1In Britain good manners were once seen as proof of a person’s worth, as in the old saying ‘manners maketh

2man’. Though attitudes have become more tolerant over the years, people still tend to judge how do others

3conduct themselves. People may be said to have no manners if they speak rudely to someone, yawn without

4covering their mouth, or behave without thoughts for others. They certainly attract criticisms. On the other

5hand, a person who is civilly courteous, who is considerate towards other people, who says little about their

6own achievements and who respects the privacy of others, is much more likely to win approval and respect.

7Ideas about appropriate personal behaviour vary from country to country and it seems to be no universal

8definition for good manners. Good manners do not have to be formal. They include table manners; they are

9magic words like ‘please’, ‘thank you’, on simple words like ‘pardon’, ‘good morning’. In the past but less

10common today, people bought books on etiquette (polite behavior) to learn how to behave.