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Deep Water: Contextual Worksheet for Students

The document is a worksheet for a class on the chapter 'Deep Water' by William Douglas, aimed at students to analyze key passages and answer comprehension questions. It includes five passages with specific questions related to the narrator's experiences, fears, and decisions regarding swimming. The worksheet is designed to enhance understanding of the text and encourage critical thinking about the themes presented.

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Sushil Kumar Dwivedi (MT19AIE323)
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41 views2 pages

Deep Water: Contextual Worksheet for Students

The document is a worksheet for a class on the chapter 'Deep Water' by William Douglas, aimed at students to analyze key passages and answer comprehension questions. It includes five passages with specific questions related to the narrator's experiences, fears, and decisions regarding swimming. The worksheet is designed to enhance understanding of the text and encourage critical thinking about the themes presented.

Uploaded by

Sushil Kumar Dwivedi (MT19AIE323)
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Worksheet – Reference to Context

Chapter: Deep Water by William Douglas

Class: 12 – English Core (Flamingo)

Name: ___________________________ Date: _______________

Roll No.: ___________ Marks: _______/20

Passage 1
“It had happened when I was ten or eleven years old. I had decided
to learn to swim. There was a pool at the YMCA in Yakima that
offered exactly the opportunity. The Yakima River was treacherous.
Mother continually warned against it, and kept fresh in my mind the
details of each drowning in the river.”

1. 1. What decision did the speaker take at the age of ten or eleven?
2. 2. Why did the speaker avoid swimming in the Yakima River?
3. 3. What does the word 'treacherous' mean in this context?
4. 4. How did the speaker’s mother influence his decision?

Passage 2
“Then he came to me with another offer. ‘Look here, kid, how would
you like to be ducked?’
‘No!’ I said.
‘Then down you go!’
And he tossed me into the deep end.”

5. 1. Who is ‘he’ in this passage and what did he do?


6. 2. Why did the boy say ‘No’?
7. 3. What does this passage tell us about the attitude of the older boy?
8. 4. What effect did this incident have on the narrator?

Passage 3
“I was frightened, but not yet frightened out of my wits. On the way
down I planned: When my feet hit the bottom, I would make a big
jump, come to the surface like a cork and lie flat on it — paddle to
the edge of the pool.”

9. 1. What does this passage reveal about the narrator’s state of mind?
10. 2. What plan did he make while sinking?
11. 3. Was the plan successful? Explain briefly.
12. 4. Identify the figure of speech used in ‘come to the surface like a cork.’

Passage 4
“This handicap stayed with me as the years rolled by. In canoes on
Maine lakes, fishing for landlocked salmon, bass fishing in New
Hampshire, trout fishing on the Deschutes and Metolius in Oregon,
camping, swimming, whenever I went, the haunting fear of the
water followed me, it ruined my fishing trips, deprived me of the joy
of canoeing, boating and swimming.”

13. 1. What ‘handicap’ is the speaker referring to?


14. 2. List the outdoor activities mentioned in this passage.
15. 3. How did this fear affect the speaker’s enjoyment of nature?
16. 4. Pick out a phrase that shows the persistence of fear.

Passage 5
“The instructor was finished. But I was not finished. I still wondered
if I would lose my fear. Each time the fear returned I would jump
into the water. This went on until July. But I was still not satisfied.”

17. 1. What does “The instructor was finished” mean?


18. 2. Why was the narrator still not satisfied?
19. 3. What strategy did the narrator use to overcome fear completely?
20. 4. What trait of the narrator’s personality is revealed here?

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