Comprehension

I. Answer these questions in one or two words.

Q1. Where was Alfred G. Gardiner born?
Answer: Chelmsford, Essex, England

Q2. Is discourtesy a legal offence?
Answer: No

Q3. Which literary period did John Keats belong to?
Answer: Romantic

Q4. What effect has the war had on the niceties and civilities of life?
Answer: A chilling effect

Q5. Whom does Gardiner ‘feature’ in his essay as a perfect example of polite social behaviour?
Answer: The bus conductor

II. Answer these questions in a few words.

Q1. Why did the young lift-man in the city office throw the passenger out of his lift?
Answer: The passenger said “Top” without saying “please.”

Q2. What does the law say with regard to ‘discourtesy’?
Answer: The law does not recognize discourtesy as a legal offense and cannot legislate against bad manners.

Q3. What would happen if we were at liberty to physically assault someone just because any aspect of his demeanour is unacceptable to us?
Answer: Our fists would “never be idle,” and the gutters would “run with blood all day.”

Q4. What is the penalty for a person for being uncivil?
Answer: The only penalty is being “written down an ill-mannered fellow.”

Q5. What happened to Gardiner one day when he sat reading on the top of a bus?
Answer: The bus conductor’s heavy boot trampled on his toe.

III. Answer these questions briefly.

Q1. How does a ‘pain of a wound to our self-respect’ linger on?
Answer: The pain of a physical wound like a kick “soon passes away,” but the pain of an insult to one’s self-respect or vanity can “poison a whole day.”

Q2. What kind of victory is preferable? How would the lift-man have scored a more effective victory?
Answer: A moral or spiritual victory is preferable to a physical one. The lift-man would have scored a more effective victory by treating the rude passenger with “elaborate politeness,” which would have been a victory not only over the “boor, but over himself.”

Q3. What prompts Gardiner to heap praises on the bus-conductor?
Answer: Gardiner is impressed by the conductor’s constant good nature and inexhaustible patience. The conductor’s kind actions, such as offering a ticket when Gardiner had no money and his polite apology for stepping on his toe, prompted Gardiner to praise him.

IV. Answer these questions in detail.

Q1. ‘Please and Thank you are the small change with which we pay our way as social beings.’ Explain.
Answer: Gardiner uses this metaphor to explain the function of civility in society. Just as we use small coins like “pence” to buy things and make daily transactions, we use simple courtesies like “Please” and “Thank you” to “pay our way” in social interactions. These words keep the “machine of life oiled and running sweetly” by fostering “friendly co-operation” and mutual respect instead of command and resentment. They are small but necessary for a smooth and pleasant social life.

Q2. Write in your own words, the incident in the bus involving the bus conductor and the author.
Answer: The author describes two incidents with a kind bus conductor. In the first, Gardiner realized he had no money to pay his fare. The conductor, instead of being angry or demanding he get off, cheerfully told him not to worry and said he’d “book him through,” trusting that Gardiner would pay him back “some day.” Luckily, Gardiner found a shilling and squared the account. In the second incident, the conductor accidentally trampled on Gardiner’s toe. Even though it hurt, the conductor’s sincere apology and explanation that he got heavy boots because his own feet are often stepped on made Gardiner assure him he was fine.