Doesanyonestillhopetobeagentleman？Thereareonlyselectoccasionswhenoneisstilladdressedasagentleman，andtheyareremarkablefortheirvarietyandirony(讽刺)．Weare“LadiesandGen

Question

Does anyone still hope to be a gentleman ？ There are only select occasions when one is still addressed as a gentleman ， and they are remarkable for their variety and irony( 讽刺 ) ． We are “Ladies and Gentlemen” at the start of wedding toasts and the acts of old­school comedians.Should the modern man give up the idea of the gentleman?

We can find two very different champions of the idea of a gentleman settling on the same point.Oscar Wilde ， always precise of phrase ， noted “the true gentleman is one who is never unintentionally rude” ． Much of life is the manners of everyday getting along ； queuing ， answering the phone ， making plans ， keeping promises ， remembering birthdays.We can agree with Wilde that in all these ， not being rude is a true—and gentlemanly—mark of success.This he shares with American Civil War general ， Robert E ． Lee.Found in Lee's papers after his death was a discussion of the gentleman in which he noted “The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him.He cannot only forgive ， he can forget.” Yet ， both the military man and the writer bring the same thought into their definitions.For Wilde ， the gentleman may cause intentional rudeness ； for Lee ， he may necessarily remind an offender of a wrong.

The gentleman knows when to forgive ， and when to not ， when to make peace and when to face up to—even at the risk of rudeness.It is this wisdom that is worth reflecting upon.The gentleman is more than a bowler hat ， a social class ， or an old­fashioned title.It is a way of life.To be a gentleman is to be polite ， but not passive; to be graceful ， but with bravery.Within the gentleman's elegant velvet( 天鹅绒 ) glove can be found an iron fist.

Answer 1

1.address 　 2.abandon 　 3.intention
4.success 　 5.remind

6 ． forgiven 　 7.necessary 　 8.time 　 9.Wise 　 10.politeness