彭蒙惠英语：Spreading the World… Silbo Style

Spreading the World… Silbo Style

 

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If you can’t blow, you must go!

Though the whistling language hasn’t reached the level of the early days, there’s no denying it’s making a comeback. The school hallways are alive with the sound of Silbo as students walk past their teacher and whistle. It is music to his ears.

 

“In the old days when there were no roads or telephones, Silbo was a simple necessity,” says Mendoza. “If a person didn’t know how to whistle, they had to walk.” He reminisces how islanders would whistle from mountaintop to mountaintop to send word about anything from a festivity to a funeral. La Gomera’s verdant¹ gorges³ make the isle⁴ uniquely beautiful but hard to traverse. When African settlers brought Silbo to La Gomera over 2,500 years ago, it proved a great boon⁵ to the island. Whistling saved having to ramble⁶ the labyrinth⁷-like trails up and down steep gorges to deliver a spoken message.

 

 

Vocabulary Focus

music to one’s ears (idiom) something that one is very pleased to hear

boon (n) [bu:n] something that is very helpful and improves the quality of life

ramble (v) [5rAmbl] to walk, especially in the countryside, often without a specific direction or following a winding⁸ path

 

Specialized⁹ Terms

gorge² (n) 峡谷 a deep, narrow valley with steep sides, usually formed by a river or stream cutting through hard rock

labyrinth (n) 迷宫 a confusing set of connecting passages or paths in which it is easy to get lost

 

席尔波式的口哨传意

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如果你不会用嘴吹口哨，就得用脚走路！

虽然这个口哨语言尚未恢复到早期全盛时期的程度，但不可否认，它正在重整旗鼓。学校走廊上充满着学生们遇见老师，并用口哨跟他打招呼的席尔波语。对曼铎沙来说十分悦耳。

“在没有道路或电话的古老年代，席尔波语是最简单的必需品，”曼铎沙这么说，“如果有人不会吹口哨，那他们就得用脚走的。”他回忆起岛民是如何从山顶到山顶用口哨传送从庆典到丧葬的各种讯息。哥梅拉岛上的青翠峡谷让岛的面貌美丽得无与伦比，但却难以通行。大约2500年以前，非洲移民者将席尔波语带入哥梅拉岛，却发现这对小岛来说简直是一大恩惠。口哨语言节省了在像迷宫般山谷间上上下下的小径上缓行，以传送口说讯息的时间。

 

1 verdant   

adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的

参考例句：

• Children are playing on the verdant lawn.孩子们在绿茵茵的草坪上嬉戏玩耍。
• The verdant mountain forest turns red gradually in the autumn wind.苍翠的山林在秋风中渐渐变红了。

2 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

3 gorges   

n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕

参考例句：

• The explorers were confronted with gorges(that were)almost impassable and rivers(that were)often unfordable. 探险人员面临着几乎是无路可通的峡谷和常常是无法渡过的河流。 来自辞典例句
• We visited the Yangtse Gorges last summer. 去年夏天我们游历了长江三峡。 来自辞典例句

4 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

5 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

6 ramble   

v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延

参考例句：

• This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
• I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。

7 labyrinth   

n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路

参考例句：

• He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
• The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。

8 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

9 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。