The Lost Rules of Etiquette

Etiquette，or good manners，used to be the glue that held society together．（36）___Sadly，these daysit has mostly gone by the wayside．This list is several best rules of etiquette that have now disappeared．

Opening the Door

In days gone by，a gentleman would always open doors for ladies．（37）___ This h8s now almost entire-ly disappeared-and it is pot entirely the fault of the men．I have seen women laugh at men for opening adoor for them．They seem to be confusing manners with chauvinism（大男子主义）．

Writing Thank-You Notes

In days gone by，whenever a person received a gift，they would write a thank-you note as soon aspossible．（38）___ Parents would sit children down after a birthday or Christmas and coach them in theirfirst thank-you note．It is a shame that gift giving has now become a virtual obligation and the idea of athank-you note would be laughed at．

（39）___

We seem to have completely lost the concept of correct timing when it comes to parties these days．

（40）___ After all，a party normally has a guest of honor-this is usually the oldest woman present．It wasconsidered extremely rude in the past to leave a party before the guest of honor-and once the guest ofhonor left，it was a signal to all that they should begin their own preparations to leave．

A．Arriving on Time．

B．Leaving at the Right Time．

C．People leave with various excuses．

D．It enabled people to get on well、with each other．

E．This rule was true even if the giver was a relative．

F．It could be the lady they were driving，or a stranger．

G．We've thrown away the concept of a guest of honor at will．