Important Questions for Class 11

English - Snapshots
Chapter 7 - Birth

Very Short Answer Questions. (1 Mark)

1. Word- Meaning

i. Premonition
Ans: Intuition

ii. Probing
Ans: Searching

iii. Pantingly
Ans: To beat loudly

iv. Consternation
Ans: Anxiety

2. The story “Birth” is an excerpt from which book?

Ans: The narrative "Birth" is an excerpt from A.J. Cronin's novel The Citadel.

3. Who is Andrew Manson in the story?

Ans: Andrew Manson is a newly minted doctor who began his career with the help
of Dr. Edward Page.

4. Who was waiting for Andrew and where?

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Ans: At the Bryngower, Joe Morgan was waiting for Dr. Andrew Manson.

5. Where does the Morgan family live?

Ans: The Morgan family lived at Blaenelly's 12, Blaina Terrace.

Short Answer Questions (2 Marks)

6. Who is Joe Morgan in the story? Who was he waiting for?

Ans: Joe Morgan works as a driller in the mining town of Blaenelly. He is a middle-
aged man who is huge, powerful, and heavy. Dr. Andrew Manson was the one he
was looking for.

7. Why was Joe waiting for Andrew?

Ans: Joe and his wife Susan had been married for twenty years and were expecting
their first child, so he was looking forward to seeing Andrew. Joe was waiting for
the doctor to arrive to assist Susan with the delivery of the baby.

8. Where was Andrew led by Joe? Why Joe did not enter with the doctor?
Ans: While his wife was giving birth to their first child, Andrew was taken to his
house 12, Blaina Terrace by Joe. Joe was agitated since it happened after 20 years
of marriage, so he refused to enter the house.

9. How does Andrew consolidate Susan’s mother? Why does he do so?

Ans: Susan's mother was reassured by Andrew's words, "Don't worry, mother, I
won't run away," because she knew that people wait for a certain amount of time,
and the doctor might leave because he had to wait longer than normal.

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10. What does Andrew feel about marriages?
Ans: Andrew considered marriage to be a serene and lovely condition. He adored
Christine, but his mind and heart were at odds, leaving him befuddled and enraged.

Short Answer Question (3 Marks)

11. What made Andrew feel a shiver of horror?

Ans: Dr. Andrew Manson visited Mrs. Susan Morgan at Morgan's to assist her with
the birth of her first child. It took a long time and a lot of patience to accomplish it,
and when he finally succeeded, he found that the baby was dead. Andrew stared at
the infant's inert form, unable to detect any movement in the newborn that caused a
shudder of terror to run down his spine.

12. What confused Andrew? How did he save Susan?

Ans: As soon as Andrew was successful in delivering the infant, he was taken aback
by the sight of a lifeless baby, as well as Susan, the mother. Andrew's heart was
compelled to save the stillborn infant. He examines the mother, who is in a dismal
situation. He wasn't sure who he should go to first. He saved the mother by giving
her the hypodermic needle and injecting the medicine into a cracked glass ampule.

13. What guesses did Andrew make about the condition of the lifeless child?
Ans: Andrew delivered the newborn kid, but the infant was dead. He discovered the
baby in the damp newspapers beneath the bed; the body was white and delicate, and
the head was drooping on the thin neck, and the limbs appeared to be boneless. He
deduces that the whiteness on the body was due to asphyxia from a lack of oxygen.

14. How did Dr. Andrew Manson revive the lifeless baby?
Ans: Andrew initially saved Susan, then attempted to resuscitate the lifeless baby.
He wrapped the infant in a blanket and breathed for it artificially. His second attempt
was to alternately dip the baby in hot and cold water. He then used a rough towel to

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rub the slick child. Finally, Andrew pushed and released the baby's chest until it
began to breathe, indicating that it had a chance of survival.

15. After the mother and the child were resuscitated, what was the condition of
the room?
Ans: The room was in a very messy state after Andrew's efforts to resuscitate the
mother and kid. Blankets, towels, basins, and filthy tools cluttered the floor. The
point of the hypodermic syringe punctured the floor. The ewer had been knocked
over, and the kettle was lying in a puddle of water on its side.

Long Answer Questions (5 Marks)

16. Write in brief sketch and achievements of Dr Andrew Manson.

Ans: Dr. Andrew Manson was a recent medical school graduate. In a small mining
town, he served as an assistant to Dr. Edward Page. He was head over heels in love
with Christine, but had to endure a miserable evening with her before meeting Joe
Morgan, his patient husband. Andrew was agitated as a result of his altercation with
Christine. Joe asked Andrew to come home at midnight and check on her wife, who
was about to give birth. Andrew did not demand payment and promptly
accompanied Joe to his home. He delivers the baby but notices that it, like its mother,
is lifeless. He becomes terrified and perplexed as to who should be revived first.
However, he decided to save the mother first, making several medical attempts to
save her, before attempting to revive the infant. He successfully revived them both
and remained at their door until he was certain that everything was back to normal.

17. What affected Andrew’s performance at Morgan’s house? How did it

influence his career?
Ans: After midnight, Andrew returned to his home. That evening, his encounter with
Christine was not pleasant. Moreover, he was saddened by various occurrences of
the dismal married couple. Joe Morgan stood outside his house, waiting for the
doctor. He took Andrew to his home, where his wife Susan was about to give birth.

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Both of them were dead intent on having this child. Andrew chose to wait and
provide medical assistance. He had no clue that the events of that night would bring
him not only great joy but also fame and fortune. He labored tirelessly and precisely
to preserve the mother's and her unborn child's lives.

18. How are Andrew’s emotional, mental, and physical states different from
each other?
Ans: When the novel begins, Andrew is depicted as physically and emotionally
exhausted. He'd just returned from a really disappointing occasion with Christine,
the girl he adores, where they'd gotten into a heated dispute. He's got a lot on his
mind and in his heart. He believed that marriage is a happy state, and he had no
recollection of many unhappy marriages. Andrew is physically fatigued at the end
of the storey, but emotionally happy and mentally aware. He feels overjoyed and
content with himself because he was successful in reviving the mother and infant.
He considers what he accomplished to be nothing short of a miracle. This feat aided
him in overcoming physical exhaustion and allowing him to forget about his
emotional problems and sentiments.

19. Write the summary of the story “Birth”.

Ans: The plot Birth is an excerpt from A.J. Cronin's novel "The Citadel." Dr.
Andrew Manson, a newly graduated doctor, is the protagonist of the novel and
storey. The plot revolves around the doctors' miraculous interventions. Andrew was
a doctor in his early twenties. One evening, he is summoned by a man named Joe
Morgan to observe a birthing case. Joe Morgan visits Dr. Andrew in order to bring
him home to his wife Susan. This was the couple's first kid after twenty years of
marriage. Andrew was able to deliver the baby after an hour of effort and decided to
wait until the work was completed. Andrew notices that the baby was stillborn, limp,
and boneless, and that the mother's health was in grave danger. He initially saved
the mother's life by administering a life-saving shot, and then he undertook a series
of medical operations to resuscitate the infant. Andrew carried on with the process
till the baby began to whimper and let out a cry.

20. How would you defend that practice and observation makes a man with
theoretical knowledge perfect in his field?

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Ans: A man with practical experience and understanding has a better probability of
getting the required results. In our daily lives, we come across compounders who
outnumber doctors and physicians. A physician who has studied the procedure for
administering an injection but has not performed it with his own hands will fail in
his effort. A compounder, on the other hand, can outperform a physician due to his
practical experience. Similarly, if you have meticulously seen a man performing his
work to perfection, you may put that highly practical experience to use and achieve
success. Dr. Andrew used his practical expertise and understanding to complete his
task quickly and effectively, saving both the mother and the infant. As a result, both
bookish knowledge and practical experience are required for success, particularly in
the medical area. So, if not seasoned with practical experience, studious information
or verbal material may prove useless and of no value.

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