The Shape of Time

Continuous or coming and going?

Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.

During a rehearsal, an intermittent rattle appeared whenever someone rolled a cart across the corridor outside the room. The musicians could continue between those brief disturbances, but an incessant hum from a nearby fan remained audible throughout the first piece. Their conductor called a short interlude while a volunteer checked which equipment was in use. The pause gave the players time to mark their scores and compare the places where the outside sounds had made it hard to hear one another.

The volunteer switched off the unneeded fan, ending the incessant hum, and asked people to avoid the corridor until the next break. The intermittent rattle still returned once when a late delivery arrived, but it no longer shaped the entire rehearsal. After the interlude, the players tried the opening passage again and agreed on a clearer cue for their entrance. Describing when each sound occurred had helped the group distinguish two separate problems instead of discussing every disturbance as if it were continuous.

Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.