Question

Read the excerpt from Silent Spring.

It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.

In this excerpt, which phrase carries the most positive tone?

a spring without voices
the mornings that had once throbbed
the dawn chorus of robins
only silence lay over the fields

Answer 1

"the dawn chorus of robins"

Explanation: "dawn chorus" evokes lively, musical bird song and life, giving the most positive, vibrant image. The others emphasize absence or loss ("a spring without voices," "only silence") or only hint at past vitality ("the mornings that had once throbbed").