How did the misadventure in the YMCA swimming pool affect Douglas? What efforts did he make to conquer his old terror? [CBSE (F) 2013]

How did the misadventure in the YMCA swimming pool affect Douglas? What efforts did he make to conquer his old terror? [CBSE (F) 2013]

Answer: The misadventure at the YMCA swimming pool affected Douglas for life. He was eleven at the time. When he was a learner and sat alone on the edge of the YMCA pool, a young man just for fun, threw him into the deep end of the pool. He almost drowned. This experience left a deep scar on his mind. For days, the panic and fear kept haunting him. He began to fear water. He was possessed by it completely. It deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating, fishing, bathing and swimming—all water sports. So he decided to conquer it. He got the services of an instructor, who trained him. First every part of his body and then bit by bit, he built a swimmer out of Douglas. A rope was attached to the belt around the waist of Douglas and the rope went through a pulley, the other end was held by the instructor. First, the fear came back every time the instructor let go of the rope. Gradually, the fear became less. Later the instructor was no more needed. He tried to swim alone to test himself. So he went to Lake Wentworth and dived off. He swam using all the strokes that he had learnt. The traces of fear that frightened him have been brushed aside. He could now laugh it all away. The fear was gone. He could swim fearlessly.

More Question-

1. How did Franz perform when his turn came to recite? How did M. Hamel react?
2. Who occupied the backbenches in the classroom on the day of the last lesson? Why? [CBSE Delhi 2015]
3. Why had M. Hamel put on his fine Sunday clothes? Why were the old men of the village sitting there in the back of the classroom?
4. What was unusual about M. Hamel’s dress and behaviour on the day of his last French lesson? [CBSE Delhi 2010C]
5. What was tempting Franz to keep away from school ‘that morning’? [CBSE Delhi 2010C]
6. Why had the bulletin board become a centre of attention during the last two years? [CBSE Delhi 2010]
7. How did M. Hamel say farewell to his students and the people of the town? [CBSE (AI) 2012]
8. How did Franz react to the declaration that it was their last French lesson? [CBSE Delhi 2013]
9. “This is your last French lesson.” How did Franz react to this declaration of M. Hamel? [CBSE Delhi 2010]
10. Who did M. Hamel blame for the neglect of learning on the part of boys like Franz? [CBSE Delhi 2011]
11. “What a thunderclap these words were to me!” Which were the words that shocked and surprised little Franz? [CBSE Delhi 2010; (AI) 2011]
12. One order from Berlin changed the scenario of the school. Comment
13. What did M. Hamel tell them about the French language? What did he ask them to do and why? [CBSE Delhi 2011, 2013C]
14. How does M. Hamel pay a tribute to the French language? [CBSE (AI) 2008]
15. How was M. Hamel’s class different the day Franz went late to school?
16. How was the scene in the school, on the morning of the last lesson, different from that on other days? [CBSE Delhi 2008] [CBSE (AI) 2015]
17. Which objects of nature does Keats mention as sources of joy in his poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty? [CBSE (AI) 2015]
18. What does a thing of beauty do for us? [CBSE Delhi 2015]
19. What does Keats consider an endless fountain of immortal drink and why does he call its drink immortal? [CBSE (AI) 2013]
20. According to Keats, what moves the pain and suffering away from human life? [CBSE Sample Paper 2016]
21. Describe any three things of beauty mentioned in the poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty'. [CBSE (AI) 2012, CBSE (AI) 2013]
22. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever? [CBSE Delhi 2012]
23. What is the message of the poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty? [CBSE (AI) 2011]
24. What spreads the pall of despondence over our dark spirits? How is it removed? [CBSE (F) 2010]