12th English Prose Q & A 2026
Ln 3 : In Celebration of Being Alive
A) Detail the statistics Dr. Barnard has provided in his speech?
Dr. Barnard says that out of 125 million children born each year, about 12 million die before the age of one, and another six million die before the age of five.
B) What happened when the doctor couple were crossing the street?
While crossing the street, Dr. Barnard and his wife were hit by a car. They were thrown into the opposite lane and struck by another car.
c) What injuries did they sustain in the accident?
Dr. Barnard had eleven broken ribs and a pierced lung. His wife’s shoulder was badly fractured.
D) Dr. Barnard couldn’t find any nobility in suffering. Why?
He saw the pain of patients and children in the hospital, but he never experienced such suffering himself. That is why he couldn’t find any nobility in it.
E. Why does Dr. Barnard find the suffering of children heartbreaking?
At that time, advanced heart surgery was not available. The children put complete trust in the doctors and nurses, but still suffered. This deeply broke his heart.
F. How did the boy who played the mechanic lose his eyesight?
One night, when his parents were drunk, his mother threw a lantern at his father. It missed and hit the boy, burning his head and shoulders badly. He suffered severe burns and lost his eyesight.
G. Why does Dr. Barnard describe the blind boy as a ‘walking horror’?
The boy had a badly disfigured face, and a long piece of skin hung from his neck to his body. Because of this, Dr. Barnard called him a “walking horror.”
H. What were the problems the trolley driver suffered from?
The trolley driver had a hole in his heart, which was closed by surgery. Later, he developed a cancerous bone tumor. Before the race, his arm and shoulder were amputated, and doctors had little hope for his recovery.
Paragraph Questions (Slow Learners)
In celebration of being alive
TITLE : In Celebration of Being Alive
AUTHOR : Dr. Christiaan Barnard
Theme : We can’t appreciate light if we haven’t known darkness.
- Dr. Christiaan Barnard gives an account of
- being alive to be a boon in the human life.
- He & his wife met with an accident and suffered a lot.
- He experienced not only agony and fear but also anger
- He dint find any nobility in sufferings.
- Then he recalled an incident from a children’s hospital in Cape Town.
- There he saw a ‘Grand prix’ of two disabled boys.
- They drove a food trolley happily when the nurse was absent.
- The mechanic of the trolley was blind. The driver had only one arm.
- On seeing them, Dr.Barnard realised that the joy of living is the most important in the world.
- The children showed him what we have lost is not important but what we have left is important.
Moral : One cannot enjoy life, unless one experiences suffering.
