Final answer:
The correct answer is a) USB, which stands for Universal Serial Bus. It is a common interface that allows various peripheral devices, including digital cameras and memory card readers, to connect to a computer for tasks such as file transfer.
Step-by-step explanation:
An interface to connect a peripheral device to a computer, particularly a laptop computer, is known as a Universal Serial Bus (USB). It is a versatile port used for various purposes including charging, data transfer, and as a connection for peripherals like digital cameras, memory card readers, and more. Some digital cameras connect directly to the computer with a USB cable, while more often, a memory card from the camera is used with a memory card reader that connects to the computer via a USB cable. When a memory card is inserted into this reader, the computer can access the files as it appears as another drive, such as 'Desktop' on Mac or 'My Computer/Computer' on Windows. All other options listed, like HDMI and Ethernet, serve different purposes: HDMI is commonly used for audio/video transmission, and Ethernet is used for network connections. Thunderbolt, although similar to USB, is a more advanced port that provides greater data transfer speeds and also supports video and power in addition to data transfer.