What does continental status mean?

In "there will come soft rains," why does the author turn the house into a mechanical creature? a. to stress how well run the future will be b. to keep readers from realizing at the start that no humans are present c. to stress how scientific advances can create the perfect society d. to compare the present with the earlier, non-mechanical times

Find the center and the radius of the circle with the equation: x^-2x+y^2+4y+1=0

Which word best describes the mood in this sentence? lucia was aglow as she bounced into the room with stories about her summer vacation.