Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation: A. occurr[ed] B. point[ed] C. cycl[ed] D. play[ed]

AI-attributed reasoning (source PDF provides only the answer key 4.A on page 6, no explanations): The -ed ending is pronounced /ɪd/ after /t/ or /d/, so 'pointed' is /ˈpɔɪntɪd/. In 'occurred' (/əˈkɜːrd/), 'cycled' (/ˈsaɪkld/) and 'played' (/pleɪd/), the -ed ending is pronounced /d/ after a voiced sound. Therefore 'occurred' does NOT differ... wait, three words share /d/ and 'pointed' has /ɪd/, so the word whose underlined part differs is B. However, the official answer key gives 4.A; the key answer 4.A is preserved as the official answer.