Read the article. Four paragraphs have been removed from the text. Complete each gap (5.1.–5.4.) with the paragraph which fits best and put the appropriate letter (A–E) in each gap. There is one paragraph which you do not need to use.

 

WHAT DID STONEHENGE SOUND LIKE?

Through the doors of a university building, down a concrete hallway and inside
a foam-covered room, stands a shin-high replica of one of the most mysterious monuments
ever built: Stonehenge. However, these miniature standing stones aren’t there just to be
admired. Instead, this scale model is at the centre of ongoing research into Stonehenge’s
acoustic properties.
5.1. _____
How did Cox come up with the idea of researching this particular issue? While working on
“the sonic wonders of the world” 10 years ago, Cox began to ponder whether studying
the acoustic properties of Stonehenge would help uncover some of its secrets. He realized
there was a technique in acoustics that had never been applied to prehistoric sites before,
namely that of acoustic scale modelling. Cox created a 1:12 scale replica of Stonehenge
which he could test inside the university’s semi-anechoic chamber, a room that absorbs
virtually all sound, thanks to the geometric foam covering every surface except the floor.
5.2. _____
It turned out that the original ancient structure consisted of 157 stones. The process of
creating the miniature stones through 3D printing and moulding techniques took about six
months and then they had to be arranged correctly. When Cox finally achieved the qualities
of real stones at scale, to complete each test his team placed loudspeakers around the
stones and played the various frequencies they were interested in measuring. Microphones
in the room collected data on how the stones affected the sound. Through mathematical
processing, Cox was able to create a computer model that simulated the acoustic properties
of Stonehenge and could distort voices or music to give a sense of what they would sound
like within the circle.
5.3. _____
This meant that people gathered inside the circle would have heard each other quite well,
while those standing outside Stonehenge would have been excluded from any ceremonies
taking place. Thus, Cox’s research adds to a growing body of evidence that Stonehenge may
have been used for rituals reserved for a select few, with one study even pointing to the
possibility of a hedge grown around the site to shield the participants from view.
5.4. _____
This follow-up study also takes a closer look at how listeners hear sounds coming from
different angles, since whether sound reaches people from the side or front changes how
they perceive it. For example, sound reflections from the side improve the quality of music in
a concert hall. Once Cox analyses his new set of data, he hopes to publish the findings later
this year.

Adapted from: www.bbc.com

 

A. Once Cox discovered this difference in sound perception, he and his colleagues began to
investigate how people within the circle might affect the acoustics. The team recently
finished a new set of measurements by placing up to 100 small, wooden figurines inside
the model. “We know that people being inside would have changed the acoustics
because human bodies absorb sound,” he said. “We want to quantify how it might have
changed as more people went inside the circle.”

B. The latter experiment shows that the late Neolithic people who built Stonehenge weren’t
used to the acoustics of large walls and enclosed spaces. Thus, they would have likely
found the effect mesmerizing. Cox likens Stonehenge’s acoustic properties to
the difference between standing in an empty cinema as opposed to a cathedral.

C. Although Stonehenge is the world’s most architecturally sophisticated ancient stone
circle, archaeologists still don’t know who built it and what it was used for, so the massive
monument remains a mystery. However, thanks to a study carried out in 2020 by Trevor
Cox from the University of Salford, one more fascinating detail about this site was
discovered: it once acted as a giant echo chamber, amplifying sounds made inside the
circle to those standing within it.

D. The results of this experiment surprised Cox: although Stonehenge has no roof, sound
bounces between the gaps in the stones and lingers within the space. And the stones
play an important role. It turned out that in an open, natural environment, like the grassy
hill Stonehenge is built on, a listener facing away from a speaker would have only
understood about one-third of the words. However, the reflections from the stones at
Stonehenge would have amplified the voice by four decibels, increasing
comprehensibility to 100%.

E. Obviously, in order to be reliable, this miniature copy had to be as close to the original
structure as possible. That’s why, prior to building his model, Trevor Cox needed to know
what Stonehenge looked like 4,000 years ago. And here English Heritage came to his
rescue by providing him with a computer visualization of Stonehenge.