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  3. The decline of civility and good manners may be worrying people more than crime, according to Gentility Recalled, edited by Digb

The decline of civility and good manners may be worrying people more than crime, according to Gentility Recalled, edited by Digb

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问题    The decline of civility and good manners may be worrying people more than crime, according to Gentility Recalled, edited by Digby Anderson, which laments the breakdown of traditional codes that once regulated social conduct. It criticises the fact that "manners" are scorned as repressive and outdated.
   The result, according to Mr. Anderson—director of the Social Affairs Unit, an independent think-tank—is a society characterised by rudeness: rough behaviour on the streets, jostling in crowds, impolite shop assistants and bad-tempered drivers. He also says the cumulative effect of these—apparently trivial, but often offensive—is to make everyday life uneasy, unpredictable and unpleasant. As they are encountered far more often than crime, they can cause more anxiety than crime. "When people lament the disintegration of law and order," he argues, "what they generally mean is order, as manifested by courteous forms of social contact. Meanwhile, attempts to re-establish restraint and self-control through ’politically correct’ rules are artificial."
   The book has contributions from 12 academics in disciplines ranging from medicine to sociology and charts what it calls the "coarsening" of Britain. Old-fashioned terms such as "gentleman" and "lady" have lost all meaningful resonance and need to be re-evaluated, it says.
   Rachel Trickett, honorary fellow and former principal of St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, says that the notion of a "lady" protects women rather than demeans them. Feminism and demands for equality have blurred the distinctions between the sexes, creating situations where men are able to dominate women because of their more aggressive and forceful natures, she says. "Women, without some code of deference or respect, become increasingly victims."
   Caroline Moore, the first woman fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, points out that "gentleman" is now used only with irony or mockery. "The popular view of a gentleman is poised somewhere between the stupid parasite and the evil one." She said. She also argues that the concept is neither class-bound nor rigid; conventions of gentlemanly be-haviour enable a man to act naturally as an individual within shared assumptions while taking his place in society. "Politeness is no constraint, precisely because the manners... are no ’code’ but a language, rich, flexible, restrained and infinitely subtle."
   For Anthony O’Hear, professor of philosophy at the University of Bradford, manners are closely associated with the different forms of behaviour appropriate to age and status. They curb both the impetuosity of youth and the bitterness of old age.
   Dr. Bruce Charlton, a lecturer in public health medicine in Newcastle upon Tyne, takes issue with the excessive informality of relations between professionals such as doctors and bank managers, and their clients. He says this has damaged the distance and respect necessary in such relationships.
   For Tristam Engelhardt, professor of medicine in Houston, Texas, says manners are bound to morals. "Manners express a particular set of values," he says. "Good manners interpret and transform social reality. They provide social orientation."
   [A] argues that manners are more similar to language than to code.
   [B] thinks the ambiguous distinctions between sexes cause woman’s disadvantageous situation.
   [C] holds that the decline of civility and good manners leads to rude and offensive behaviours.
   [D] agrees that the varied forms of behaviour are related to age and social status.
   [E] points out that the word "gentleman" now should be used only with irony and mockery.
   [F] holds that the informality of professionals’ relations can be harmful if it is excessive.
   [G] criticises the traditional manners which once strictly regulated the society.
Dr. Bruce Charlton
选项
答案F
解析 Dr．Bruce Charlton出现在文中第七段。该段讲到Bruce Charlton博士对专业人员之间太过随意的关系持异议，他说这破坏了这种关系中必要的距离的意识和尊重的意识。F项的informality、relations和professionals均为文中原词复现，harmful是对文中has damaged the…in such relationships的概括，故F为本题答案。
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