dice — choose the word that has the same consonant sounds as the one represented by the letters underlined

Analyze the question: The underlined letters aren't shown, but the word is "dice." The consonant sound in question is most likely the "c" in "dice," which is pronounced /s/ (dice = /daɪs/).

Explain the concept: In English, the letter "c" is a "soft c" and sounds like /s/ when it comes before e, i, or y (as in ice, city, cent). Before a, o, u, it is a "hard c" and sounds like /k/ (as in cat).

Solution:

• dice → /daɪs/, so the "ce" ends with the sound /s/
• A. shame → /ʃeɪm/, starts with /ʃ/ ✗
• B. cue → /kjuː/, starts with /k/ ✗
• C. chair → /tʃeə/, starts with /tʃ/ ✗
• D. loss → /lɒs/, ends with /s/ ✓

The final consonant sound of "loss" (/s/) matches the "c" sound in "dice."

Answer: D. loss

Tip: For consonant-sound questions, ignore the spelling and say each word aloud, or write out its phonetic transcription. Remember that "c" has two sounds, soft /s/ and hard /k/, and "ss" is always /s/ in words like loss, miss, and pass.