Deep Water Questions

Question 1.
How did Douglas finally get rid of the fear he had of water? (Delhi 2009)
Answer:
The terror that seized Douglas because of his misadventure with water twice was
so intense that he sought professional help to overcome this fear. He engaged a
swimming instructor who gave him intensive training for six months to ensure he
overcame his fear of water which he eventually did.

Question 2.
How did the incident at the YMCA pool affect Douglas? (All India 2009)
Answer:
Douglas, a ten year old boy, was standing alone at the YMCA pool when a big
bully of a boy picked him up and tossed him into the deep end and at once he
was at the bottom of the pool. Though he did manage to come up with extreme
difficulty, he could never again go back to the pool. He started fearing and
avoiding water. Whenever he went near water a haunting terror would seize him.

Question 3.
Why was Douglas keen to overcome his fear of water? (All India 2009)
Answer:
Douglas was determined to overcome his fear of water because this phobia had
ruined his fishing trips. Moreover, he had also never been able to enjoy water
sports like canoeing, boating, and swimming. He was determined to get an
instructor and learn swimming to get over his fear of water.

Question 4.
When Douglas realised that he was sinking, how did he plan to save himself?
(Delhi 2010)
Answer:
When Douglas realised he was sinking he was frightened out of his wits and it
was then that he decided to make a big jump and come up to the surface. He
thought of lying flat on water for some time and then to paddle to the edge of
the pool.

Question 5.
What did Douglas experience as he went down to the bottom of the pool for the
first time? (Delhi 2010)
Answer:
When Douglas is pushed into the pool, he at once goes to the bottom of the pool.
The nine feet deep pool appears like ninety feet to him. He feels a sense of acute
uneasiness and as if his lungs are ready to burst. Despite feeling absolutely
suffocated he makes desperate efforts for survival.

Question 6.
What sort of terror seized Douglas as he went down the water with a yellow
glow? How could he feel that he was still alive? (Delhi 2010)
Answer:
When Douglas went down the water with a yellow glow it was a nightmarish
experience for him. His legs were almost paralysed, his lungs were aching and his
head was throbbing. He felt the thumping of his heart and the pounding in his
head and these made him realize that he was still alive.

Question 7.
Why did William Douglas develop aversion to the water when he was three or
four years old? (Comptt. Delhi 2010)
Answer:
William Douglas developed an aversion to water when he was three or four years
old. He stood at a beach with his father when a wave Swept over him and
knocked him down. He was buried under water and became breathless. He was
petrified and developed a permanent fear for water.

Question 8.
What misadventure did William Douglas experience at the YMCA pool? (Comptt.
All India 2010)
Answer:
A misadventure at the YMCA pool wherein Douglas was thrown into the deeper
end of the pool by a big boy made Douglas afraid of water. He went down into
the water three times but failed to come up. Though he was ultimately saved, a
terror of water developed in him as his lungs filled with water. His head throbbed
and his legs felt paralysed thus making him fear water permanently.

Question 9.
Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water? (Delhi 2011)
Answer:
Douglas was determined to overcome his fear of water because this phobia had
ruined his fishing trips. Moreover, he had also never been able to enjoy water
sports like canoeing, boating, and swimming. He was determined to get an
instructor and learn swimming to get over his fear of water.

Question 10.
Why did Douglas go to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire? (Delhi 2011)
Answer:
Douglas went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire to test whether he still had
any fear of water. After his vigorous swimming practice he was still not very sure
if his terror for water had left him. So he wanted to try out his swimming skills at
Lake Wentworth. He dived into the lake and only after swimming across the
shore and back did he feel certain his terror of water had fled.

Question 11.
Which factors led Douglas to decide in favour of YMCA pool? (All India 2011)
Answer:
When Douglas decided to overcome his childhood fear of water he preferred to
go to YMCA swimming pool to learn swimming because it was safe. It was only
two or three feet deep at the shallow end; and although it was nine feet at the
other end, the drop was quite gradual.

Question 12.
What did Douglas learn from his experience at the YMCA pool? (Comptt. Delhi
2011)
Answer:
His experience of drowning at the YMCA pool had a very deep impact on Douglas.
He became extremely terrorised and fearful of death. He had experienced both
the sensation of dying and the terror that fear of it can produce. So his will to live
grew in intensity. He learnt slowly to become a swimmer brushing aside his fear
gradually.

Question 13.
Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water? (Delhi 2012)
Answer:
Douglas was determined to overcome his fear of water because this phobia had
ruined his fishing trips. Moreover, he had also never been able to enjoy water
sports like canoeing, boating, and swimming. He was determined to get an
instructor and learn swimming to get over his fear of water.

Question 14.
What efforts did Douglas make to get over his fear of water? (All India 2012)
Answer:
Douglas was determined to get over his fear of water. He engaged a professional
instructor who understood the intensity of his fear and decided to not just teach
him how to swim but ‘build’ a swimmer out of him slowly and steadily.

Question 15.
Which two frightening experiences did Douglas have in water in his childhood?
(Comptt. Delhi 2012)
Answer:
Douglas’ first frightening experience in water was when he was three or four
years old. He was knocked down by waves while surfing at California beach. He
had been terror-struck at that time. Years later, his experience at the YMCA pool
revived unpleasant memories when an eighteen year old boy had hurled Douglas
into the deep end of the pool. Both these experiences led Douglas to develop a
fear of water.

Question 16
How did the instructor turn Douglas into a swimmer? (Delhi 2013)
Answer:
To ‘build a swimmer’ out of Douglas, the instructor began his training with
extreme caution. He attached a rope to a belt and put it around Douglas. The
rope went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. Supported by the
cable, they went to and fro in the pool and practiced for weeks together. The
instructor taught Douglas to put his face underwater and exhale and to raise his
nose and inhale. He then taught him to kick in water for many weeks. Finally
after seven months, the instructor told him to swim the length of the pool and
Douglas’ persistent fear started fading.

Question 17.
How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror? (All India 2013)
Answer:
Douglas went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire to test whether he still had
any fear of water. After his vigorous swimming practice he was still not very sure
if his terror for water had left him. So he wanted to try out his swimming skills at
Lake Wentworth. He dived into the lake and only after swimming across the
shore and back did he feel certain his terror of water had fled.

Question 18.
Why did William Douglas use the YMCA pool and not Yakima river to learn
swimming? (Comptt. Delhi 2013)
Answer:
Douglas used the YMCA pool and not the Yakima river to learn swimming
because the river was treacherous His mother continually warned him against it
and kept the details of each drowning in the river fresh in his mind. On the other
hand the YMCA pool was safe, only two or three feet deep at the shallow end.

Question 19.
What happened when ‘a big bruiser of a boy’ tossed Douglas into the YMCA
pool? How did Douglas plan to come out? (Comptt. Delhi 2013)
Answer:
Douglas landed inside the pool in a sitting position, swallowed water and went at
once to the bottom. He was frightened but on the way down he planned how he
would come out. When his feet would 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.
Question 20.
Why did Douglas prefer to go to YMCA swimming pool to learn swimming?
(Comptt. Delhi 2014)
Answer:
When Douglas decided to overcome his childhood fear of water he preferred to
go to YMCA swimming pool to learn swimming because it was safe. It was only
two or three feet deep at the shallow end; and although it was nine feet at the
other end, the drop was quite gradual.

Question 21.
How did Douglas remove his residual doubts about his fear of water? (Delhi
2015)
Answer:
To remove his residual doubts about his fear of water, Douglas went up the
Tieton to Conrad Meadows, up the Conrad Creek Trail to Meade Glacier. He
camped in the high meadow by the side of the warm lake. There he dove into the
warm lake, swam across to the other shore and back just as Doug Corpron used
to do.

Question 22.
‘All we have to fear is fear itself.’ When did Douglas learn this lesson? (All India
2016)
Answer:
Douglas learnt this lesson after he had conquered his fear of water completely.
He went to Lake Wentworth, dived into the warm lake, and swam across to the
other shore and back. He shouted with joy at finally having con¬quered his fear
of water and realized the meaning of Roosevelt’s words.

Question 23.
When did Douglas first become afraid of water? (Comptt. Delhi 2016)
Answer:
Douglas first became afraid of water when he was three years old and had gone
to the California beach with his father. He went under a wave for a few seconds
and though he was not in any kind of danger, yet he developed a fear of water.
Question 24.
What shocking experience did Douglas have at YMCA pool? (Delhi 2017)
Answer:
A misadventure at the YMCA pool wherein Douglas was thrown into the deeper
end of the pool by a big boy made Douglas afraid of water. He went down into
the water three times but failed to come up. Though he was ultimately saved, a
terror of water developed in him as his lungs filled with water. His head throbbed
and his legs felt paralysed thus making him fear water permanently.

Question 25.
Why did Douglas fail to come to the surface of the pool as he hoped to? (All India
2017)
Answer:
Douglas had hoped that when his feet hit the bottom of the pool, he would make
a big jump and come to the surface but before he touched the bottom his lungs
were ready to burst. Then when his feet hit the bottom and he summoned up all
his strength to spring upwards, he came up slowly and saw nothing but water.

Question 26.
How did Douglas’ introduction to YMCA pool revive his childhood fear of water?
(All India 2017)
Answer:
Douglas’ introduction to the YMCA swimming pool revived unpleasant memories
and stirred his childish fears when he was knocked down and swept over by the
waves in a beach in Cali¬fornia and had been buried in water. Thereafter he had
an aversion to water when he was near it.

Question 27.
What was the deep fear in William Douglas’ mind? How did he get over it?
(Comptt. AI 2017)
Answer:
William Douglas had a deep fear of water. Douglas had to resort to professional
assistance to overcome his fear of water. He employed an instructor to teach him
how to swim. He practiced five days a week, an hour each day with the instructor
and piece by piece the instructor built a swimmer out of Douglas.
Question 28.
How did Douglas develop an aversion to water? (Delhi 2011)
Answer:
When Douglas was three or four years old, his father had taken him to the beach
in California. As he and his father had stood together in the surf, the waves had
knocked him down and swept over him. He was buried in water. His breath was
gone and he was frightened. Then, when he was about ten or eleven years old
and had decided to learn to swim, he had gone to the YMCA pool. There an
eighteen year old boy picked him up and tossed him into the deep end of the
pool. After this incident he never went back to the pool. He developed a fear of
water and avoided it whenever he could. Even when he went wading or boating
in water the terror that had seized him during these experi¬ences would come
back and take possession of him completely. His legs would become paralysed
and icy horror would grab his heart.

Question 29.
How did Douglas try to save himself from drowning in the YMCA pool? (Delhi
2011)
Answer:
When his feet hit the bottom of the pool Douglas summoned up all his strength
and made a great spring upwards thinking he would bob to the surface like a
cork. But when nothing like that happened Douglas tried to yell but no sound
came out. Now a great force was pulling him under. He was paralysed under
water stiff and rigid with fear. Then in the midst of the terror came a touch of
reason that he should remember to jump when he hit the bottom. As soon as he
felt the tiles under him he reached out his toes towards them and jumped again
with all his strength. Yet again the jump did not make any difference. The water
was still around him. Stark terror took an even deeper hold on him and he shook
and trembled with fright. He could not move his arms and legs. He tried to call for
help but nothing happened. Finally he ceased all his efforts and decided to relax
as blackness swept over his brain.
Question 30.
How did the instructor make Douglas a good swimmer? (All India 2011)
Answer:
The instructor put in serious efforts to ‘build a swimmer’ out of Douglas. He
understood Douglas’ mortal water-phobia and practiced five days a week, an
hour each day, with him. He devised a unique way to teach him how to swim. He
attached a rope to Douglas’ belt that went through a pulley which ran over an
overhead cable. Holding the end of the rope in his hand, he made Douglas move
back and forth in the pool without causing him much fear. Douglas was taught
how to exhale under water and raise his nose to inhale.

This exercise was repeated numerous times and they went to and fro across the
pool week after week. The instructor then taught Douglas to kick with his legs. At
first his legs would not work but finally he was able to control and command
them. Finally he was transformed into quite a perfect swimmer by his instructor.

Question 31.
Describe the efforts made by Douglas to save himself from drowning in the YMCA
swimming pool. (Comptt. All India 2013)
Answer:
Douglas was picked up and tossed into the deep end of the YMCA swimming
pool. At that time those nine feet seemed a long way down. As his feet hit the
bottom he summoned all his strength and made an upward spring. He came up
slowly, opened his eyes and saw only water. He reached up as if to grab a rope
and his hands clutched only at water. He flailed at the surface of the water,
swallowed and choked. He tried to bring up his legs but they hung as if paralysed.
He again started on a journey back to the bottom of the pool.

Then he remembered the strategy —he would spring from the bottom of the
pool and come like a cork to the surface. He would lie flat on the water, strike out
with his arms and thrash with his legs. Then he would get to the edge of the pool
and be safe. Yet again the jump made no difference and finally Douglas ceased all
efforts and relaxed as blockness swept over his brain.
Question 32.
The story “Deep Water” has made you realize 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. (Delhi 2014)
Answer:
Douglas was afraid of water from a very young age. His misadventure at the
YMCA pool further increased his water phobia. He was unable to enjoy fishing
and boating trips. Finally he decided he had to overcome his fear. He could not
do it without seeking professional help, so he appointed an instructor who
gradually made him an excellent swimmer. Still Douglas was not satisfied. He
made use of every opportunity to swim and dive in water thus challenging his
fear. He was able to overcome his fear completely and this led him to make the
statement that what one is afraid of is fear itself and if we are able to overcome
that fear then we can achieve anything in life.