2016年4月25日 星期一

The Whistled Languages of the World  哨聲響起


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The Whistled Languages of the World  哨聲響起
by Ivy Liu

This rare form of nonverbal language allowed humans to communicate over long distances before the invention of phones.
這種罕見的非口頭語言形式讓人們得以在電話發明之前跨越遠距離溝通。

  When one thinks of language, the thousands of different tongues spoken in the world may come to mind. However, the human voice cannot travel very far. In remote regions, such as thick forests and mountains, whistling is used instead to communicate across long distances. One may think of herders whistling fervently, sending their messages across ravines. It is also found in Star Wars, particularly when R2-D2 whistles to other droids. However, the best-studied whistled language is Silbo Gomero, which is found on one of the Canary Islands called La Gomera.
  First used by the island's inhabitants as an ancient language of the Canaries, Silbo Gomero, or simply Silbo, became the whistled form of Spanish after settlers arrived in the 16th century. Since there are only four consonants and two to four vowels of Silbo, well-versed silbadores, or whistlers, depend on deduction skills to understand each other. Usage decreased in the 1950s due to a growing system of roads, economic decline, and the development of telephones. To combat this, the government of the Canary Islands began an initiative to preserve Silbo in the 1990s by teaching it as a required subject in elementary school. In 2009, UNESCO added Silbo Gomero to its list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, ensuring its survival.
  Another well-known whistled language exists in a village nestled in the mountains of northern Turkey called the "Village of the Birds," or Kuskoy. Though the language is dying, as gossip is best shared by phone, whistled Turkish is interestingly processed using both hemispheres of the brain while spoken languages, even Silbo, are typically processed in the left hemisphere. It may be a pipe dream, but this research is a glimmer of hope for stroke victims who may learn to communicate through whistles.

1. How did whistled languages likely develop?
(A) By people living in areas where travel was not as convenient.
(B) Because people wanted to have some privacy.
(C) By villagers who were against using phones.
(D) When Star Wars fans decided to adopt R2-D2's language.
2. What is true about Silbo Gomero?
(A) It was mainly used by Spanish speakers before the 1600s.
(B) Spanish settlers forced La Gomera's inhabitants to use Silbo.
(C) La Gomera's people used Silbo to speak an old language before the 16th century.
(D) It was developed to fight against the Spanish settlers.
3. What was done to protect Silbo Gomero?
(A) The government of the Canary Islands banned people from speaking Spanish.
(B) UNESCO suggested that the language be given more consonants and vowels.
(C) The people of La Gomera started learning Silbo over the Internet.
(D) The language was added to UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
4. Why is northern Turkey mentioned?
(A) A high number of stroke victims live among the Turkish whistlers.
(B) It is a well-known fact that people share the juiciest gossip in Kuskoy.
(C) Whistled Turkish uses both parts of the brain, giving a sliver of hope to stroke victims.
(D) An entire village is composed of rare and exotic species of birds.

 

nonverbal a. 非語言溝通的
tongue n. 語言
herder n. 牧人
fervently adv. 熱烈地;急切地
ravine n. 溝壑;深谷
droid n. 機器人
consonant n. 子音
vowel n. 母音
well-versed a. 熟知的,通曉的
nestle vt. 使安置,使安頓(常用被動)
hemisphere n. 半球體
stroke n. 中風
juicy a. 富於刺激性的

  1. think of...  想到……;考慮……
    Bill thought of quitting his job but changed his mind today when he got a raise.
    比爾原本想辭職不幹,但今天卻改變心意,因為他加薪了。
  2. depend on...  依靠……;視……而定
    同: rely on...
    = count on...
    Barry had to depend on the MRT to go to work after he sold his car.
    貝瑞把車賣掉後,必須靠搭捷運去上班。
  3. a glimmer of hope  一線希望
    glimmer n. 微光
    There is still a glimmer of hope to find the lost climbers.
    尋找迷路的登山客仍有一線希望。

When one thinks of language, the thousands of different tongues spoken in the world may come to mind.
注意
... come to mind  想到……
衍: lose one's mind  失去理智,發瘋
keep sth in mind  記住/牢記……
= bear sth in mind
When you mentioned Sara, our fun time at the beach came to mind.
提到莎拉時,我就會想到我們在海灘共度的快樂時光。
Patty practically lost her mind when she saw that her house was on fire.
派蒂看見她房子失火時幾乎瘋掉。
Alice always keeps her father's advice in mind.
艾莉絲總是把父親的忠告銘記在心。

  1. whistled a. 口哨的(過去分詞作形容詞用)
    衍: whistle vi. 吹口哨
  2. remote a. 偏遠的,遙遠的
    The bridge connects the remote village with the outside world.
    那座橋將這個偏遠村落與外面的世界連接在一起。
  3. particularly adv. 特別地,尤其
    同: in particular
    Everyone, particularly Kathy, is excited about the upcoming holiday.
    每個人都對即將到來的假日很興奮,特別是凱西。
  4. settler n. 殖民者,拓荒者
    衍: settle vi. & vt. 安頓;定居於
    Cats were introduced to New Zealand when the first settlers arrived there.
    第一批墾荒者到達紐西蘭時將貓一併引進。
    I hope to hear from you once you get settled in Chicago.
    希望你在芝加哥安頓下來時,我能立刻收到你的消息。
  5. deduction n. 推理,推斷,演繹
    The detective finally discovered the identity of the killer through the process of deduction.
    經過一番仔細推斷,該警探總算搞清楚殺手的身份了。
  6. decrease vi. & vt. 減少,減小
    The population of this village has decreased dramatically in the past year.
    這座村莊的人口在過去一年來大幅減少。
    The company decreased the pay of several of its employees.
    該公司調降了好幾名員工的薪水。
  7. combat vt. 對抗,戰鬥
    The police force will be expanded to help combat crime.
    警方將會擴大警力來協助打擊犯罪。
  8. initiative n. 倡議,計劃
    衍: take the initiative  採取主動
    Kenny is too shy to take the initiative, so don't expect him to do anything.
    肯尼過於害羞而不會主動,所以不要期望他做任何事。
  9. preserve vt. 保護,維護
    衍: well-preserved a. 保存良好的
    The scientist tries his best to preserve the natural habitat of the butterflies.
    這位科學家盡全力保護那些蝴蝶的自然棲息地。
    The recently found dinosaur bones were very well-preserved.
    最近發現的這些恐龍骨頭被保存得相當良好。
  10. intangible a. 無形的;摸不到的
  11. ensure vt. 確保
    The company took measures to ensure its products' success.
    該公司採取措施以確保其產品成功。
    *take measures to V  採取措施(做)……
  12. survival n. 生存;倖存
    衍: survive vi. 生存,存活;倖存
    Global warming is threatening the survival of wildlife.
    全球暖化正威脅野生動植物的生存。
    Over millions of years, plants and animals have evolved and survived.
    數百萬年來,動植物歷經演化而存活下來。
    *evolve vi. 演化;進化
  13. process vt. 處理;加工
    This kind of cloth has been processed to make it waterproof.
    這種布經加工處理後有防水的功能。
  14. a pipe dream  白日夢;空想
    Realistically speaking, your idea about going back in time is just a pipe dream.
    說實在的,你想要回到過去的這種主意只是空想罷了。

哨聲響起
這種罕見的非口頭語言形式讓人們得以在電話發明之前跨越遠距離溝通。
  一想到語言,我們的腦海可能會浮現出全世界人們所說的數千種不同語言。然而,人類的聲音無法傳播至很遠的地方。在像是茂密森林和山脈等偏遠地區中,人們改用吹口哨以跨越遠距離溝通。我們可能會想起牧人熱切地吹口哨,傳送他們的信息穿越深谷。在《星際大戰》中也曾經出現,尤其當 R2-D2 向其他機器人吹口哨時。然而,人們研究得最為徹底的口哨語言是 Silbo Gomero,在加那利群島的其中一座稱為戈梅拉島的島嶼中被發現。
  Silbo Gomero(或簡稱為Silbo)首先由該島居民作為加那利的古老語言使用,它在殖民者於十六世紀抵達之後便成為西班牙文的哨音形式。由於 Silbo 只有四個子音和兩到四個母音,精通 Silbo 的人或吹口哨者依靠推理技巧來瞭解彼此。因為日益成長的道路系統、經濟衰退(編按:由於經濟不景氣迫使該地區許多居民移出找尋更好的工作機會,因而忽略了維護此文化的發展。)以及電話的發展,使用量在 1950 年代有所減少。為了防止此情形,加那利群島的政府於 1990 年代開始推動一項計劃來維護 Silbo,將它當作小學的必修課程教導學童。2009 年,聯合國教科文組織將 Silbo Gomero 列為人類口述與無形遺產代表作之一,確保它繼續留存。
  另外一個著名的口哨語言存在於一座名叫『鳥之村』或庫斯庫伊的村莊,坐落在土耳其北部的山脈中。雖然這種語言即將消亡,因為分享八卦的最佳管道是透過電話,有趣的是,哨音版本的土耳其語是運用大腦的左右兩半球來處理,而口頭語言基本上是由大腦的左半球來處理,即便是 Silbo 也是如此。這也許是空想一場,但這項研究對於可能學習透過吹口哨來溝通的中風患者而言是一線希望。

1. 口哨語言可能是如何發展而成的?
(A) 由居住在交通較不便利地區的人們發展而成。
(B) 因為人們想要擁有一些隱私。
(C) 由反對使用電話的村民發展而成。
(D) 當《星際大戰》的影迷決定採用 R2-D2 的語言。
題解:根據本文第一段,在像是茂密森林和山脈等偏遠地區中,人們改用吹口哨以跨越遠距離溝通,故 (A) 項應為正選。
2. 下列哪一項關於 Silbo Gomero 的敘述是正確的?
(A) 在十七世紀之前,它主要是由說西班牙文的人使用。
(B) 西班牙殖民者強迫戈梅拉島的居民使用 Silbo。
(C) 在十六世紀之前,戈梅拉島的人們用 Silbo 來
說一種古老語言。
(D) 它被發展來對抗西班牙殖民者。
題解:根據本文第二段,Silbo Gomero 首先由該島居民作為加那利的古老語言使用,它在殖民者於十六世紀抵達之後便成為西班牙文的哨音形式,故 (C) 項應為正選。
3. 人們為了維護 Silbo Gomero 而採取了什麼行動?
(A) 加那利群島的政府禁止人們說西班牙文。
(B) 聯合國教科文組織建議該語言應增添更多子音和母音。
(C) 戈梅拉島的人民開始透過網路學習 Silbo。
(D) 該語言被列入聯合國教科文組織的人類口述與無形遺產代表作。
題解:根據本文第二段,聯合國教科文組織將 Silbo Gomero
列為人類口述與無形遺產代表作之一,確保它繼續留存,故 (D) 項應為正選。
4. 為什麼本文提及土耳其北部?
(A) 大量中風患者與土耳其吹口哨者住在一起。
(B) 在庫斯庫伊的人們分享最精彩的八卦是眾所皆知的事實。
(C) 哨音版的土耳其語運用到大腦的兩個區域,為中風患者帶來一線希望。
(D) 整座村莊都是由罕見又奇異的鳥類所組成。
題解:根據本文第三段,哨音版本的土耳其語是運用大腦的左右兩半球來處理,這項研究對於可能學習透過吹口哨來溝通的中風患者而言是一線希望,故 (C) 項應為正選。

答案: 1. A 2. C 3. D 4. C

 
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