Concept:Vowel sounds are matched through pronunciation, not spelling. The vowel sound to be matched here is /ɔː/, so we need the option that has exactly /ɔː/ in its pronunciation.
Explanation:Shortage (option A) is pronounced as /ˈʃɔːtɪdʒ/. The letters "or" in shortage give the vowel sound /ɔː/, so this word matches the underlined sound.
Love (option B) is pronounced as /lʌv/. Its vowel sound is /ʌ/, which is different from /ɔː/.
Courage (option C) is pronounced as /ˈkʌrɪdʒ/. Its vowel sound is /ʌ/, which is different from /ɔː/.
Country (option D) is pronounced as /ˈkʌntri/. Its vowel sound is /ʌ/, which is different from /ɔː/.
Thus, shortage is the only word among the options that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the underlined letters.
Answer:A. shortage