Deep Water class 12 MCQs CBSE term 1 exam

DEEP WATER

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

(A) I flailed at the surfaces 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. And then sheer, stark terror seized me, terror that knows 

no understanding, terror that knows no control, terror that no one can understand who has not experienced it. 

(i) The phrase, 'hung as dead weights' refer to 

(a) William Douglas' arms that had ceased to work. 

(b) William Douglas' eyes. 

(c) William Douglas' legs that did not follow his command. 

(d) William Douglas' wits that left his side. 

(ii) Identify the literary device used in the sentence, 'And then sheer, stark ... who has not experienced. 

(a) simile 

(b) metaphor 

(c) repetition 

(d) personification 

(iii) Choose the term which best matches the statement- I flailed at the surface of the water, swallowed and choked.' 

(a) Terrified 

(b) Amazed 

(c) Energetic 

(d) Confused 

(iv) What does 'A great force was pulling me under' mean? 

(a) William Douglas was feeling very forceful. 

(b) William Douglas could feel an unseen energy pulling him inside the water. 

(c) There was a magical force that was pulling him inside the water. 

(d) William Douglas felt that there was someone who was pushing him.

(B) From the beginning, however, I had an aversion to the water when I was in it. 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 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) The phrase 'knocked me' refers to the waves that are 

(a) high. 

(b) inadequate. 

(c) low. 

(d) dangerous. 

(ii) Identify the figure of speech used in the sentence "swimming pool revived unpleasant memories". 

(a) personification. 

(b) simile. 

(c) alliteration. 

(d) metaphor. 

(iii) Choose the term which best matches the statement 'I had an aversion to the water when I was in it." 

(a) adequacy 

(b) disinclination 

(c) strong liking 

(d) ambition 

(iv) What does 'overpowering force of waves' mean? 

(a) Waves are not so powerful. 

(b) Waves are skilled in overpowering. 

(c) The force of waves is tremendously powerful. 

(d) Waves are weak.

(C) And then sheer, stark terror seized me, terror that knows no understanding, terror that knows no control, terror 

that no one can understand who has not experienced it. I was shrieking under water. I was paralysed under water —

stiff, rigid with fear. Even the screams in my throat were frozen. Only my heart, and the pounding in my head, said 

that I was still alive. 

(i) Choose the correct option to describe the emotion felt by the author. 

(a) Elation

(b) Confusion 

(c) Dread 

(d) Gratitude 

(ii) The phrase 'terror seized me' refers to the 

(a) horrifying experience of the author. 

(b) unforgettable experience of the author. 

(c) feelings of the author underwater. 

(d) lovely tales told by his father.

(iii) Choose the term which best matches the statement, 'Only my heart, and the pounding in my head, said that I 

was still alive.' 

(a) Downright 

(b) Utter 

(c) Thorough 

(d) Conscious 

(iv) What does, 'even the screams in my throat were frozen' mean? 

(a) The author was screaming loudly.

(b) The author’s scream could not be heard because of being inside the water

(c) The author was looking forward to punishing the bully

(d) The author had a sore throat because of which he could not scream

(D) 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. | swam the length up and down. Tiny vestiges of the old terror would return. But now [ could frown 

and say to that terror, “Trying to scare me, eh? Well, here’s to you! Look!” And off I'd go for another length of the 

pool.

(i) The person being talked about in the above paragraph is

(a) William Douglas. 

(b) Edla Wilmanson.

(c) Franz. 

(d) Charles Freer Andrews.

(ii) Choose the term which best matches the phrase, ‘into an integrated whole’.

(a) partly 

(b) in a bifurcated manner

(c) completely 

(d) hardly

(iii) Why was the author ‘not finished’?

(a) He wanted to get more coaching.

(b) He wanted a new instructor.

(c) He was yet not confident and wanted more practice.

(d) He wanted to swim across the length of the world.

(iv) What does the author’s ‘talking to the terror’ tell us about him?

(a) He loved to blabber all the time.

(b) He wanted to strike a friendship with terror.

(c) He had become confident and could fight with his fears.

(d) He liked to talk to everyone.