1.2 On Saying “Please”

 

1.2   On Saying “Please”

 

 

 List the words of courtesy that we use in our daily life. Discuss them with

your partner and explain the purpose of using each.

 

It's my part of Duty	WORDS  OF  COURTESY	Thank you
pardon me		Excuse me
Take care		I am sorry
welcome		Thanks A lot

 

 

 

 

 Listed below are a few character traits of people. Some are positive traits,

while others are not. Tick P the ones you feel are desirable.

Characteristic traits Characteristic traits Characteristic traits

	Characteristic traits		Characteristic traits		Characteristic traits
	Conniving		Aggressive		Boastful
	Insensitive		Scheming	ü	Humble
		ü	Wise		Servile
ü	Humorous		Egoistic		Territorial
ü	Naive		Manipulative	ü	Patronising
ü	Benevolent		Rude	ü	Generous

 

 

 

 

 Etiquette and manners are very important for a person to live in the society.

Read the following and put them in proper columns.

1. To receive phone calls while you are in a lecture or class.

2. To knock before you enter your Principal’s office.

3. To thank the person who offers you tea or coffee.

4. To be polite and courteous to others.

5. To leave the classroom without the teacher’s permission.

6. To occupy the seats reserved for ladies or physically challenged or elderly

people on a bus or a train.

 

.

Appropriate

1. To knock before you enter your Principal’s office.

2 To thank the person who offers you tea or coffee.

3. To be polite and courteous to others.

Inappropriate

1. To receive phone calls while you are in a lecture or class.

2. To leave the classroom without the teacher’s permission.

3.To occupy the seats reserved for ladies or physically challenged or elderly

people on a bus or a train.

 

 

 

 

1.2  On Saying “Please”  

  PAGE NO 14

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 ( उद्धटपणा) is not a legal offence, and it does not excuse assault and battery (मारामारी) . 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 ( सूड) with reasonable violence. It does this because the burglar and my assailant ( attacker हलेखोर )  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 (राग) 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.(सूड) I may be haughty : or boorish (rude ) and there is no penalty to pay except the penalty of being written down an ill-mannered fellow. The law does not compel(मान्य) 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 (मिशा) or dye my hair or wear ringlets down my back. It does not recognize the laceration ( cut छेद)  of our feelings as a case for compensation. There is no allowance for moral and intellectual damages in these matters.

This does not mean that the damages are negligible (दुर्लक्षणया जोगा ). It is probable that the lift-man was much more acutely hurt by what he regarded as a slur (कलंक) 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(.चूक) The pain of a kick on the shins soon passes away but the pain of a wound to our self-respect or our vanity(pride गर्व) 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 (विचार करणे) the insult by the hour, and visiting his wife in the evening as the only way of restoring his equilibrium( balance समतोल). For there are few things more catching than bad temper and bad manners. When Sir Anthony Absolute bullied (threatened धमकावणे )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 (कटकट)at breakfast by his wife, to whom the cook had been insolent (very rude उद्धट) 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(insult ) from an otherwise good- natured husband there are a hundred who live a life of martyrdom under the shadow of a morose  (unhappy)temper. But all the same the law cannot become the guardian of our private manners. No Decalogue (ईश्वर आज्ञा ) could cover the vast area of offences and no court could administer a law which governed our social civilities, our speech, the tilt of oureyebrows and all our moods and manners.

But though we are bound to endorse (support मान्यता ) the verdict(निकाल ) 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 (सापतन भाव)  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 (difficult अवघड ) 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.

It is not, therefore, with any feeling of unfriendliness

to conductors as a class that I pay a tribute to a particular

member of that class. I first became conscious जाणीव  of his

existence one day when I jumped on to a bus and found

that I had left home without any money in my pocket.

Everyone has had the experience and knows the feeling,

the mixed feeling, which the discovery arouses. You are

annoyed because you look like a fool at the best and like

a knave (dishhonest हलकट) at the worst. You would not be at all surprised if

the conductor eyed you coldly as much as to say, “Yes,

I know that stale old trick. Now then, off you get.’’ And

: even if the conductor is a good fellow and lets you down

easily, you are faced with the necessity of going back, and

the inconvenience, perhaps, of missing your train or your

engagement.

Having searched my pockets in vain for stray

coppers(लो वॅल्यू कोईन्स), and having found I was utterly penniless, I told

the conductor with as honest a face as I could assume

that I couldn’t pay the fare, and must go back for money.

“Oh you needn’t get off: that’s all right,” said he. “All

right,” said I, “but I haven’t a copper on me.” “Oh, I’ll

book you through,” he replied. “Where d’ye want to go?”

and he handled his bundle of tickets with the air of a man

who was prepared to give me a ticket for anywhere from

the Bank to Hong Kong. I said it was very kind of him,

and told him where I wanted to go, and as he gave me

the ticket I said, “But where shall I send the fare?” “Oh,

you’ll see me some day all right,” he said cheerfully, he

turned to go. And then, luckily, my fingers, still wandering

in the corner of my pockets lighted on a shilling and the

account was squared (settled ). But that fact did not lessen the

glow of pleasure which so good-natured an action had

given me.

A few days after, my most sensitive toe was trampled

on rather heavily as I sat reading on the top of a bus. I

looked up with some anger and more agony, and saw my

friend of the cheerful countenance. (apperance ऑफ face ) “Sorry, sir,” he said.

“I know these are heavy boots. Got’ em because my own

feet get trod on so much, and now I’m treading on other

people’s. Hope I didn’t hurt you, sir.” He had hurt me but

he was so nice about it that I assured him he hadn’t. After

this I began to observe him whenever I boarded his bus,

and found a curious pleasure in the constant good-nature

of his bearing. He seemed to have an inexhaustible (अमर्याद)

fund of patience and a gift for making his passengers

comfortable. I noticed that if it was raining he would

run up the stairs to give someone the tip that there was

“room inside”. With old people he was as considerate as

a son,and with children as solicitous काळजी करणारा ) as a father. He had

evidently a peculiarly विशेषता warm place in his heart for young

people, and always indulged in some merry jest with them.

If he had a blind man on board it was not enough to set

him down safely on the pavement. He would call to Bill

in front to wait while he took him across the road or round

the corner, or otherwise safely on his way. In short, I found

that he irradiated फैलाव  such an atmosphere of good-temper

and kindliness that a journey with him was a lesson in

natural courtesy and good manners.

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  (impolite असभ्य) 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 (आशीर्वाद)of a fine day. And so it was

always fine weather on the polite conductor’s bus, and his

own civility, his conciliatory (try to win feelings) address and good-humoured

bearing, infected his passengers. In lightening their spirits

he lightened his own task. His gaiety was not a wasteful

luxury, but a sound investment.

I have missed him from my bus route of late; but I

hope that only means that he has carried his sunshine

on to another road. It cannot be too widely diffused in a

rather drab world. And I make no apologies for writing a

panegyric (स्तुतिपर लेखन ) on an unknown bus conductor. If Wordsworth

could gather lessons of wisdom from the poor leech-

gatherer ‘on the lonely moor’, I see no reason why lesser

people should not take lessons in conduct from one who

shows how a very modest calling may be dignified by

good-temper and kindly feeling.

It is a matter of general agreement that the war has

had a chilling effect upon those little everyday civilities of

behaviour that sweeten the general air. We must get those

civilities back if we are to make life kindly and tolerable

for each other. We cannot get them back by invoking the

law. The policeman is a necessary symbol and the law

is a necessary institution for a society that is still some-

what lower than the angels. But the law can only protect

us against material attack. Nor will the lift-man’s way of

meeting moral affront by physical violence help us to

restore the civilities. I suggest to him, that he would have

had a more subtle and effective revenge if he had treated

the gentleman who would not say “Please” with elaborate

politeness. He would have had the victory, not only over

the boor,(रानटी) but over himself, and that is the victory that

counts. The polite man may lose the material advantage,

but he always has the spiritual victory. I commend to the

lift-man a story of Chesterfield. In his time the London

streets were without the pavements of today, and the man

who “took the wall” had the driest footing. “I never give

the wall to a scoundrel,” said a man who met Chesterfield

one day in the street. “I always do,” said Chesterfield,

stepping with a bow into the road. I hope the lift-man will

agree that his revenge was much more sweet than if he

had flung the fellow into the mud.

- Alfred George Gardiner

 

 

 

: BRAINSTORMING

(A1) (i) Form groups and explain the following words with examples. You can take

help of your teacher.

• Humility –MODESTY

 • Self-esteem –RESPECT

• Gratitude-BEING GREATFUL

• Courtesy-POLITENESS

• Generosity-BEING KIND

 • Sympathy-FEELING OF PITY

• Empathy-UNDERSTAND FEELINGS

 

(ii) Have a Group Discussion on the topic ‘The need of soft skills at work

place’. Use the following points.

(a) Written and verbal communication

(b) Ways of interacting with others

(c) Creative abilities

(d) Emotional intelligence

 

 

 

(A2) (i) Read the text and state whether the following statements are True or False.

Correct the False statements.

(a)   Bitter problems in day-to-day life can be solved by sweet words.   

(b) Great wars could have been avoided by a little courtesy.

(c) Observance of etiquette in a normal situation is important but more

important is their observance when the situation is adverse.

(d) Words like 'please' and 'thank you' help us in making our passage through

life uneasy.

(e) The law permits anybody to use violence, if another person is discourteous.

 A         TRUE

B          TRUE

C          TRUE

D         FALSE 

  Words like 'please' and 'thank you' help us in making our passage through life   easy.

E          FALSE           

 The  law does not permit anybody to use violence, if another person is   discourteous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

: (ii) 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.

 

 

ANSWER-   (a) The essay tells us about courtesy, civility, morality, responsibility and

control.

(c) One can keep one’s peace of mind without having to lower themselves to

the level of the perceived offender.

 

 

(iii) (a) Find the reasons for the lift-man's uncivilized behaviour.

The passenger behaves discourteously with him and hurt his self respect.

 

 

(iv) Good manners are required in our daily life for making our social contacts

more cooperative and friendly. Illustrate the behaviour of the polite

conductor with different people in various situations.

                       

	Situation	Behaviour
	1. The writer’s sensitive toe was	The conductor said sorry with an
	trampled on	apology and courtesy.
	2. In the rainy season dealing with	The conductor would run up the stairsto give
	people	them the TIP that there was ROOM INSIDE
	3. Dealing with old people	behaved like loving son
	4. Dealing with children	behaved like caring father
	5. Dealing with young people	make some merry jest with them
	6. Dealing with a blind man	set him down safely on the pavement

 

 

 (A3) (i) • He committed the crime in broad daylight (not bright daylight or narrow

darkness).

• I had a cup of strong tea (not rich tea).

• The fast train is coming (not quick train).

Such words or group of words which habitually occur together and thereby

convey meaning by association are called collocations. A collocation is a

combination of words in a language that often go together.

 

 

 

(a) Find out the words in column 'B' which collocate with the words in column 'A'.

A B

Regular                                    meal

mid day                                   concept

key                                           food

fast                                          exercise

try                                            decorated

richly                                       hard

free                                         jam

traffic                                      time

social                                       animal

wild                                         justice

            ANSWER

Regular           =                      exercise

mid day           =                      meal

key                   =                      concept

fast                  =                      food

try                    =                      hard

richly               =                      decorated

free                 =                      time

traffic              =                      jam

social               =                      justice

wild                 =                      animal

 

 

 

 

 

(b) Learning collocations is essential for making your English sound fluent and

natural. Make collocations and use in your own sentences.

mistake			Dressed
surprise			played
news	BIG	WELL	decorated
car/ship			known
city			done

 

 

 (ii) Sometimes while using a word in a sentence, we have to change its word

class. We can make several more words from the root word.

We can make several new words from the root word.

I asked Sumit to my pencil for me. (sharp).

: I asked Sumit to sharpen my pencil for me.

Now read the following sentences and use the words given in the brackets.

Change the word class and rewrite the sentences.

(a) Leena was eating a very CRUNCHY apple and obviously enjoying it. (crunch)

(b) This picture looks COLOURFUL . (colour)

(c) I’m afraid that your behaviour is just not ACCEPTABLE . (accept)

(d) I like my elder brother. He is very HELPFUL . (help)

 

 

Complete the following table. Put a cross if a word class does not exist.

Sr.No.	Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb
1	absence	…..	ABSENT	…
2	alarm	alarm	alarmING	alarmingly
3	attraction	attract	attractive	attractively
4	.ability	. enable	enable	…
5	. Admiration	. admire	. Admireing	. Admiringly
6	. Agreement	. agree	. Agreeable	. Agreeably
7	application	apply	applicable	…
8	. Avoidance	. Avoid	. Avoidable	. avoidably
9	difference	differ	different	differently

 

 

 (iii) Register often refers to the degree of formality of language, but in a more

general sense it means the language used by a group of people who share

similar work or interest, such as doctors or lawyers.

Imagine that your Principal or teacher is coming. When you meet him, you

would never say,

'Hey, dude ! What's up?'

This is a formal situation, so you would say 'Good morning, Sir'.

In every situation, you use an appropriate expression according to the person.

The language you use, when you meet someone depends on their age, position

etc. There are formal and informal registers in spoken and written language.

Write appropriate expressions and words which you have to use while

facing an interview.

(a)  May I come in ?

(b) I am really sorry

(c)  Thank you so much

(d) Excuse me

 

 

 You are writing a letter of complaint. List the proper expressions that you

would like to write.

(a) I disagree.

(b) I would like to tell you …………

(c)  I would suggest that…….

(d) I am really disappointed that…….

 

 

 

 Distinguish between a legal offence and a moral offence on the basis of

the given text.

Legal offence	Moral offence
Burglary	Rude behaviour
Assault and battery	wound to others self respect
kick on the shine	hurt emotions and feelings

 

 

(v) Find out the meanings of the following phrases. Use them in your own

sentences.

(a) give and take    (b) a black eye

(c) lower than the angels      (d) knock someone down

 

(vi) Find out the words with prefixes and suffixes from the text and write

them down.

Prefix   Suffix

Prefix	Suffix
uncivil	requirement
unfriendly	infectious
discourtesy	comfortable
inexhaustible	agreement
incivility	cheerful
unknown	penniless

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

: (A4) (i) Edit the given paragraph using a/an/the wherever necessary.

Rakesh is a/an ideal son who remains devoted to his father as he grows

Professionally   to become a/the famous doctor. As his father grows old, he

takes  care  to spend time with his father, bringing him tea in a/the morning

and  taking him out for a/the walk in an/the evening.

ANSWERS ARE UNDERLINED WORDS

 

 

(ii) Spot the errors in each of the following sentences and correct the incorrect

ones.

(a) Radha brought pens and distributed them between AMONG  her five children.

(b) Jayshree and Sujata sat besides beside  each other in complete silence.

(c) His best friend Vijay was blind within WITH  one eye.

(d) One could dare to encroach on UPON  his rights.

(e) She was taken with BY  surprise when she saw the famous Taj Mahal.

(f) It is not possible to exchange RETURN  the goods once the sale has been completed.

(g) Dr. Sengupta has been trying to master the craft for SINCE  the last five years.

(h) The top-ranking candidates will be appointed in TO senior jobs in banks.

(i) She knows very well what is expected from her but YET she is unable to

perform.

(j) They will put on DOWN a note in this regard for your consideration.

(CORRECT ANSWER/ WORDS ARE IN CAPITAL LETTERS )

 

(iii) Read the following sentence.

Santosh purchased a computer. He read the operating manual and followed the

instructions.

(a) He linked the monitor, keyboard and printer.

(b) He plugged in the main cable .

(c) He switched on the monitor at the back.

(d) When the light appeared on the screen, he placed the Day Disk in Drive A.

(e) He pushed in the disk until the button clicked out.

(It took about 30 seconds for the computer to load the programme.)

(f) He pressed the Drive button and the disk shot out .

(g) He replaced the Day Disk with the Document Disk.

(h) He pressed function key 7.

 Change the above sentences into passive voice