mood — choose the word that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined

Analyzing the question: The word "mood" has the vowel sound /uː/ (a long "oo" sound), as in /muːd/. We need the option with the same vowel sound.

Concept: In English, the letters "oo" can be pronounced in two main ways:

• Long /uː/ as in moon, food, cool, spoon
• Short /ʊ/ as in book, took, look, foot

Step-by-step solution:

| Option | Word | Transcription | Vowel sound | |---|---|---|---| | A | took | /tʊk/ | short /ʊ/ | | B | look | /lʊk/ | short /ʊ/ | | C | moon | /muːn/ | long /uː/ | | D | mode | /məʊd/ | diphthong /əʊ/ |

• took and look have the short /ʊ/ sound, which is different from the long sound in "mood."
• mode has the diphthong /əʊ/ (as in "go"), which is also different.
• moon has the long /uː/ sound, exactly like "mood."

Answer: C. moon

Tip: For "oo" words, listen to the length of the sound. If you can stretch it out (moooon, foooood), it is the long /uː/. If it is quick and clipped (book, look, took), it is the short /ʊ/. A useful trick: words ending in -k with "oo" (book, look, cook, took, hook) are almost always short, while words ending in -n, -l, -d (moon, cool, food) are usually long. This isn't a perfect rule, though. "Good" and "wood" are short even though they end in -d, so learn those as exceptions.