Lesson 7
Manners Are Practically Non-Existent
Manners nowadays in metropolitan cities like London are practically non-existent. It is nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her, as he ought. In fact, it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman, it is nearly always a Continental man or one from the older generation.
This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for younger women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book,saying to ourselves “First come, first served,” while a grey-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is all too often seen.
Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone, we know, but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what would have been the behaviour of these stout young men in a packed refugee train or a train on its way to a prison-camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best places for themselves then?
Older people, tired and irritable from a day’s work, are not angels, either — far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.
If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems imperative, not only that communications in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities, it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite. Shop assistants won’t bother to assist, taxi-drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductor pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration.
名人名言
People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have, and looking for it where they will never find it.
—Edith Schaeffer
I would rather see a young man blush than turn pale.
—Mark Twain
You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.
—Beverly Sills
禮貌事實(shí)上不復(fù)存在
如今，禮貌在像倫敦這樣的大都市里實(shí)際上已經(jīng)不存在了。一個大個頭，身體強(qiáng)壯的男學(xué)生在沖向地鐵或公共汽車的最后一個座位時，用肘部把一個老太太推向一旁，這已經(jīng)不算什么了，更別指望他站起來把座位讓給老太太，盡管他應(yīng)該那樣做。實(shí)際上，我們悲哀地發(fā)現(xiàn)如果真有一個人把自己的座位讓給老年婦女，那么這個人幾乎總是歐洲大陸人或是上一代人。
在公共交通工具上讓座的問題常被青年人反駁，他們說，既然婦女要求平等，那么她們將不應(yīng)再被禮貌(courtesy)對待，那些出去工作的人應(yīng)該像其他任何人一樣在激烈的競爭中輪流等候。婦女從未聲明像男子一樣身強(qiáng)力壯。即使年輕男子不同意應(yīng)該讓位給年輕女子的做法，但是對那些老人，病者和負(fù)重之人仍應(yīng)給予禮貌。難道我們真的喪失了所有的無私思想，以至于我們在一位白發(fā)蒼蒼的老太太，一位抱著孩子的母親或一傷殘者（cripple）站在旁邊時，能夠如此漫不經(jīng)心地讀著報紙或一本書，同時對自己說“先來，先享受”嗎? 然而這卻是太常見的景象了。
我們知道，對每個人來講，旅途中的條件都是很苦的，但是艱苦確實(shí)不是理由。有時人們想知道，在一列擁擠的難民車或在戰(zhàn)期駛往監(jiān)獄的火車上，那些強(qiáng)壯的（stout）年輕男子會怎樣做。那時，他們會不會認(rèn)為為自己留下的位子是正確的并且是他們的應(yīng)得權(quán)益?
老人，常因一天的工作變得勞累且易怒（irritate），他們也不會表現(xiàn)得如天使一般——遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不會。上地鐵或公共汽車時，疲倦的人們前擠后擁，彼此推搡（shove），許多激烈的(brisk)或侮辱性的爭吵就會爆發(fā)。當(dāng)然，我們無法說這種現(xiàn)象是錯是對，只是能理解疲倦是其發(fā)生的原因之一。
如果城市還打算保持其良好的居住環(huán)境，這一點(diǎn)十分必要（imperative），不僅運(yùn)輸工具要改進(jìn)，人類之間的交流也更有必要保持暢通和有禮貌。整個城市里，似乎人們太疲倦，太匆忙以至于做不到講禮貌。商店售貨員不愿麻煩自己過來幫忙；當(dāng)出租汽車司機(jī)們在拐角處危險地沖過去時，他們會彼此大吼大叫（growl）；公共汽車售票員在拼命的乘客們尚未來得及上下車之前，拉動車鈴，等等，等等。在我們看來正是年輕人和強(qiáng)壯者出一點(diǎn)力以阻止這種狀況惡化（deteriorate）的時候了。
名人名言
人們往往堅(jiān)持完美（perfection）而扔掉了一些他們原本可以有的東西，但他們是不可能擁有完美的，雖然他們還在永遠(yuǎn)找不到完美的地方到處搜尋。
——伊迪絲·謝弗
我寧可看到年輕人臉紅，也不愿看到他臉色變得蒼白。
——馬克·吐溫
失敗了你或許會失望，但如果不去試，那你就死定了。
——貝弗利·西爾斯
Manners Are Practically Non-Existent
Manners nowadays in metropolitan cities like London are practically non-existent. It is nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her, as he ought. In fact, it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman, it is nearly always a Continental man or one from the older generation.
This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for younger women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book,saying to ourselves “First come, first served,” while a grey-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is all too often seen.
Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone, we know, but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what would have been the behaviour of these stout young men in a packed refugee train or a train on its way to a prison-camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best places for themselves then?
Older people, tired and irritable from a day’s work, are not angels, either — far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.
If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems imperative, not only that communications in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities, it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite. Shop assistants won’t bother to assist, taxi-drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductor pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration.
名人名言
People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have, and looking for it where they will never find it.
—Edith Schaeffer
I would rather see a young man blush than turn pale.
—Mark Twain
You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.
—Beverly Sills
禮貌事實(shí)上不復(fù)存在
如今，禮貌在像倫敦這樣的大都市里實(shí)際上已經(jīng)不存在了。一個大個頭，身體強(qiáng)壯的男學(xué)生在沖向地鐵或公共汽車的最后一個座位時，用肘部把一個老太太推向一旁，這已經(jīng)不算什么了，更別指望他站起來把座位讓給老太太，盡管他應(yīng)該那樣做。實(shí)際上，我們悲哀地發(fā)現(xiàn)如果真有一個人把自己的座位讓給老年婦女，那么這個人幾乎總是歐洲大陸人或是上一代人。
在公共交通工具上讓座的問題常被青年人反駁，他們說，既然婦女要求平等，那么她們將不應(yīng)再被禮貌(courtesy)對待，那些出去工作的人應(yīng)該像其他任何人一樣在激烈的競爭中輪流等候。婦女從未聲明像男子一樣身強(qiáng)力壯。即使年輕男子不同意應(yīng)該讓位給年輕女子的做法，但是對那些老人，病者和負(fù)重之人仍應(yīng)給予禮貌。難道我們真的喪失了所有的無私思想，以至于我們在一位白發(fā)蒼蒼的老太太，一位抱著孩子的母親或一傷殘者（cripple）站在旁邊時，能夠如此漫不經(jīng)心地讀著報紙或一本書，同時對自己說“先來，先享受”嗎? 然而這卻是太常見的景象了。
我們知道，對每個人來講，旅途中的條件都是很苦的，但是艱苦確實(shí)不是理由。有時人們想知道，在一列擁擠的難民車或在戰(zhàn)期駛往監(jiān)獄的火車上，那些強(qiáng)壯的（stout）年輕男子會怎樣做。那時，他們會不會認(rèn)為為自己留下的位子是正確的并且是他們的應(yīng)得權(quán)益?
老人，常因一天的工作變得勞累且易怒（irritate），他們也不會表現(xiàn)得如天使一般——遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不會。上地鐵或公共汽車時，疲倦的人們前擠后擁，彼此推搡（shove），許多激烈的(brisk)或侮辱性的爭吵就會爆發(fā)。當(dāng)然，我們無法說這種現(xiàn)象是錯是對，只是能理解疲倦是其發(fā)生的原因之一。
如果城市還打算保持其良好的居住環(huán)境，這一點(diǎn)十分必要（imperative），不僅運(yùn)輸工具要改進(jìn)，人類之間的交流也更有必要保持暢通和有禮貌。整個城市里，似乎人們太疲倦，太匆忙以至于做不到講禮貌。商店售貨員不愿麻煩自己過來幫忙；當(dāng)出租汽車司機(jī)們在拐角處危險地沖過去時，他們會彼此大吼大叫（growl）；公共汽車售票員在拼命的乘客們尚未來得及上下車之前，拉動車鈴，等等，等等。在我們看來正是年輕人和強(qiáng)壯者出一點(diǎn)力以阻止這種狀況惡化（deteriorate）的時候了。
名人名言
人們往往堅(jiān)持完美（perfection）而扔掉了一些他們原本可以有的東西，但他們是不可能擁有完美的，雖然他們還在永遠(yuǎn)找不到完美的地方到處搜尋。
——伊迪絲·謝弗
我寧可看到年輕人臉紅，也不愿看到他臉色變得蒼白。
——馬克·吐溫
失敗了你或許會失望，但如果不去試，那你就死定了。
——貝弗利·西爾斯