Lesson- 3
Deep Water
Q.1.What is the 'Misadventure' that William Douglas speaks about?
A. Douglas goes to the swimming pool when no one else is there. A stout bully boy of around eighteen years comes there and throws him into deep water.This is the Misadventure Douglas speaks about in which he narrowly escapes death.
Q.2.What plans did Douglas make to come to the surface?
A. Douglas planned to make a big jump when his feet hit the bottom, come to the surface, lie flat on it and paddle to the edge og the pool.
Q.3. How did this experience affect him?
A.This experience had an unending effect on Douglas.Fear kept haunting is heart.Even the slightest exertion would upset him.He felt sick to his stomach.He never went back to the pool.He was scared of water and avoided it.
Q.5.Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
A.It was so because his life had become handicappedhe wanted to enjoy his life fully.He wanted to feel released.
Q.6.How did the instructor" build a Swimmer" out of Douglas?
A.The author hired an instructor.The instructor first taught him to stay in water.Then he taught him to put his face under water and exhale, and to raisehis nose and inhale.Next he taught him how to kick with his legs.Thus gradually,he became a Swimmer.
Q.7.How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
A.Theinstructorhadfinished his job, but Douglaswas not fully satisfied.He suspected that he would beterror-stricken when he was alone in the pool.He swam of the length of the pool up and down when he was alone.Now he was not afraid.Still he was not sure that all terror had left.He swam inLake Wentworth. Once the old terror returned but itfield.He also swam across warm Lake to the othershore and back.He had thus Conquered his old fear of water. Additional Questions
Q.8.Why did Douglas decide to join the YMCA pool?
A.Douglas had decided to learn to swim.His mother warned him against the treacherous Yakimariver.Knowing that the YMCA pool was safe.He decided to go there and learn swimming without any danger.
Q.9.What was the continual warning of authors mother?
A. The continual Warning was that the Yakima River was treacherous. Mother reminded him each drawing in the river.
Q.10.Where did the author find himself lying?
A.When the author had nearly drowned and someone pulled him out, he found himself lying on stomach beside the pool, vomiting.
Q11.How does the fear of water ruin his fishing trips and other joys?
A.He could not go for Salmon fishing, bass fishing and trout fishing. He could not enjoy canoeing, boating and swimming.
Q.12.How did the narrator have an aversion to water?
A. The narrator was three or four years old when his father took him to beach. There the Waves knocked him down and swept over him. He got frightened and had an aversion to water. This fear of his childhood created an aversion to water in his boyhood.
Q.13.How did the instructor make Douglas a swimmer bit by bit?
A. 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.
Q.14.How did the boy who threw the writer into the pool look?
A. He was nearly eighteen years old. He had thick hair on his chest. He was strongly built and looked like a boxer. He was beautiful physical specimen with legs and arms that showed rippling muscles.
Long Answer Type Questions
Q.1.How did the author make sure that he had conquered the old terror?
A. The author had learnt how to swim. But he was not sure that all his fear had left. He decided to overcome his fear of water. So he went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Islands and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. He swam the various types, as crawl, breast stroke, side stroke and back stroke. When he was in the middle of the lake and put his face underwater and saw nothing but bottomless water, he got a little frightened. But he laughed the terror away. yet he had residual doubts. So he camped in the high Meadow by the side of Warm Lake. The next day he stripped, dived into the lake, and swam across to the other shore and back. He shouted with joy and Gilbert peak returned the echo.Thus the author conquered his old terror.
Q.2.How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?
Ans. When Douglas grew up, he took the help of an instructor to learn swimming. His training went on from October to April. For three months he was taken across the pool with the help of a rope. As he went under, terror filled him and his legs froze. The instructor taught him to exhale under water and inhale through raised nose. He made him kick his legs to make them relax. Then he asked him to swim. He continued swimming from April to July. Still all terror had not left. He swam two miles across Lake Wentworth and the whole length to the shore and back of Warm Lake. Then he overcame his fear of water.