CBSE Class 12 English Deep Water Worksheet

1. Multiple Choice Questions based on an extract

A. 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 I The author’s father laughed to mock his son’s inability to swim.Statement II The author wanted to swim just to prove to his father that he can swim.
(a) Statement I is true but Statement II is false.
(b) Statement I is false but Statement II is true.
(c) Both Statement I and Statement II cannot be inferred.
(d) Both Statement I and Statement II can be inferred.
Answer.C

Question. “My introduction to the Y.M.C.A. 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

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

Question.Choose the option that describes the equipment used by the author while learning to swim.

(a) Option 1
(b) Option 2
(c) Option 3
(d) Option 4
Answer.D

B. 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. Therewas nomore panic. Itwas 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.

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

Question. The ‘curtain (of life) fell’ corresponds to an aspect of
(a) Geometry
(b) History
(c) Sports
(d) Drama
Answer.D

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

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.D

2. Stand Alone MCQs

Question. The most appropriate justification for the title of the chapter ‘DeepWater’ is that
(a) it's about the dangerous depth of the swimming pool.
(b) It reveals the author’s lack of surety about overcoming his fear of swimming.
(c) it underlines the author’s fear of water and how he overcomes it.
(d) it includes the methods of the author’s coach to overcome the fear of deep water.
Answer.C

Question. Choose the quote that DOES NOT resonate with the central idea of the chapter.

(a) Option 1
(b) Option 2
(c) Option 3
(d) Option 4
Answer.B

Question. Samuel has a phobia of heights but is scared and can’t overcome it. Choose the option that displays an advice.

(a) Option 1
(b) Option 2
(c) Option 3
(d) Option 4
Answer.B

Question. The chap that threw me in was saying,“But I was only fooling.” Choose the option mentioning the personality traits of this ‘chap’.
1. persuasive       2. irresponsible
3. domineering    4.manipulative
5. callous
(a) 1, 2, 4
(b) 2, 4, 5
(c) 2, 3, 5
(d) 1, 3, 5
Answer.C

Questions on the Extracts from the Lesson

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

(a) 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.
(a) Statement 1 is true but Statement 2 is false.
(b) Statement 1 is false but Statement 2 is true.
(c) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred.
(d) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred.
Answer : C

(b) “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
(a) suppression
(b) oppression
(c) depression
(d) repression
Answer : D

(c) 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

(d) Choose the option that describes the equipment used by the author while learning to swim.

(a) Option 1
(b) Option 2
(c) Option 3
(d) Option 4
Answer : D

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
I used every way I knew to overcome this fear, but it held me firmly in its grip. Finally, one October, I decided to get an instructor and learn to swim. I went to a pool and practiced five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor put a belt around me. A rope attached to the belt went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. He held on to the end of the rope, and we went back and forth, back and forth across the pool, hour after hour, day after day, week after week. On each trip across the pool a bit of the panic seized me. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and I went under, some of the old terror returned and my legs froze. It was three months before the tension began to slack. Then he taught me to put my face under water and exhale, and to raise my nose and inhale. I repeated the exercise hundreds of times. Bit by bit I shed part of the panic that seized me when my head went under water.

(a) Douglas decided to hire an instructor to learn to swim because:
(a) he wanted to practice regularly
(b) he was told to seek professional help
(c) of the intensity of his fear
(d) he wanted an incentive to learn
Answer : C

(b) When did Douglas become panicky?
(a) when the instructor tightened the rope
(b) each time he swam across the pool
(c) when he felt his legs had frozen
(d) when his old terror returned
Answer : B

(c) Which statement is incorrect in respect to the above extract?
(a) Douglas’ fear held a firm hold on him
(b) Douglas was taught to inhale under water
(c) Douglas’ tension did not ease for three months
(d) The instructor attached a rope to the belt
Answer : B

(d) Douglas’ sincere efforts under the guidance of the instructor reveals his:
(a) resoluteness
(b) will power
(c) convinction
(d) all of the above
Answer : D

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

(a) The unpleasant memories that were revived are:
(a) of beach holiday
(b) the waves sweeping over him
(c) father-son disagreement
(d) of deep waters
Answer : B

(b) Douglas was ............... at YMCA pool.
(a) alone
(b) with his friends
(c) With his mother
(d) With an instructor
Answer : A

(c) Why did Douglas watch the other boys?
(a) To gain confidence
(b) To make friends with them
(c) To forget his unpleasant memories
(d) In an attempt to ape them
Answer : D

(d) He sat at the pool side because:
(1) the place was quiet. (2) he was waiting for his instructor.
(3) he did not want to go into the pool (4) he was waiting for the others.
(a) (1) & (3)
(b) (3) & (4)
(c) (2) & (4)
(d) (1) & (2)
Answer : B

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
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. I laughed and said, “Well, Mr. Terror, what do you think you can do to me?” It fled and I swam on.

(a) The ‘Old sensation’ refers to:
(a) remembering the boy who had pushed him
(b) fear of water
(c) memories of the beach in California
(d) his underwater misadventure
Answer : B

(b) The sensation is referred to as miniature because:
(a) its magnitude was negligible
(b) he was undaunted by it
(c) its duration was very short
(d) all of the above
Answer : D

(c) Douglas laughed because:
(a) he had almost overcome his fear
(b) his fear could not intimidate him
(c) his terror returned in miniature
(d) he was able to swim on
Answer : B

(d) The above extract reveals Douglas’:
(a) courage
(b) perseverance
(c) positivity
(d) achievement
Answer : D

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

(a) Choose the term which best matches the statement ‘It would take possession of me completely’.
(a) Cease
(b) Seize
(c) Attach
(d) Confiscate
Answer : B

(b) The word ‘paralyse’ in the above context means the same as:
(a) immobilize
(b) icy cold
(c) lame
(d) disable
Answer : A

(c) The phrase ‘icy horror’ means:
(a) intense fear
(b) acute terror
(c) extreme panic
(d) all of the above
Answer : D

(d) Whenever Douglas went near a river or lake he:
(a) felt helpless
(b) became desperate
(c) was startled
(d) felt dreadful
Answer : D

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
Thus, piece by piece, he built a swimmer. And when he had perfected each piece, he put them together into an integrated whole. In April he said, “Now you can swim. Dive off and swim the length of the pool, crawl stroke.”
I did. The instructor was finished. But I was not finished. I still wondered if I would be terror-stricken when I was alone in the pool. I tried it. I swam the length up and down. Tiny vestiges of the old terror would return.

(a) The phrase ‘piece by piece’ refers to:
(a) one at a time
(b) very gradually
(c) integrated whole
(d) completely
Answer : B

(b) Why was the instructor finished?
(a) He had completed his training.
(b) He had given up on Douglas.
(c) He could not train Douglas.
(d) Douglas was not willing to learn.
Answer : A

(c) Why was Douglas not finished?
(a) He was still scared of water.
(b) He had not performed well in his training.
(c) He wanted the instructor to continue his training.
(d) He was still doubtful he had overcome his fear.
Answer : D

(d) What does the term ‘tiny vestiges’ mean?
(a) Little remnants
(b) Small vest
(c) Drops of water
(d) Old memories
Answer : A

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

(a) 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.
(a) If Statement 1 is the cause, Statement 2 is the effect.
(b) If Statement 1 is the effect, Statement 2 is the cause.
(c) Both the statements are the effects of a common cause.
(d) Both the statements are the effects of independent causes.
Answer : A

(b) The ‘curtain (of life) fell’ corresponds to an aspect of
(a) Geometry
(b) History
(c) Sports
(d) Drama
Answer : D

(c) 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

(d) 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

Stand-Alone Multiple Choice Questions

Question. Choose the statement that is NOT TRUE with reference to Douglas:
(a) Douglas’ fear kept him away from leisurely activities in water.
(b) The fall in the pool at YMCA taught Douglas a lifelong lesson.
(c) The fear of drowning was the source of Douglas’ anxiety and terror.
(d) Douglas decided to practice relentlessly to overcome his fear.
Answer : D

Question. Douglas went to warm lake:
(a) to swim and camp.
(b) to ensure that he had conquered his fear completely.
(c) as he had no doubt that he had conquered his fear.
(d) to give some meaning to his fear. 
Answer : B

Question. At what point did Douglas make the statement “I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.”?
(a) At the California beach
(b) When he seized all efforts to save himself
(c) When he started to panic
(d) When his terror was wiped out
Answer : B

Question. Even though the instructor had finished his training, Douglas was not finished because:
(a) He wanted to be trained more.
(b) He was sure his fear would return.
(c) He had not mastered the backstroke.
(d) He had doubts regarding his fear.
Answer : D

Question. The misadventure that Douglas had at California was:
(a) the sea waves knocked him.
(b) he was buried in water.
(c) the sea waves swept over him.
(d) all of the above
Answer : D

Question. Which of the following did Douglas NOT feel after the misadventure at the YMCA pool?
(a) He was haunted by fear.
(b) His knees became wobbly.
(c) He became determined to get over his fear.
(d) He was weak and trembling.
Answer : C

Question. Douglas’ mother referred to the Yakima river as:
(a) Deep
(b) Dangerous
(c) Treacherous
(d) Unsafe
Answer : C

Question. The Y.M.C.A pool was safe because:
(a) it was very shallow at the deep end.
(b) the drop from the deep to the shallow was gradual.
(c) it was barely two or three feet deep at the shallow end.
(d) a swimming instructor was present there.
Answer : C

Question. Douglas’ handicap ruined his:
(a) physical activity
(b) holidays
(c) expeditions
(d) fishing trips
Answer : D

Question. The most appropriate justification for the title of the chapter ‘Deep Water’ is that
(a) It’s about the dangerous depth of the swimming pool.
(b) It reveals the author’s lack of surety about overcoming his fear of swimming
(c) It underlines the author’s fear of water and how he overcomes it.
(d) It includes the methods of the author’s coach to overcome the fear of deep water.
Answer : C

Question. Choose the quote that DOES NOT resonate with the central idea of the chapter.

(a) Option 1
(b) Option 2
(c) Option 3
(d) Option 4
Answer : A

Question. Samuel has a phobia of heights but is scared and can’t overcome it. Choose the option that displays an advice.
(a) Option 1
(b) Option 2
(c) Option 3
(d) Option 4
Answer : B

Question. The chap that threw me in was saying, “But I was only fooling.” Choose the option mentioning the personality traits of this ‘chap’.
1. persuasive 2. irresponsible
3. domineering 4. manipulative 5. callous
(a) 1, 2, 4
(b) 2, 4, 5
(c) 2, 3, 5
(d) 1, 3, 5
Answer : C

Important Questions NCERT Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 3 Deep Water

Question. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Answer : To make sure that he conquered the old terror, his fear of water, he decided to go to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire. There he dived off a dock at Triggs Island and swam two miles across the lake. Even though he swam with minimum anxiety, a little doubt remained within him. Next, he dived into Warm Lake and swam across to the other shore and back. Having swam in the lake without any fear or panic attack, Douglas realised that he had finally conquered his fear.

Question. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Answer : Douglas was determined to get over his fear of water because it had ruined his fishing trips. Also, could not enjoy water sports like canoeing, boating or swimming.

Question. When Douglas realised that he was sinking, how did he plan to save himself?
Answer : William Douglas wanted to learn swimming. He went to YMCA pool as it was safe. But an eighteen years old came and tossed Douglas into the deep end of the pool. He was frightened but planned a strategy. He decided that the moment his feet hit the bottom, he would make a big jump, come to the surface, lie flat on it and paddle to the edge of the pool. However, because of too much depth, Douglas could not resurface. He tried more than a couple of times. He tried to yell, but no sound came out of his mouth.

Question. ‘All we have to fear is fear itself.’ When did Douglas learn this lesson?
Answer : Once the writer realised that his fear of water was keeping him from enjoying any of the water related sports and activities, he decided to engage a swimming instructor, who gradually helped him face his fear. However, it was after his successful swimming attempts in Lake Wentworth and Warm Lake that the writer understood the real meaning of conquering one’s fear in order to truly value life and enjoy every moment of it. This revelation made the writer confident and determined.

Question. The story “Deep Water” has made you realise that with determination and perseverance one can accomplish the impossible. Write a paragraph in about 100 words on how a positive attitude and courage will aid you to achieve success in life.
Answer : In the story Deep Waters, we see Douglas overcoming his childhood fear of water, through determination, perseverance and hard work. Thus, this story shows that with positive attitude and strength of will, we can accomplish almost anything. All of us may fear something or the other. But fear, when conquered through courage, becomes victory. The victory, emerging from the bitterness of failures and hardships of enduring them for a long period of time, has its own significance and joy. It might appear to be a long and arduous journey, but it will definitely culminate in success.

Question. How did Douglas’ experience at the YMCA pool affect him ? How did he get over this effect?
Answer : To get over his fear of water, Douglas hired a swimming coach. Though it took him a lot of time, the instructor showed a great amount of patience and kindness towards Douglas. Bit by bit he taught him to swim and at the same time helped Douglas to overcome his fear. To be sure that he was completely free of his fear of water, Douglas went to Lake Wentworth to swim across the lake.
His experience at the YMCA pool left Douglas haunted by fear of water. He became extremely weak physically and never went back to the pool again. He felt handicapped for years as he couldn’t enjoy any water sport like swimming, fishing, boating, etc.

Question. How did Douglas develop an aversion to water?
Answer : Douglas was merely three or four years old when he had his first water related accident. His father had taken him to the beach in California where they stood together in the surf. The waves knocked young Douglas down and swept over him in such a way that he was buried in water and felt suffocated. That was the first time he felt the pangs of terror at the overpowering force of the water set in his heart. When he was ten or eleven years old he decided to learn to swim at the Y.M.C.A. pool. It was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end and nine feet at the deep end where the drop was gradual. Yet, when the eighteen year old boy tossed Douglas into the deep end of the pool, it strengthened his aversion to water. An unsuspecting victim, Douglas landed in a sitting position, swallowed water and went at once to the bottom. Even after multiple attempts, he was unable to resurface, because of too much depth.
Gradually, he grew tired and suffocated; he was paralysed with fear and almost drowned. Douglas would not have survived if someone had not dove into the water to save him.

Question. How did Douglas remove his residual doubts about his fear of water?
Answer : Douglas removed his residual doubts by diving into the Warm Lake and swimming across to the other shore and back. He shouted with joy when he was able to achieve this feat. He had finally conquered his fear of water.