What does “amelioration” mean, based on context clues?

What does"after getting my report card i knew it was time to hit the books mean

Read the sentences below. (1) wordsworth believed that poetry should present the ordinary in unusual ways, and shelley's "ode to the west wind" does just that. (2) in the poem, the speaker calls the wind "thou breath of autumn's being." (3) later in the poem, the speaker refers to the wind as both "destroyer and preserver." which word or phrase would smooth the transition between sentence 1 and sentence 2? a "in addition" b "finally" c "for instance" d "moreover"

The story line remains the same. the kids live in what was then one of the remaining beachfront slums, down the coast from the expensive malibu area. the beach was ruled by surfers, but in the afternoon, when the waves died down, some of the surfers, or their younger brothers, fooled around on skateboards. one day, skip engblom, the shop owner, comes up with a key breakthrough, polyurethane wheels: "they grip." with the additional traction, the z-boys try skating the sides of the big, open drainage canal that runs through the area. then comes a brainstorm: because of a drought, the area's swimming pools were drained. the kids started "borrowing" pools when the owners weren't home, to skate the curved sides.” where did “the lords of dogtown” originally practice their tricks? a. the beach c. an open drainage canal b. empty pools d. none of these