Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The hush of the forest allows listeners to hear nature's rhythms, and even the soft sound of the woodpecker's beak hitting the tree is __________.
perceptible
unrecognizable
inharmonious
masked
muted
In order to __________ the bread for a longer period of time, it was placed in the freezer so that it would have a longer shelf life.
abandon
displace
increase
preserve
diminish