Elder or eldest (task from test) + one more task from test I need to solve

Question

Hello,I have a question about elder/eldest.
I have to solve an english test today.Here is one task from it:

"We are a family of five.My (old) sister,Heather is in her second year in college.This year she could not find a book she needeed......."

I dont know what to put there,elder or eldest.On the one hand we dont know all members of their family,and cant say for sure whether she is elder or the eldest one.But on the other hand we see information that she is in her second year in college,which means that she is probably old enough to be called eldest.

Bonus task for you: "The idea came to her when she tried to do her homework in the family car,while her mother shopped for groceries.It (get) dark gradually,and she couldn't see her notebook very well." - got dark or was getting dark?

Enoon · Accepted Answer

JFI dont know what to put there,elder or eldest.

Nobody can. We do not have enough information.

JF "The idea came to her when she tried to do her homework in the family car,while her mother shopped for groceries.It (get) dark gradually,and she couldn't see her notebook very well." - got dark or was getting dark?

Which do you think?

JF · Answer

Concerning the first task:
So,both choices are correct,right?

Concerning the second task:
I suppose that the word "gradually" indicates a continuing process so probably "was getting".But I was confused about it,because the whole text is written in past simple.So if it is said that she tried to do her homework,but not was trying,why cant I say that it got dark?

Enoon · Answer

JFConcerning the first task:So,both choices are correct,right?

I'd say neither, but it amounts to the same thing.

JFConcerning the second task:I suppose that the word "gradually" indicates a continuing process so probably "was getting".But I was confused about it,because the whole text is written in past simple.So if it is said that she tried to do her homework,but not was trying,why cant I say that it got dark?

You can say that it got dark, and I agree that the first past simple is in favor of that. Still, I would expect "was getting" because the story should continue with her solution to the problem that it was getting dark, it always gets dark gradually toward evening, and we don't know what time it was, so we need to be eased into the idea that it was evening. I wish I had a sentence or two on either side so I could tell for sure.

JF · Answer

But what should I do?Its a task from official RNE test (russian national exam).It says that I should transform the word (old).What else can it be if not elder or eldest?

Full second task
Becky Schroeder was only 10 years old when she came up with the idea of the glo-paper.Two years later,in 1974,her invention was patented.
She became the youngest female to ever receive a patent in the united states.
The idea came to her when she tried to do her homework in the family car,while her mother shopped for groceries.It (get) dark gradually,and she couldn't see her notebook very well.
She did not have a flashlight and imagined how nice it would be to have a paper that glows in the dark and allows you to write effortlessly without light.A year of research and experiment and she did it.

Enoon · Answer

JFWhat else can it be if not elder or eldest?

OK, it's a family of five. If we assume that there are three children, you can only have two sisters, so one would be the elder. This is a poor question because it tests your puzzle-solving ability more than your English skills. And it could be a single or widowed or divorced mother with four kids, or a father or anybody else, for that matter.

JFsecond task

I think you should do your test yourself.

Elder or eldest (task from test) + one more task from test I need to solve

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