劍橋雅思真題15閱讀解析：Silbo Gomero

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Silbo Gomero 一(yi) the whistle 'language' of the Canary Islands

La Gomera is one of the Canary Islands situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. This small volcanic island is mountainous, with steep rocky slopes and deep, wooded ravines, rising to 1,487 metres at its highest peak. It is also home to the best known of the world's whistle 'languages', a means of transmitting information over long distances which is perfectly adapted to the extreme terrain of the island.

This 'language', known as 'Silbo' or 'Silbo Gomero' - from the Spanish word for 'whistle'- is now shedding light on the language-processing abilities of the human brain, according to scientists. Researchers say that Silbo activates parts of the brain normally associated with spoken language, suggesting that the brain is remarkably flexible in its ability to interpret sounds as language.

'Science has developed the idea of brain areas that are dedicated to language, and we are starting to understand the scope of signals that can be recognised as language,' says David Corina, co-author of a recent study and associate professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Silbo is a substitute for Spanish, with individual words recoded into whistles which have high- and low-frequency tones. A whistler - or silbador - puts a finger in his or her mouth to increase the whistle's pitch, while the other hand can be cupped to adjust the direction of the sound. 'There is much more ambiguity in the whistled signal than in the spoken signal/ explains lead researcher Manuel Carreiras, psychology professor at the University of La Laguna on the Canary island of Tenerife. Because whistled 'words' can be hard to distinguish, silbadores rely on repetition, as well as awareness of context, to make themselves understood.

The silbadores of Gomera are traditionally shepherds and other isolated mountain folk, and their novel means of staying in touch allows them to communicate over distances of up to 10 kilometres. Carreiras explains that silbadores are able to pass a surprising amount of information via their whistles. 4In daily life they use whistles to communicate short commands, but any Spanish sentence could be whistled.5 Silbo has proved particularly useful when fires have occurred on the island and rapid communication across large areas has been vital.

The study team used neuroimaging equipment to contrast the brain activity of silbadores while listening to whistled and spoken Spanish. Results showed the left temporal lobe of the brain, which is usually associated with spoken language, was engaged during the processing of Silbo. The researchers found that other key regions in the brain's frontal lobe also responded to the whistles, including those activated in response to sign language among deaf people. When the experiments were repeated with non-whistlers, however, activation was observed in all areas of the brain.

'Our results provide more evidence about the flexibility of human capacity for language in a variety of forms' Corina says. 'These data suggest that left-hemisphere language regions are uniquely adapted for communicative purposes, independent of the modality of signal. The non- Silbo speakers were not recognising Silbo as a language. They had nothing to grab onto, so multiple areas of their brains were activated?

Carreiras says the origins of Silbo Gomero remain obscure, but that indigenous Canary Islanders, who were of North African origin, already had a whistled language when Spain conquered the volcanic islands in the 15th century. Whistled languages survive today in Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Vietnam, Guyana, China, Nepal, Senegal, and a few mountainous pockets in southern Europe. There are thought to be as many as 70 whistled languages still in use, though only 12 have been described and studied scientifically. This form of communication is an adaptation found among cultures where people are often isolated from each other, according to Julien Meyer, a researcher at the Institute of Human Sciences in Lyon, France. 'They are mostly used in mountains or dense forests, ' he says. 'Whistled languages are quite clearly defined and represent an original adaptation of the spoken language for the needs of isolated human groups?

But with modern communication technology now widely available, researchers say whistled languages like Silbo are threatened with extinction. With dwindling numbers of Gomera islanders still fluent in the language, Canaries' authorities are taking steps to try to ensure its survival. Since 1999, Silbo Gomero has been taught in all of the island's elementary schools. In addition, locals are seeking assistance from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). {The local authorities are trying to get an award from the organisation to declare [Silbo Gomero] as something that should be preserved for humanity,' Carreiras adds.

Questions 14-19

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?

In boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

9 La Gomera is the most mountainous of all the Canary Islands.

10 Silbo is only appropriate for short and simple messages.

11 In the brain-activity study, silbadores and non-whistlers produced different results.

12 The Spanish introduced Silbo to the islands in the 15th century.

13 There is precise data available regarding all of the whistle languages in existence today.

14 The children of Gomera now learn Silbo.

Questions 20-26

Complete the notes below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet.

答案解析

Question 14

答案：NOT GIVEN

關鍵詞(ci)：La Gomera, Canary Islands

解題(ti)思路：文(wen)中(zhong)第一句(ju)提(ti)到La Gomera是(shi)Canary Islands中(zhong)的(de)一座。第二(er)句(ju)提(ti)到這個小火山(shan)島(dao)是(shi)多山(shan)的(de)。但是(shi)并不(bu)能據此判斷(duan)這里是(shi)山(shan)最多的(de)地方(fang)，屬(shu)于典(dian)型(xing)(xing)的(de)證據不(bu)充分型(xing)(xing)論斷(duan)。

Question 15

答案：FALSE

關(guan)鍵(jian)詞：short and simple messages

解(jie)題思路：不(bu)建議用(yong)(yong)Silbo作定(ding)位詞，因為該(gai)詞在(zai)全文(wen)出現(xian)很多次。本題可(ke)以(yi)用(yong)(yong)short and simple messages定(ding)位。考(kao)點是(shi)絕(jue)對化詞匯only。文(wen)中對應(ying)句說：Carreiras解(jie)釋說，哨語(yu)者能夠通過他們(men)的(de)口(kou)哨聲(sheng)傳遞數量驚人的(de)信息。在(zai)日常生(sheng)活(huo)中，他們(men)用(yong)(yong)口(kou)哨聲(sheng)來傳達簡短(duan)的(de)命令，但任(ren)何(he)西班牙語(yu)句子都可(ke)以(yi)用(yong)(yong)口(kou)哨聲(sheng)來傳達。說明Silbo并不(bu)是(shi)只(zhi)適合短(duan)的(de)、簡單的(de)信息。

Question 16

答案：TRUE

關鍵(jian)詞：brain-activity, non-whistlers

解題思路(lu)：通過(guo)brain-activity定位到第(di)六段第(di)一句(ju)(ju)話，但是(shi)(shi)后面一直在講哨(shao)語者的(de)(de)情況，直到最后一句(ju)(ju)出現了非(fei)哨(shao)語者。通過(guo)however的(de)(de)邏輯關系(xi)基(ji)本(ben)可以判斷出關于非(fei)哨(shao)語者和(he)哨(shao)語者的(de)(de)研究結(jie)果是(shi)(shi)不一樣的(de)(de)。

Question 17

答案：FALSE

關鍵詞：Spanish, 15th century

解題(ti)思路：原文對應句中提到：CaiTeiras說(shuo)，Silbo Gomero的(de)起源至今(jin)仍(reng)不清楚，但加那利(li)群(qun)島的(de)北非裔土著居民，在15世(shi)紀西班牙征服(fu)這些(xie)火山島時，就已經(jing)掌握了一門口(kou)哨語言(yan)。題(ti)目與原文明顯矛盾(dun)。

Question 18

答案：FALSE

關(guan)鍵詞(ci)：precise data, whistle languages

解題思(si)路(lu)：本題主要的判斷點就(jiu)在(zai)于all，是否所(suo)有口(kou)哨語言(yan)都(dou)有精確數據。文(wen)中對(dui)應句說：據認為，目前仍(reng)在(zai)使用的口(kou)哨語言(yan)多(duo)達70種(zhong)，但只有12種(zhong)被科學地描述和(he)研究過。因此可(ke)以看出不是所(suo)有口(kou)哨語言(yan)都(dou)有精確資料。

Question 19

答案：TRUE

關鍵詞：children

解題思路：本題難(nan)點(dian)在(zai)于題目中的children在(zai)文(wen)中是用elementary schools來(lai)體(ti)現的。文(wen)中對應句說(shuo)，自(zi)1999年以來(lai)，島上所有(you)的小學(xue)都開設了Silbo Gomero這門外語課。

Question 20

答案：words

關鍵詞：high- and low- frequency

解(jie)題思路：文中對應(ying)句(ju)說：Silbo是西班牙語的替代(dai)品，每個(ge)單詞(ci)都被重新編碼成帶有高低頻音調的口哨聲。

Question 21

答案：finger

關鍵詞：pitch

解題思路：文(wen)中對應句的前半部分出現pitch，本(ben)句提到(dao)把(ba)手指放進嘴(zui)里去增加音高(gao)，說明是用手指控制音高(gao)。

Question 22

答案：direction

關鍵詞：cupped hand

解(jie)題思路：文中對應(ying)句的(de)后(hou)半(ban)部分(fen)說手可(ke)以彎成杯(bei)狀(zhuang)，來調(diao)節聲音的(de)方向。原文中的(de)adjust對應(ying)題目中的(de)change。

Question 23

答案：commands

關鍵詞(ci)：everyday use

解(jie)題思(si)路：文中的daily life對應(ying)題目(mu)中的everyday，communicate對應(ying) transmission，short對應(ying)brief。

Question 24

答案：fires

關鍵詞：relay information quickly

解題思路：原文中的(de)rapid communication對(dui)應題目中的(de)relay information quickly，體(ti)現(xian)了(le)傳遞信(xin)息。

Question 25

答案：technology

關鍵(jian)詞：threat

解(jie)題思路：文中(zhong)對(dui)應句說：隨(sui)著現代通信(xin)技術的(de)廣(guang)泛(fan)應用，口哨語言(yan)面(mian)臨消(xiao)亡的(de)威脅。

Question 26

答案：award

關鍵詞：UNESCO

解(jie)題(ti)思路(lu)：原(yuan)文(wen)對應(ying)句(ju)中的(de)(de)trying to get對應(ying)題(ti)目(mu)中的(de)(de)hoping to receive。

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