16. The author thinks that Danes adopt a _______ attitude towards their country.

A. boastful   

B. modest   

C. deprecating 

D. mysteriousª¤

17. Which of the following is NOT a Danish characteristic cited in the passage?

A. Fondness of foreign culture.       

B. Equality in society.ª¤

C. Linguistic tolerance.               

D. Persistent planning.

18. The author¡¯s reaction to the statement by the Ministry of Business and Industry is

A. disapproving.     

B. approving.     

C. noncommittal. 

D. doubtful.ª¤

19. According to the passage, Danish orderliness

A. sets the people apart from Germans and Swedes.ª¤
B. spares Danes social troubles besetting other people.ª¤
C. is considered economically essential to the country.ª¤
D. prevents Danes from acknowledging existing troubles.ª¤

20. At the end of the passage the author states all the following EXCEPT that

A. Danes are clearly informed of their social benefits.ª¤
B. Danes take for granted what is given to them.ª¤
C. the open system helps to tide the country over.ª¤
D. orderliness has alleviated unemployment.ª¤

TEXT B
 

But if language habits do not represent classes, a social stratification into something as bygone as ¡°aristocracy¡± and ¡°commons¡±, they do still of course serve to identify social groups. This is something that seems fundamental in the use of language. As we see in relation to political and national movements, language is used as a badge or a barrier depending on which way we look at it. The new boy at school feels out of it at first because he does not know the fight words for things, and awe-inspiring pundits of six or seven look down on him for not being aware that racksy means ¡°dilapidated¡±, or hairy ¡°out first ball¡±. The miner takes a certain pride in being ¡°one up¡± on the visitor or novice who calls the cage a ¡°lift¡± or who thinks that men working in a warm seam are in their ¡°underpants¡± when anyone ought to know that the garments are called hoggers. The ¡°insider¡± is seldom displeased that his language distinguishes him from the ¡°outsider¡±.

Quite apart from specialized terms of this kind in groups, trades and professions, there are all kinds of standards of correctness at which mast of us feel more or less obliged to aim, because we know that certain kinds of English invite irritation or downright condemnation. On the other hand, we know that other kinds convey some kind of prestige and bear a welcome cachet.ª¥

In relation to the social aspects of language, it may well be suggested that English speakers fall into three categories: the assured, the anxious and the indifferent. At one end of this scale, we have the people who have ¡°position¡± an d ¡°status¡±, and who therefore do not feel they need worry much about their use of English. Their education and occupation make them confident of speaking an unimpeachable form of English: no fear of being criticized or corrected is likely to cross their minds, and this gives their speech that characteristically unselfconscious and easy flow which is often envied.