Read the passage and answer the questions given below it.
While I waited expectantly, Madame came in and told me that there was no room at all for me in the hotel, not a bed, not a corner. She was extremely friendly and seemed to find a fund of secret amusement in the fact; she looked at me as though expecting me to break into delighted laughter. “Tomorrow,” she said, “there may be. I am expecting a young gentleman who is suddenly taken ill to move from number eleven. He is at present at the chemist's. Perhaps you would care to see the room?”
“Not at all,” said I. “Neither shall I wish tomorrow to sleep in the bedroom of an indisposed young gentleman.” “But he will be gone,” cried Madame, laughing. “Perhaps you can recommend me another hotel?”
“Impossible!” She shook her head and turned up her eyes. “You see, it is the season in Bruges, and people do not care to let their rooms for a very short time.” Not a glance at my little suitcase lying between us, but I looked at it gloomily, and it seemed to dwindle before my desperate gaze. “My large box is at the station,” I said coldly, buttoning my gloves.
Madame started. “You have more luggage. Then you intend to make a long stay in Bruges, perhaps?” “At least a fortnight, perhaps a month.” “One moment,” said Madame. “I shall see what I can do.” She disappeared, I am sure not further than the other side of the door, for she reappeared immediately and told me I might have a room at her private house, “just round the corner and kept by an old servant who has been in our family for fifteen years. The porter will take you there, and you can have supper before you go.”
When Madame first says there is no room, her manner is best described as
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → friendly and amused, as if the narrator’s problem were a private joke
Madame tells the narrator there is no room at all, but she is not sorry about it.
- The passage says “She was extremely friendly”.
- She also seemed to find “a fund of secret amusement” in the fact. A fund of something means a lot of it. Amusement is the feeling that something is funny.
- So she was friendly, and the narrator's problem seemed to amuse her in secret. She even looked at the narrator as if expecting laughter in reply.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: apologetic, as she is sorry to turn away a tired traveller — Incorrect. Contradicted: She does not say sorry. She seems amused, not sad, about the lack of a room.
Option 2: cold and businesslike, with no interest in the narrator — Incorrect. Contradicted: She is not cold. The passage calls her “extremely friendly”.
Option 4: nervous, as she fears losing a guest in the busy season — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The passage shows no fear in Madame. She is calm and amused.