Question

Read the extract and complete the activities given below:

What struck me particularly was the ease with which he got through his work. If bad manners are infectious, so also are good manners. If we encounter incivility most of us are apt to become uncivil, but it is an unusually uncouth person who can be disagreeable with sunny people. It is with manners as with the weather. "Nothing clears up my spirits like a fine day: said Keats, and a cheerful person descends on even the gloomiest of us with something of the benediction of a fine day. And so it was always fine weather on the polite conductor's bus, and his own civility, his conciliatory address and good-humored bearing, infected his passengers. In lightening their spirits he lightened his own task. His gaiety was not a wasteful luxury, but a sound investment.

A1. True/False   (2)

Read the following sentences and state whether they are true or false. Correct the false statements and rewrite them.

1. We can get back the civilities of life by invoking the law.
2. To make life kindly and tolerable for each other we must get the common civilities back.
3. Law is a necessary institution for a society because it is somewhat lower than the angles.
4. In the time of Lord Chesterfield, the London streets were paved with beautiful pavements.

A2. Rearrange:  (2)

Rearrange the following statements in order of their occurrence in the extract.

1. "I always do", said Chesterfield, stepping with a bow into the road.
2. Nor will the lift-man's way of meeting moral affront by physical violence help us to restore civilities.
3. We cannot get them back by invoking the law.
4. The polite man may lose the material advantage, but he always has the spiritual victory.

A3. Guess:  (2)

Read the following sentences and write down what it means.

1. The law is a necessary institution for a society that is still somewhat lower than the angels.
2. I suggest to him, that he would have had more subtle and effective revenge if he had treated the gentleman who would not say "Please" with elaborate politeness.

A4. Personal response:  (2)

Suppose that you have lost your ATM card at a restaurant where you have gone along with your family for enjoying a delicious meal and you are falling short of a small amount of money to square the amount. How will you handle the situation?

A5. Language Study:   (2)

1. "I never give the wall to a scoundrel.' Change the sentence into an imperative sentence.
2. We cannot get them back by invoking the law.
   Remove the third person pronoun with appropriate noun from the extract.

A6. Vocabulary:   (2)

Match the following words in column 'A' with their meanings in column 'B'.

Column 'A'	Column 'B'
(a) Moral affront	(i) a rude insensitive man
(b) Civilities	(ii) a wicked person
(c) Boor	(iii) insult to self-dignity
(d) Scoundrel	(iv) showing politeness

Answer 1

A1.

1. False
   Correct statement - We cannot get back the civilities of life by invoking the law.
2. True
3. True
4. False
   Correct statement - In the time of Lord Chesterfield London streets were without pavements.

A2. 

(c) We cannot get them back by invoking the law.

(b) Nor will the lift-man's way of meeting moral affront by physical violence help us to restore civilities.

(d) The polite man may lose the material advantage, but he always has the spiritual victory.

(a) "I always do", said Chesterfield, stepping with a bow into the road.

A3. 

1. There will always be some people who are persistent criminals who harm people physically or mentally because society is not flawless. In order to keep these individuals under control, society needs the institution of law.
2. Here, the author wishes to make the young lift attendant aware that he could have gotten more effective retaliation by making the passenger feel bad for acting rudely toward him by simply being courteous.

A4. I typically avoid eating at restaurants that are unfamiliar to me. I always use cash to pay my bills. If I go to a restaurant with my family on a particularly special day, I let the management know in advance so they may set aside a table just for us. Now, if I discover after a lavish and exquisite supper that I have forgotten my ATM card and am running low on available cash, I would immediately go to the manager and inform him of my concern. He would undoubtedly consider my mistake with the goodwill I possess and let me leave. He would probably realise that I would pay the amount back as soon as possible given my kind manner of taking.

A5. 

1. Never give the wall to a scoundrel.
2. We cannot get the civilities back by invoking the law.

A6. 

Column 'A'	Answers
(a) Moral affront	(iii) insult to self-dignity
(b) Civilities	(iv) showing politeness
(c) Boor	(i) a rude insensitive man
(d) Scoundrel	(ii) a wicked person