D

    Manners nowadays in big cities like London are practically non-existent．It is nothing for a big strong schoolboy to push an elderly woman aside for the last remaining seat on a bus，much less stand up and offer his seat to her，as he ought to．In fact，it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman，it is nearly always one from the older generation．

    This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men，    who say that，since women have asked for equality，they no longer deserve to be treated with    courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their tum in the race like anyone else．Even if it is not agreed，that courtesy should be shown to the old，the sick and the burdened，are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we call sit there indifferently reading a newspaper or a book，saying to ourselves“First come，first served，”while a gray-haired woman，a mother with a young child or a disabled man stands? Yet this is all too often seen．

    Older people，tired and irritable from a day’s work，are not angels，either-far from it．Many an argument or an insulting(辱骂)quarrel breaks out as they feel tired of pushes in the queue and shove(猛推)each other to get on buses．

    If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in，however, it seems very necessary not only  that communications in transport should be improved，but also that communication between  human beings should be kept smooth and polite．Shop assistants won't bother to help，  taxi-drivers shout at each other as they drive dangerously round corners，bus conductors pull the bell before their passengers have had time to get on or off the bus，and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration(恶化).