AHSEC (ASSEB) Class 11 English Supplementary Reader Snapshots – Chapter 7 Solutions – Birth | Assam Eduverse
Chapter Overview:
Assam Eduverse presents the summary and solutions of Class 11 English (AHSEC/ASSEB) – Snapshots (Supplementary Reader), Chapter 7: Birth by A.J. Cronin. This chapter from the Class 11 Snapshots Supplementary Reader highlights medical ethics, dedication, human life, and responsibility, making it important for exam preparation with both summary and textbook solutions.
The story of Birth follows Andrew Manson, a young doctor, who is called to assist a couple who have been married nearly 20 years and are expecting a child. The labor is long and difficult, and the baby is delivered stillborn. Exhausted but determined, Andrew faces a critical choice: save the mother or try to resuscitate the seemingly lifeless baby. He instinctively focuses on the mother, ensuring her safety, and then turns his full attention to the child. Using alternating hot and cold water baths and manual respiration, he miraculously revives the baby.
Chapter 7: Birth demonstrates the importance of dedication, quick decision-making, and compassion in medicine. For Class 11 students (AHSEC/ASSEB), it provides not only a detailed summary but also key solutions to textbook questions, highlighting the human and ethical dimensions of medical practice, making it an essential chapter in the Snapshots (Supplementary Reader).
AHSEC (ASSEB) Class 11 English Supplementary Reader Snapshots – Chapter 7: Birth Solutions & Question Answers
📖 Summary of Birth
Chapter 7 – Class 11 Snapshots (Supplementary Reader)
The story follows Andrew Manson, a young doctor, who is called to assist a couple married nearly 20 years during a difficult childbirth. After a long and challenging labor, the baby is delivered stillborn. Exhausted, Andrew faces a critical dilemma: focus on saving the mother or attempt to resuscitate the seemingly lifeless baby.
He instinctively prioritizes the mother, successfully reviving her, before turning his attention to the child. Using alternating hot and cold water baths and manual respiration, Andrew works frantically and miraculously brings the baby back to life. The emotional intensity of the situation and the responsibility he bears highlight his dedication and professionalism.
Walking home at dawn, Andrew experiences a profound sense of purpose, feeling that he has finally done something real as a doctor. The chapter emphasizes compassion, responsibility, and the value of human life, portraying the ethical and emotional challenges in medicine.
Conclusion: Chapter 7 illustrates how courage, skill, and ethical decision-making define a doctor’s role, offering insights into medical responsibility and human empathy.
— From the book Snapshots (Supplementary Reader)
READING WITH INSIGHT
Q1. “I have done something; oh, God! I’ve done something real at last.” Why does Andrew say this? What does it mean?
Answer: Andrew says this after saving both the mother and the baby in a critical situation. Until then, he had felt disillusioned with his career and personal life, seeing medicine as mechanical and uninspiring. This case, however, was different—it tested his instinct, skill, and perseverance beyond textbooks. Against all odds, he revived a stillborn child and ensured the mother’s safety. The experience gave him a sense of true achievement, as he realized he had created and preserved life through his own hands. His statement reflects not only relief but also deep fulfillment, as he finally felt his work had meaning. For Andrew, this was more than a medical success; it was a personal triumph that validated his purpose as a doctor.
Q2. There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of a practising physician. Discuss.
Answer: The story highlights the gap between medical theory and real practice. Textbook medicine provides systematic rules, clear procedures, and controlled examples, but real-life cases are often unpredictable and chaotic. Andrew, though recalling a medical case from the Samaritan, found himself in a situation where no set method applied directly. He had to act quickly, deciding to save the mother first and then work desperately to revive the baby. The messy environment, emotional pressure, and urgent circumstances demanded courage, instinct, and perseverance rather than neat textbook steps. His “feverish” and “frantic” efforts show that a practising physician must go beyond theory, relying on judgment, resilience, and presence of mind. Thus, medicine in practice is as much about human response and intuition as it is about medical knowledge.
Q3. Do you know of any incident when someone has been brought back to life from the brink of death through medical help? Discuss medical procedures such as organ transplant and organ regeneration that are used to save human life.
Answer: Many real-life examples show people revived at the edge of death. A common case is the use of a defibrillator, which restarts the heart during sudden cardiac arrest. Quick action can mean the difference between life and death, much like Andrew’s efforts with the stillborn child. Modern medicine also uses advanced procedures to save lives. Organ transplant is one of the most significant, where a failing organ such as a heart, kidney, or liver is replaced with a healthy one from a donor, giving patients a second chance at life. Another promising field is organ regeneration, which uses stem cells and bio-scaffolds to regrow or repair damaged tissues. Though still developing, it holds the hope of repairing organs without surgery. These breakthroughs reflect the power of medicine to restore life and health.
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