Concept:Find the vowel sound in the stem and pick the option that has exactly the same vowel sound.Explanation:The stem has the vowel sound /ɑː/, like the sound in “heart.”The word “hard” is said as /hɑːd/, so it contains the same vowel sound /ɑː/.The other options do not match: “fat” has /æ/, “beard” has /ɪə/, and “bail” has /eɪ/.Only “hard” shares the same vowel sound as the stem.Answer:A. hard