CHAPTERWISE QUESTION

Class XII ENGLISH Time : 2 hrs

DEEP WATER Marks : 60

SECTION A : READING

1. Read the passage given below.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago giant mammoths still roamed the earth and the
surface of the earth was covered by dense forests. Men took shelter in caves and covered
their bodies with animal skins. At that time, dogs became man‘s best friend. At first, they
followed man on his hunting trips and waited to get whatever scraps it could get, from the
kill its master made. Then the instinct for companionship made it adopt man as its leader.
Soon, the man began to train dogs to help him during the hunt, to carry his burdens, and
to give him companionship as he sat by the fireside in the evenings. These changes took
place much before recorded history came into practice.
These findings can only be confirmed by the study of the bones of primitive dogs that lay
beside the bones of primitive men in caves. As the history of the dog goes back to a time
when records were not maintained, it is impossible to be sure of these happenings.
Some scientists believe that dogs are the result of a mating between wolves and jackals.
Other scientists say that some species of dogs descended from wolves while others
descended from jackals.
Some even go on to say that dogs descended from coyotes and foxes. A widely held
theory is that the modern dogs that we keep as pets descended from a remote common
ancestor.
This last substantiates the differences in size and appearance between various breeds
of dogs. Other evidence of the wild ancestry of dogs is the built of their bodies, which is
very istinctly adopted for speed and strength. Together with their keen sense of smell,
hearing qualities, it becomes obvious that they have wild hunters in their genes.
From the time when recorded history began, there have been references to dogs in them.
There are images of dogs on Egyptian tombs that are 5000 years old. The Egyptians
considered their dog as the sacred and the whole family would go into mourning if the dog
in an Egyptian home died. Today, the dog is an indispensable part of our lives. For hundreds
of young, healthy blind people, the dog is their seeing eye.
A seeing-eye dog is usually a German shepherd dog. It takes three months to train a
guide dog. First, come to the obedience exercise repeated daily as setting up exercises‘.
Then a U – shaped leather harness is buckled on and the dog learns to walk at the left of
the trainer.
The dog is taught to stop and wait at the curb, watch traffic, and let the cars pass. Before
the dog is passed on to a blind master, a final check is made. Then the blind master and
his dog train together for four weeks before they go home to work smoothly as a team.

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Answer the following Questions 8 × 1 = 48
i) How did dogs become man‘s best friend at an early age?
a) By hunting food for his master
b) By not letting the man feel alone in dark caves
c) By being a constant companion d) By protecting man from mammoths
ii) How did men train dogs?
Statements:
A. Dogs shall help the man in the hunt B. Dogs shall carry heavy loads for man
C. Dogs shall burn the evening bonfires D. Dogs shall hunt for food to survive
a) Only A, B and C b) Only C and D
c) Only A and B d) Only B and C
iii) How did historians know that man and dog were historical companions?
a) By general assumptions b) By studying archaeological records
c) By the study of bones of man and dogs
d) By studying the caves they used to live in
iv) Who are considered as dog‘s ancestors?
a) Foxes b) Wolves c) Jackals d) All of these
v) What makes us believe that dogs have a wild ancestry?
Statements:
A. Many varieties of dogs B. Differences in the body built

C. Differences in strength and stamina

D. Sense of smell and hunting skills

a) Only A b) Only B and C

c) Only B, C and D d) All of these

vi) What happens when a dog dies in an Egyptian family?

a) The whole family mourns of his death

b) His image is put on a wall

c) There is state-mourning d) Dog‘s burial becomes sacred

vii) Who is a “seeing-eye” dog?

a) A dog trained to be a blind man‘s support
b) A dog trained for night vision
c) A dog trained to be man‘s support
d) A dog that has perfect vision

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 viii) What is the total time taken by a “seeing-eye” dog to reach his master‘s home and be
a team?
a) 1 month b) 4 months c) 3 months d) 4 weeks

SECTION B - WRITING

Attempt the following Questions. 4

2. Rohit has successfully cleared CBSE-PMT. He wants to celebrate his admission to Shivaji
Medical College, Nagpur by throwing a party to his friends. Write an informal invitation
giving details of venue, time and date. Do not exceed 50 words.

3. You are the Editor of your school magazine. Draft a notice for your school Notice Board
inviting articles, poems, jokes, sketches etc. from the students for your school magazine.
Sign as Neha/ Neeraj, SKV, VikasPuri. 4

SECTION - C - LITERATURE

4. Read the extract and answer the following questions. 4×1=4

A. 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.
i) What did the author mean by the phrase tension began to slack”?
a) His speed of learning had reduced.
b) The tension began to loosen up and the author became more confident.
c) The panic had increased gradually.
d) He was giving up trying
ii) Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below
Statement 1: Even though the instructor taught him using various techniques,
the author was still terrified.

Statement 2: Controlling his breathing helped him overcome the panic that seized
him under water.

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.

iii) Which quality of the instructor is highlighted in this extract?

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 a) Laziness b) carelessness

c) meticulousness d) fear

iv) Why did the author keep the title of the story as “Deep water”?

a) To express his love for swimming.

b) The central theme of the story deals with the author’s aversion for deep water
and his subsequent efforts to overcome it.
c) To focus our attention on the different methods associated with swimming.
d) to win an award
B. Read the extract and answer the following questions. 5
It had happened when I was ten or eleven years old. I had decided to learn to swim.
There was a pool at the Y.M.C.A. 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. But the Y.M.C.A. pool was safe.
It was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end; and while it was nine feet deep at
the other, the drop was gradual. I got a pair of water wings and went to the pool. I hated
to walk naked into it and show my skinny legs. But I subdued my pride and did it.
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.
i) Who is the author of Deep Water?
a) William Shakespeare b) William George Bernard Shaw
c) William Wordsworth d) William Douglas
ii) Pick out the word which means ‘dislike’
a) aversion b) subdued c) skinny d) pride
iii) Where did the author go with his father in the story?
a) Washington b) New Zealand
c) California d) Canada
iv) d) Why did he develop a fear of water?
a) Because of knocking down by waves at a beach
b) Because of a young boy
c) Because of instructor d) Because of his mother
v) The story ‘Deep Water’ is about ...................
a) Fear of water and the way to overcome it b) Fear of people
c) Fear of dogs d) Fear of swimming

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 C. Read the extract and answer the following questions. 5

It was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end; and while it was nine feet deep at
the other, the drop was gradual. I got a pair of water wings and went to the pool. I hated
to walk naked into it and show my skinny legs. But I subdued my pride and did it.
i) The author subdued his pride and did it. This shows that he ….
a) Hated swimming b) Loved swimming
b) did not want to swim d) Was forced to swim
ii) What are water wings?
a) A pair of wings to fly over the water
b) A pair of life saving tube to swim in water
c) wings of birds in water d) swimming costume
iii) He got water wings before going to the pool. This shows that he
a) Was brave b) Was courageous c) was rich d) Was scared
iv) The writer could drown at the shallow end of the pool
a) true, because he didn’t know swimming
b) false, because he knew swimming
c) false, because it was not deep enough to drown him
d) true, because it was not deep enough to drown him
v) Find a synonym of overpower
a) subdue b) shallow c) gradual d) skinny
5. Answer the following questions in about 40 - 50 words. 10 × 2 = 20
i) Douglas had a fear of water even before his experience of drowning in the Y.M.C.A
pool? Why?
ii) What is the ‘misadventure’ that William Douglas speaks about?
iii) What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was
thrown into the pool? What plans did he make to come to the surface?
iv) How did this experience affect him?
v) ‘I crossed to oblivion and the curtain of life fell’. Why did the author make this remark?
vi) Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
vii) How did the instructor make a swimmer out of Douglas?
viii) How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
ix) What impression do you get of Douglas from the essay?
x) ‘On the way down I planned’, remarks Douglas. What plan had he devised and how
far did it succeed?
6. Attempt any two of the following questions in about 120 - 150 words. 2 × 5 = 10
i) How did the swimming instructor ‘build a swimmer’ out of Douglas?
ii) A big boy threw Douglas into the swimming pool. How did this experience affect
Douglas?
iii) Douglas fully realised the truth of Roosevelt’s statement, “All we have to fear is fear
itself.” How did this realization help him brush aside his fear and become an expert
swimmer?
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