Good Manners

We say that a person has good manners if he or she is polite, kind and helpful to others. Every one likes a person with good manners. But no one likes a person with bad or careless manners. “yes,” you say , “but what are good manners ?how do I know what to do and what not to do ?”
Here are some examples of these things. They tell you what a person with good manners does or does not do.
He never laughs at people when they are in trouble. Instead, he tries to help them. He is always kind, never cruel, either to people or to animals. When people are waiting for a bus, or in a post office, he takes his turn. He does not push to the front. On the bus, he gives his seat to an old person or a lady. If he, by accident, knocks someone, or gets in their way, he says, “excuse me” or “I am sorry”.
He says “Please” when he asks somebody to help. He says “thank you” when he receives something. He stands up when he speaks to a lady or an older person. And he does not sit down when the other person does. He does not speak or laugh loudly in public.
However, different countries have different manners. When you enter a house in some Asian countries, it is good manners to take off your shoes. In European countries, even though shoes sometime become very dirty, this is not done. In Japan, the guest and host bow each other. But in some other countries they only nod or shake hands. A guest in a Chinese house never finishes a drink. He leaves a little to show that he has had enough. In England a guest always finishes a drink to show that he was enjoyed it.
But no matter how different the manners are, people all over the world agree that good manners really mean to be kind and helpful to others, especially those older or weaker than ourselves. If you remember this, you will not go very far wrong.