《2026年水木金卷高考模拟试卷精编英语》

C
Tourists visiting the Canary Islands can often hear locals communicating over long distances by whistling—not a tune, but the Spanish language. The locals are communicating in Silbo, a much more widespread use of whistled languages. In at least 80 cultures worldwide, people have developed whistled versions of their local languages when the circumstances call for it.
Whistled languages are almost always developed by traditional cultures that live in mountainous regions or in dense forests. That's because whistled speech carries much farther than ordinary speech or shouting, says Julien Meyer, a linguist who explores the topic of whistled languages. Skilled whistlers can reach 120 decibels(分贝)—louder than a car speaker. As a result, whistled speech can be understood up to 10 times as far away as ordinary shouting can. That lets people communicate when they cannot get close enough to shout.
Whistled languages work because many of the key elements of speech can be mimicked in a whistle. We distinguish one speech sound from another by minor differences in their sound frequency patterns. Whistlers can express all of these distinctions by varying the pitch(音高) of their whistle. And the skill can be adapted to any language, even those that have no tradition of whistling.
However, whistled languages are disappearing rapidly all over the world, and some—such as the whistled form of the Tepehua language in Mexico—have already disappeared. Modernization is largely to blame, says Meyer, who points to roads as the biggest factor. "That's why you still find whistled speech only in places that are very, very remote, that have had less access to roads," he says.
Fortunately, there is still a ray of hope. UNESCO has listed two whistled languages—Silbo in the Canary Islands, and a whistled Turkish—as elements of the world's intangible cultural heritage. Such attention can lead to conservation efforts. In the Canary Islands, for example, Silbo is now taught in schools. "If people hadn't made that effort, Silbo would probably have disappeared," says Meyer. There, at least, the future of the whistled language looks bright.
46. What can be learned about Silbo?
A. It is an endangered tune.
B. It is employed to entertain tourists.
C. It is used in more than 80 cultures.
D. It is a whistled version of Spanish.
47. What are whistled languages mainly used to do?
A. Pass on secret information.
B. Get messages across over long distances.
C. Imitate the sound patterns of other languages.
D. Show minor differences between speech sounds.
48. What does the underlined word "mimicked" in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. Imitated.
B. Developed.
C. Combined.
D. Appreciated.
49. Why are whistled languages disappearing according to Meyer?
A. Lack of skilled teachers.
B. Contact with modernity.
C. Difficulty in learning them.
D. Popularity of official languages.
50. What is the author's attitude towards the future of Silbo?
A. Critical.
B. Dissatisfied.
C. Optimistic.
D. Ambiguous.

答案： 46.D 细节理解题。题干意为：关于Silbo，可以了解到什么？根据第一段中“Tourists... hear locals communicating over long distances by whistling—not a tune, but the Spanish language. The locals are communicating in Silbo... whistled languages.”可知，Silbo是一种口哨形式的西班牙语。故选D。
47.B 细节理解题。题干意为：口哨语言主要是用来做什么的？根据第二段中“whistled speech carries much farther than ordinary speech or shouting”和“As a result, whistled speech can be understood up to 10 times as far away as ordinary shouting can. That lets people communicate when they cannot get close enough to shout.”可知，口哨语言主要是为了在远距离的情况下传递信息。故选B。
48.A 词义猜测题。题干意为：第三段中的画线单词“mimicked”是什么意思？根据第三段中“Whistlers can express all of these distinctions by varying the pitch(音高) of their whistle. And the skill can be adapted to any language, even those that have no tradition of whistling.”可推知，口哨语言之所以有效是因为言语的许多关键要素只需通过改变哨音的音高就可以“模仿”。所以，画线单词与“imitated”意思相近。故选A。
49.B 细节理解题。题干意为：根据Meyer的说法，为什么口哨语言正在消失？根据倒数第二段中“whistled languages are disappearing rapidly all over the world... Modernization is largely to blame, says Meyer”可知，Meyer认为现代化是导致口哨语言消失的主要原因。故选B。
50.C 推理判断题。题干意为：作者对Silbo的未来的态度是什么？根据最后一段内容，尤其是“There, at least, the future of the whistled language looks bright.”可知，联合国教科文组织将Silbo列为世界非物质文化遗产，而且在加那利群岛，学校正在教Silbo这种语言，所以这种语言的未来是光明的。由此可推知，作者对Silbo的未来持乐观态度。故选C。