A

Like people from most countries, the people of the British Isles speak kinds of dialects. A dialect is a different version (°æ±¾) of a main language. It has different words and has something to do with the culture of the place in which it is spoken. It is usually spoken with a certain accent. Although it may be different, however, a dialect is usually not so different that an outsider can't understand what is being said.

Speakers of dialects in Britain are often proud of them. For this reason, when you visit an area with a dialect, particularly when it is a place visited by tourists, gift stores will sell books about the local words.

The dialects of Northern Ireland have a great many words that other Britons have never heard of. The nearly poetic words of the Cockneys are famous throughout the world because they can be so clever and humorous. Here is a piece of rhyming slang: A “whistle and flute”  is Cockney slang for a “suit”£®

It is true that there are fewer dialects in Britain today than there were a hundred years ago, and far fewer than there were 200 years ago. The reason is quite clear: The modern world and its opportunities (Ȝȇ) for communication have made the differences between people much smaller. When people speak and listen to more people from a much larger area than their mothers and fathers did, the differences in the ways they speak get smaller.

This means that there are now far fewer problems of understanding each other when British people from the Outer Hebrides of Scotland speak with people from Cornwall in the southwest of the country. Also, English speakers from all over the world can generally understand each other. Of course, if dialects had not become less important, it would have been much more difficult for English as a second language to be such a big success all over the world!

1£®How do people in Britain usually feel about their dialects?

A£®They consider them useless.

B£®They often ignore them.

C£®They are ashamed of them.

D£®They take pride in them.

2£®How are dialects in Britain changing according to the text?

A£®The number of dialects is getting smaller.

B£®There won't be any dialects in the near future.

C£®There are fewer dialects in Northern Ireland than there are in other parts.

D£®There were more dialects 100 years ago than there were 200 years ago.

3£®What is the result of the change in dialects spoken in Britain?

A£®It has caused people more problems in understanding each other.

B£®It has made the British culture much less attractive.

C£®It has played its part in helping English become a world language.

D£®It has created more opportunities for communication.

4£®Which of the following is the best title of the text?

A£®Dialect speakers in Britain

B£®Dialects in Britain

C£®The influence of British dialects

D£®The future of British dialects