大学英语精读预备1册 lesson 2

Good Manners¹

We say that a person² has good manners if he or she is polite³, kind and helpful⁴ to others⁵. Every one likes a person with good manners. But no one likes a person with bad or careless⁶ manners. “yes,” you say , “but what are good manners ?how do I know what to do and what not to do ?”
Here are some examples of these things. They tell you what a person with good manners does or does not do.
He never laughs at people when they are in trouble⁷. Instead⁸, he tries to help them. He is always kind, never cruel⁹, either¹⁰ to people or to animals. When people are waiting for a bus, or in a post office, he takes his turn. He does not push¹² to the front. On the bus, he gives his seat¹³ to an old person or a lady. If he, by accident¹⁴, knocks¹⁵ someone¹⁶, or gets in their way, he says, “excuse me” or “I am sorry”.
He says “Please” when he asks somebody¹⁷ to help. He says “thank you” when he receives¹⁸ something. He stands up when he speaks to a lady or an older person. And he does not sit down when the other person does. He does not speak or laugh loudly in public¹⁹.
However²⁰, different countries have different manners. When you enter²¹ a house in some Asian²² countries, it is good manners to take off¹¹ your shoes. In European²³ countries, even²⁴ though²⁵ shoes sometime²⁶ become very dirty, this is not done. In Japan, the guest²⁷ and host²⁸ bow²⁹ each other. But in some other countries they only nod³⁰ or shake³¹ hands. A guest in a Chinese house never finishes a drink. He leaves³² a little to show that he has had³³ enough. In England a guest always finishes a drink to show that he was³⁴ enjoyed it.
But no matter how different the manners are, people all over the world agree³⁵ that good manners really mean to be kind and helpful to others, especially³⁶ those older or weaker than ourselves³⁷. If you remember this, you will not go very far wrong.