/ s / — choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the word containing the consonant sound /s/ (the voiceless "s" sound, as in "sun").

Concept: Spelling can be misleading in phonetics. A letter "s" can sound like /s/, /z/, or be silent. We must go by the actual pronunciation.

Step-by-step check:

• A. beer → /bɪə/. There is no "s" sound.
• B. says → /sez/. It begins with the letter "s", which is pronounced /s/. The final "s" is pronounced /z/, but the first sound is /s/. ✔
• C. isle → /aɪl/. The "s" is silent. ✘
• D. raid → /reɪd/. There is no "s" sound. ✘

Answer: Only "says" contains the /s/ sound (at the beginning of the word), so the correct option is B.

Tip: In sound questions, say each word aloud and ignore the spelling. Watch out for silent letters (like the "s" in isle, island, aisle) and for "s" that sounds like /z/ (like the final "s" in says, is, his). Always check where the target sound actually occurs.