Refers to the distinctive character of a sound, or the quality that allows one to distinguish it from other sounds of similar pitch and loudness.
a. amplitude
b. timbre
c. frequency
d. purity

you need need more details so we can understand what your asking us.

the sentence that best describes the tone of the passage from the radio broadcast compared to the passage from the book is b. the radio broadcast has a more surprised tone.

consider the text evidence: in the passage from the book, the description is more matter-of-fact. it is simply describing the things resembling little grey snakes, but there is no urgency in the description. on the other hand, in the passage from the radio broadcast, there is definetely urgency (you can tell from the expression used, "good heavens", which clearly indicates surprise.)