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Despite Denmark's manifest virtues, Danes never talk abouthow proud they are to be Danes. This would sound weird in Danish. When Danestalk to foreigners about Denmark, they always begin by commenting on itstininess, its unimportance, the difficulty of its language, the generalsmall-mindedness and self-indulgence of their countrymen and the high taxes. NoDane would look you in the eye and say, “Denmark is a great country.” You'resupposed to figure this out for yourself. Lu9`(+
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It is the land of the silk safety net, where almost half thenational budget goes toward smoothing out life's inequalities, and there isplenty of money for schools, day care, retraining programmes, jobseminars—Danes love seminars: three days at a study centre hearing about wastemanagement is almost as good as a ski trip. It is a culture bombarded byEnglish, in advertising, pop music, the Internet, and despite all the Englishthat Danish absorbs—there is no Danish Academy to defend against it—olddialects persist in Jutland that can barely be understood by Copenhageners. Itis the land where, as the saying goes, “ Few have too much and fewer have toolittle,” and a foreigner is struck by the sweet egalitarianism that prevails,where the lowliest clerk gives you a level gaze, where Sir and Madame havedisappeared from common usage, even Mr. and Mrs. It's a nation of recyclers—about55% of Danish garbage gets made into something new—and no nuclear power plants.It's a nation of tireless planners. Trains run on time. Things operate well ingeneral. B
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Such a nation of overachievers—a brochure from the Ministryof Business and Industry says, “Denmark is one of the world's cleanest and mostorganized countries, with virtually no pollution, crime, or poverty. Denmark isthe most corruption-free society in the Northern Hemisphere.” So, of course,one's heart lifts at any sighting of Danish sleaze: skinhead graffiti onbuildings (“Foreigners Out of Denmark!”), broken beer bottles in the gutters,drunken teenagers slumped in the park. r>Cv@4/j
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Nonetheless, it is an orderly land. You drive through aDanish town, it comes to an end at a stone wall, and on the other side is afield of barley, a nice clean line: town here, country there. It is not anation of jaywalkers. People stand on the curb and wait for the red light tochange, even if it's 2 a.m. and there's not a car in sight. However, Danes don'tthink of themselves as a waiting-at-2-a.m.-for-the-green-light people—that'show they see Swedes and Germans. Danes see themselves as jazzy people,improvisers, more free spirited than Swedes, but the truth is (though oneshould not say it) that Danes are very much like Germans and Swedes.Orderliness is a main selling point. Denmark has few natural resources, limitedmanufacturing capability; its future in Europe will be as a broker, banker, anddistributor of goods. You send your goods by container ship to Copenhagen, andthese bright, young, English-speaking, utterly honest, highly disciplinedpeople will get your goods around to Scandinavia, the Baltic States, andRussia. Airports, seaports, highways, and rail lines are ultramodern andwell-maintained. 9M Ug/
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The orderliness of the society doesn't mean that Danishlives are less messy or lonely than yours or mine, and no Dane would tell youso. You can hear plenty about bitter family feuds and the sorrows of alcoholismand about perfectly sensible people who went off one day and killed themselves.An orderly society can not exempt its members from the hazards of life. ^Q5advxuq
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But there is a sense of entitlement and security that Danesgrow up with. Certain things are yours by virtue of citizenship, and youshouldn't feel bad for taking what you're entitled to, you're as good as anyoneelse. The rules of the welfare system are clear to everyone, the benefits youget if you lose your job, the steps you take to get a new one; and theorderliness of the system makes it possible for the country to weather highunemployment and social unrest without a sense of crisis. NZ:KJ8ea"
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16. The author thinks that Danes adopt a ________ attitudetowards their country. _l{_n2D-
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A. boastful B.modest C. deprecating D. mysterious T/iZ"\(~w
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17. Which of the following is NOT a Danish characteristiccited in the passage? Z^6qxZJ7
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A. Fondness of foreign culture. B. Equality in society. Ob@HzXH
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C. Linguistic tolerance. D. Persistent planning. wrAcVR
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18. The author's reaction to the statement by the Ministryof Business and Industry is ________. L)9uBdF
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A. disapproving B. approving C. noncommittal D. doubtful ewVks>lbz
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19. According to the passage, Danish orderliness ________. &Rt^G
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A. sets the people apart from Germans and Swedes w<Ot0&