Minimal pairs: /e/ and /ɜː/

Ex. Look at the following words containing the short vowel /e/ and find their counterparts containing the long vowel /ɜː/.

bed, Ben, bet, Beth, bled, deck, en (letter), Fens, lend, lent/Lent, Ned, nest, sled, ten, tent, wed, wedding, weld, west

Ex. 2. Would the answers to Ex. 1 be pronounced differently in a rhotic accent? Provide examples of such accents.

KEY
1. bird, burn, Bert, birth, blurred, Dirk, earn/urn, ferns, learned, learnt, nerd, nursed, slurred, turn, turned, word, wording, world, worst
2. Yes, all of the answers to Ex. 1. would contain /r/ following /ɜː/ in a rhotic accent, e.g. that of Standard American English, Canadian English, Irish English or Scottish English. Some sources use the symbol /ɝ/ instead.