1.   On Monday morning, as the pope began to lead the cardinals in prayer, a sound of ringing pierced the room.

2.   The sound pierces earplugs, pillows, doors, windows, bricks and concrete blocks.

3.   Clouds of black smoke had hung over several parts of the city earlier in the day and the sound of gunshots pierced the air.

4.   The sound must have pierced his eardrums to lodge in his brain when he traveled the country from one barrio to another.

5.   Smoke bellowed from the cannons of one ship, and then a sharp sound pierced the air followed by explosions and smoke rising from an area along the road.