Modern calculators, which can compute complex sums almost instantaneously, derives from abacuses, hand-operated devices with beads that slide along with rods.

Read this excerpt from holes. at the time, elya thought nothing of the curse. he was just a fifteen-year-old kid, and “eternity” didn’t seem much longer than a week from tuesday. besides, he liked madame zeroni and would be glad to carry her up the mountain. he would have done it right then and there, but he wasn’t yet strong enough. how does this section of the flashback relate to stanley? a.elya was much older during his difficult time than stanley was during his. b.elya’s physical weakness parallels stanley’s physical weakness. c.elya, like stanley, lives in the moment and does not consider the future. d.elya, like stanley, likes the character who is giving him a hard time.

Read the following passage: sari couldn't believe her bad luck. she had locked her keys in the car. to add fuel to the fire, her cell phone was in the locked car, and she was late for a very important meeting. she knocked on her neighbor's door so that she could ask to use his phone, but he was not not home. what was she to do? what role does the idiom in the passage serve? a. it shows that sari has incredibly bad luck when it comes to work.b. it shows that sari's neighbor was not home either.c. it shows that sari locked her keys in the car.d. it shows that sari's situation was worse than it seemed at first.

“skateboarding is a sport combining grace, courage and skill, and here we see it being born.” based on this passage, what inference can you make about the author’s opinion of skateboarding? a. the author does not think skateboarding is a ‘real’ sport. c. the author feels skateboarding should be illegal. b. the author feels skateboarding is only appealing to very young children. d. the author respects and appreciates skateboarding as a sport.