt attention. As I grew up to be a boy of 12-
13 years, I was always haunted by the fear of ghosts and witches, which for me were real beings. My teachers and parents tried to reason with me and tell me that no such things as ghosts and witches existed. It could listen to them only half-heartedly. I thought they were lying to me, “Were there no ghosts and witched how could things happen as they did in my grandmother’s stories?” I argued with myself. However, my science teacher, Mr. Peter, came to my help. He wanted to rid me of the unnatural fear of ghost etc. He put scientific facts before me and proved that my fears were unfounded and only imaginary. Gradually, I came out of it all. I owe much to him for getting free from this complex.

Question. Answer the following questions: -
(1) Did Douglas overcome his fear of water after the misadventure? How do you know?
(2) When did Douglas decided to get an instructor to overcome his fear of water.
(3) How did Douglas feel when he tried to swim after his instructor had left?
Answer. (1) No. Douglas could not overcome his fear of water. Rather, it become more overwhelming. He trembled and cried when he lay on his bed. For days the fear haunted him. The slightest exertion upset him.
(2) Douglas wanted to wade in the waters of the cascades. The fear of water seized him wherever he tried to do so. He would feel paralysed whenever he tried to bathe in a river. The fear of water ruined his joy of fishing, canoeing, boating and swimming.
Then he decided to get an instructor.
(3) The instructor left after he had felt that Douglas would be able to swim on his own. But Douglas had his doubts. He swam the length of the pool up and down. Some of the old fear returned but he laughed it away feeling still not very confident.

Question. Find and narrate other stories about conquest of fear and what people have said about courage. For example, you can recall Nelson Mandela’s struggle for freedom, his perseverance to achieve his mission to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor as depicted in his autobiography. The story ‘We are not Afraid to Die’, which you have read in Class 11th, is an apt example of how courage and optimism that helped a family survive under the direst stress.
Answer. 
Dr. Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 in the royal house of Thembu tribe. He went to school that was modeled on the British system of education. He was taught to be a black gentleman. But he was a Black South African. In those days there was racial discrimination in South Africa. Colored people had limited freedom. They were barred from visiting markets, restaurants, localities etc. which were reserved for the Whites. The young Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress. This party was dedicated to the end the racial discrimination. He was charged by the government with organizing an armed wing of the Congress. He was arrested in 1962, tried for treason and was sentenced to life in prison.
He was put in the maximum-security prison of Robben Island. Any person in that prison in Mandela’s position could have easily given to despair. But Mandela was never disheartened. His optimism, and faith in cause, kept him in cheerful spirits. In 1990, he walked out of the prison after 27 years. The first elections were held. They were open to all South Africans. Mandela was elected the first President of democratic country. He helped not only the oppressed colored South Africans, but also helped the white oppressors to liberate. From white minority rule he transformed his country into a multiracial democracy.

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