In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank.

Centuries ago, Aryabhata, one of the most famous Indian mathematicians and astronomers (1)__________ the concept of zero, the base of the present (2)_______ system. With time, zero became a stepping stone to (3)_______ simplified computations, (4)______ the ways for development of algebra, algorithms and calculus, three pillars of modern mathematics, while eventually laying the (5)______ for computers.