A. Ahead B. aloud C. behold D. decode E. goalpost

Analyze the question: We need the word whose stress pattern differs from the other four.

Concept: In English, many two-syllable words have stress on either the first syllable (e.g., TAble) or the second (e.g., beGIN). Words starting with prefixes like a-, be-, de- usually take stress on the second syllable. Compound nouns like goalpost usually take stress on the first syllable.

Step-by-step analysis:

• A. aHEAD: stress on the 2nd syllable
• B. aLOUD: stress on the 2nd syllable
• C. beHOLD: stress on the 2nd syllable
• D. deCODE: stress on the 2nd syllable
• E. GOALpost: stress on the 1st syllable

Four words (ahead, aloud, behold, decode) are stressed on the second syllable. Only goalpost is stressed on the first syllable.

The odd one out is "goalpost", which is lettered E in the question.

Matching to the options: The answer choices are given as a list of letters. The word "goalpost" is E, and the option that says "E" is option B in the list.

Tip: For stress questions, watch for compound nouns (goalpost, blackboard, classroom). They are typically stressed on the first element, while words with prefixes (a-, be-, de-, re-) are typically stressed on the root, the second syllable.