The mechanical calculator was a forerunner of the electronic computer, demonstrating that complex arithmetic could be automated.
机械计算器是电子计算机的前身，它证明了复杂的算术运算可以自动化。
Which choice best defines “forerunner”?
A — A person or thing that precedes the coming or development of someone or something else. “forerunner” means a person or thing that precedes the coming or development of someone or something else.
Which word means “a person or thing that precedes the coming or development of someone or something else”?
C — forerunner. “forerunner” means a person or thing that precedes the coming or development of someone or something else.
forerunner — a person or thing that precedes the coming or development of someone or something else. In Chinese: 先驱，前身.
forerunner is pronounced /ˈfɔːrˌrʌnər/.
The mechanical calculator was a forerunner of the electronic computer, demonstrating that complex arithmetic could be automated. (机械计算器是电子计算机的前身，它证明了复杂的算术运算可以自动化。)
predecessor, harbinger, precursor — all close in meaning to forerunner (a person or thing that precedes the coming or development of someone or something else).
successor, follower — each the opposite of forerunner (a person or thing that precedes the coming or development of someone or something else).
Yes. forerunner is on the SAT Prep Basic list — the everyday academic words the SAT assumes you already have. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.