A question of sound, not sight: Indefinite articles

Would you say “an NHL referee” or “a NHL referee”? It's “an NHL referee”. The indefinite article an is used before all vowel sounds except the long u sound (a united stand) and before the silent h (an honourable politician). And since the first letter of NHL makes the vowel sound en, it takes the article an.

Here are some questions to test your knowledge.

1. Placeholder for the answer UFO (unidentified flying object) incident
2. Placeholder for the answer FM (frequency modulation)
3. Placeholder for the answer home theatre
4. Placeholder for the answer EU (European Union) Commission announcement
5. Placeholder for the answer GST (goods and services tax) penalty
6. Placeholder for the answer IMF (International Monetary Fund) report
7. Placeholder for the answer undercover agent
8. Placeholder for the answer recidivist
9. Placeholder for the answer MBA (Master of Business Administration) student
10. Placeholder for the answer Havana beach
  

Note: Adapted from Charles Skeete's article "A Question of Sound, Not Sight" in Terminology Update, Vol. 29, No. 3, 1996, p. 14.