The young lift-man in a City office who threw a passenger out of his lift the other morning and was fined for the offence was undoubtedly in the wrong. It was a question of “Please.” The complainant entering the lift, said, “Top.” The lift-man demanded “Top-please,” and this concession being refused he not only declined to comply with the instruction, but hurled the passenger out of the lift. This, of course was carrying a comment on manner too far. Discourtesy is not a legal offence, and it does not excuse assault and battery. If a burglar breaks into my house and I knock him down, the law will acquit me, and if I am physically assaulted, it will permit me to retaliate with reasonable violence. It does this because the burglar and my assailant have broken quite definite commands of the law. But no legal system could attempt to legislate against bad manners, or could sanction the use of violence against something which it does not itself recognize as a legally punishable offence. And our sympathy with the lift- man, we must admit that the law is reasonable. It would never do if we were at liberty to box people’s ears because we did not like their behaviour, or the tone of their voices, or the scowl on their faces. Our fists would never be idle, and the gutters of the city would run with blood all day.
I may be as uncivil as I may please and the law will protect me against violent retaliation. I may be haughty or boorish and there is no penalty to pay except the penalty of being written down an ill-mannered fellow. The law does not compel me to say “Please” or to attune my voice to other people’s sensibilities any more than it says that I shall not wax my moustache or dye my hair or wear ringlets down my back. It does not recognize the laceration of our feelings as a case for compensation. There is no allowance for moral and intellectual damages in these matters.
A1. True or False
Rewrite the statements and state whether they are true or false.
1. The young lift-man threw a passenger out of his lift.
2. The passenger showed discourteous behaviour.
3. Discourtesy is not a legal offence.
4. The law forces everyone to say 'Please'.
A2. Describe
Describe the incident that takes place in the lift.
A3. Explain
Explain with example from the extract, 'Discourtesy is not a legal offence'.
A4. Personal Response
Write down at least four statements that show courtesy in daily life.
A5. Language Study
1. The lift-man demanded 'Top-please'. (Frame 'Wh-question' to get underlined part as an answer)
2. If I am physically assaulted, it will permit me to retaliate with reasonable violence. (Use 'Unless' and rewrite it.)
A6. Vocabulary
Find the words from the extract which mean-
a. rudeness b. attacker c. uncultured d. a cut or tear
Read the following extract carefully and do the activities given below it.
This does not mean that the damages are negligible. It is probable that the lift-man was much more acutely hurt by what he regarded as a slur upon his social standing than he would have been if he had a kick on the shins, for which he could have got a legal redress. The pain of a kick on the shins soon passes away but the pain of a wound to our self-respect or our vanity may poison a whole day. I can imagine that lift-man, denied the relief of throwing the author of his wound out of the lift, brooding over the insult by the hour, and visiting his wife in the evening as the only way of restoring his equilibrium. For there are few things more catching than bad temper and bad manners. When Sir Anthony Absolute bullied Captain Absolute, the latter went out and bullied his man, Fag, whereupon Fag went out downstairs and kicked the page- boy. Probably the man who said “Top” to the lift-man was really only getting back on his employer who had not said “Good morning” to him because he himself had been henpecked at breakfast by his wife, to whom the cook had been insolent because the housemaid had “answered her back”. We infect the world with our ill-humours. Bad manners probably do more to poison the stream of the general life than all the crimes in the calendar. For one wife who gets a black eye from an otherwise good- natured husband there are a hundred who live a life of martyrdom under the shadow of a morose temper. But all the same the law cannot become the guardian of our private manners. No Decalogue could cover the vast area of offences and no court could administer a law which governed our social civilities, our speech, the tilt of our eyebrows and all our moods and manners.
A1. Order
Rearrange the following jumbled sentences as per their occurrence in the extract.
1. The lift-man was acutely hurt.
2. No court could administer a law.
3. We infect the world with our ill-humours.
4. Captain Absolute bullied Fag.
A2. Inference
The pain of a kick on the shins soon passes away but the pain of a wound to our self-respect or our vanity may poison a whole day.
A3. Explain
Explain the fact that forced the passenger not to fulfil lift-man's demand.
A4. Personal Response
Express your views on the statement 'The law cannot become the guardian of our private manners.'
A5. Language Study
1. This does not mean that the damages are negligible. (Add question tag)
2. We infect the world with our ill-humours. (Transform into Present Perfect Tense)
A6. Vocabulary
Give antonyms of the followings-
a. social b. legal c. insolent d. general
Read the following extract carefully and do the activities given below it.
But though we are bound to endorse the verdict against the lift-man, most people will have a certain sympathy with him. While it is true that there is no law that compels us to say “Please”, there is a social practice much older and much more sacred than any law which enjoins us to be civil. And the first requirement of civility is that we should acknowledge a service. “Please” and “Thank you” are the small change with which we pay our ways as social beings. They are the little courtesies by which we keep the machine of life oiled and running sweetly. They put our intercourse upon the basis of a friendly co-operation, an easy give-and-take, instead of on the basis of superiors dictating to inferiors. It is a very vulgar mind that would wish to command where he can have the service for asking, and have it with willingness and good-feeling instead of resentment.
I should like to “feature” in this connection my friend, the polite conductor. By this discriminating title I do not intend to suggest a rebuke to conductors generally. On the contrary, I am disposed to think that there are few classes of men who come through the ordeal of a very trying calling better than bus conductors do. Here and there you will meet an unpleasant specimen who regards the passengers as his natural enemies - as creatures whose chief purpose on the bus is to cheat him, and who can only be kept reasonably honest by a loud voice and an aggressive manner. But this type is rare - rarer than it used to be. I fancy the public owes much to the Underground Railway Company, which also runs the buses, for insisting on a certain standard of civility in its servants and taking care that standard is observed. In doing this it not only makes things pleasant for the travelling public, but performs an important social service.
A1. Explain
The courteous words 'Please' and 'Thank you' have positive impact in our daily life. Justify the statement with the help of above extract.
A2. Select the most appropriate sentences which suggest the theme of the essay.
(a)The essay tells us about courtesy, civility, morality, responsibility and control.(b) The essay explores the difficulties that can be incurred by an individual when dealing with the public.
(c)One can keep one’s peace of mind without having to lower themselves to the level of the perceived offender.
(d)People with low self-esteem are generally difficult to work with and they look down upon others to get a feeling of superiority.
A3. Explain the general unpleasant view about bus conductor.
A4. Personal Response
Express your views on the impact of good manners and kindliness on the society.
A5. Language Study
1. Though we are bound to endorse the verdict against the lift-man, most people will have a certain sympathy with him. (Remove 'Though' and rewrite it)
2. I should like to “feature” in this connection my friend. (Rewrite the sentence using modal auxiliary verb of 'obligation'.)
A6. Vocabulary
Find out the words which mean following from the extract-
a. to force b. polite c. anger d. difficult experience
Compiled By-Dr. Salukhe T. B.
