47 Sound

A The human voice

Here are some brief extracts from novels, where people’s voices and speech are being described.
• Lennox noticed a trace of1 a foreign accent in the man’s voice. It was a booming2 voice, one he
had heard before, many years ago.
• Wilson watched Robert trying to fire the gun. Then, in a gru 3 voice, he said, ‘You’re useless! Bring
it here!’ Robert muttered something under his breath as he obeyed.
• Zoe met with a stony4 silence as she entered the room. It was as if everyone had lost their voice.
Nobody uttered a word5 as she walked across to the table.
• The woman spoke with a broad6 Scottish accent. She had a rather husky7 voice, which James found
attractive, but she slurred her words8 a little, as if she were too tired to talk.
• Mu led9 voices could be heard coming from the next room, but I couldn’t make out what was
being said.
• A er failing to dissuade her son from leaving his job, she raised her voice angrily and shouted,
‘Okay, do it your way then!’
1 6
very slight strong (of accents)
2 7
very loud low and rough, o en thought to be attractive
3 8
low, unfriendly and harsh spoke unclearly, running the sounds together
4 9
cold and unfriendly quiet and unclear
5
note, this collocation is normally
in the negative or has a negative subject

B Sounds and silence

Here are four winning entries from a student poetry competition. The theme of the competition was
‘Sound and silence’.

SOUND AND SILENCE Poetry Competition

1ST PRIZE: 2ND PRIZE:
Sasha Brokenburg Abdul Zahra
A clap1 of thunder Silence descends on Carthmore Lake.
then a deathly hush2. My heart is still.
In a so whisper Only the distant echo of a sad cry
the wind tells the moon can be heard.
how beautiful she is.

3RD PRIZE: 4TH PRIZE:

Nuria Palomar Liu Chan

In the street below, the incessant3 noise A dull thud5 awakens me.
of trams and vans The sound travels from
of trucks and cars. the valley where it was made
But my soul makes no sound. to this place here,
Here in this darkened room where no one dares let out a cry.
silence reigns4.

1 4
sudden loud noise made by thunder dominates
2 5
extreme silence, in a way that is unpleasant unclear sound made when something heavy falls
3
which never stops

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 Exercises
47.1 Read the sentences. Then answer the questions.
Despite his gru voice, Fabrice’s boss is actually quite an approachable person.
Zara was unable to utter a word when she realised the child was injured.
Kevin spoke in a booming voice, as if he were an army sergeant.
Ilona raised her voice and angrily addressed the young man at the door.
As she entered, she could hear Joe’s husky voice addressing someone.

1 Who spoke in an extremely loud voice?

2 Who spoke in a low, rough, but perhaps attractive way?

3 Who spoke in a low, unfriendly voice?

4 Who started to speak louder than before?

5 Who found it impossible to speak?

47.2 Complete each sentence using a word from the box in the appropriate form.

descend whisper mutter let lose make slur travel utter

1 The grumpy old woman something under her breath.

2 Try not to a sound as we pass the baby’s bedroom.
3 We didn’t a single word as Harry told his sad tale.
4 The sound through the thin walls of my apartment; I hear everything.
5 The patient out a cry of pain as the doctor took her hand.
6 Silence on the hall as Mrs Traynor walked to the platform to speak.
7 The man was so ill, his voice sounded like a so .
8 What’s the matter with you? Have you your voice? Say something!
9 Travis his words somewhat. I thought he might have been drinking.
47.3 Correct the collocation errors in these sentences.
1 I could hear a slight track of an Irish accent in her voice.
2 Paolo was met with a rocky silence as everyone tried to absorb the bad news.
3 The old woman let o a cry of anger when she heard the result of the trial.
4 She has a wide American accent, even though she was not born there.
5 The weather was terrible last night, with heavy rain and cries of thunder.
6 The voices were muttered, so I could not make out what anyone was saying.
7 Silence ruled in the classroom as the pupils were all hard at work.
8 Speak up. I hate it when you mutter something under your voice.
47.4 Replace the underlined words with their opposites to form collocations from the
opposite page.
1 The nearby echo of gunfire could be heard across the valley.
2 The intermittent noise of the planes kept me awake all night.
3 In a loud whisper she said, ‘You look wonderful tonight.’
4 I heard a sharp thud as the men dropped the heavy box on the floor above me.
5 There was a joyful hush in the room as the director broke the news.
6 Suddenly there was a murmur of thunder and it started to rain heavily.

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 46.4 G L O R Y
1

O
L 2
D
3
S H A P E D
4
I
P O E S
A S N T
5
B A C K T A
Y E 6
D E S T I N Y
G R T
O 7
L I V I N G
N T
E Y

Unit 47
47.1 1 Kevin 2 Joe 3 Fabrice’s boss 4 Ilona 5 Zara

47.2 1 muttered 4 travels 7 whisper

2 make 5 let 8 lost
3 utter 6 descended 9 slurred

47.3 1 I could hear a slight trace of an Irish accent in her voice.

2 Paolo was met with a stony silence as everyone tried to absorb the bad news.
3 The old woman let out a cry of anger when she heard the result of the trial.
4 She has a broad American accent, even though she was not born there.
5 The weather was terrible last night, with heavy rain and claps of thunder.
6 The voices were mu led, so I could not make out what anyone was saying.
7 Silence reigned in the classroom as the pupils were all hard at work.
8 Speak up. I hate it when you mutter something under your breath.

47.4 1 distant
2 incessant (also constant)
3 so (also quiet)
4 dull
5 deathly
6 clap (Note that the phrase a murmur of thunder in the original sentence would be a very unusual
combination of words in English.)

Unit 48
48.1 1 feasible alternatives 2 viable options 3 the easy option 4 a step-by-step approach
48.2 adopt a method immense asset perfectly simple take the time
concentrate the mind instantly recall remarkable ease
enlist help perfect a technique simple rule
48.3 1 perfected 5 degree of accuracy
2 simplicity 6 break
3 ease 7 taking the
4 worth the e ort 8 steep learning curve

48.4 1 C 2 D 3 A 4 B 5 D

152 English Collocations in Use Advanced