The correct answer is: A. operating system
The operating system is a software that manages the computer’s hardware and resources, and provides a platform for other software to run on. It performs the “housekeeping” chores of the system, such as managing the file system, memory, and processes.
A compiler is a program that translates high-level programming languages into machine code. An interpreter is a program that executes high-level programming languages directly. A translator is a program that converts text from one language to another.
None of these programs perform the “housekeeping” chores of the system.