The local people of La Gomera can carry on conversations by whistling(吹口哨) from far away. For face-to-face conversations, they speak Spanish. But when they need to speak over a distance(距离), they whistle.
La Gomera is a small island. This island is almost shaped like a circle. It is very mountainous. Walking from one place to another may be a slow and difficult job. That is why whistling is so useful to the local people. A message can easily be whistled over a couple of miles, while to travel that same distance on foot might take an hour.
A good whistler can be heard and understood five miles away. His whistling can be farther away when it is windless. It is said that the record is about nine miles. Anyone who has heard a top whistler will agree that this record is quite possible.
A whistle travels farther than a shout, and is easier to understand. When a person shouts, he cannot pronounce his words well. But if a whistle is heard, it will be heard clearly.
Whistling is popular at La Gomera, and many methods of whistling are used …
