Read the given passage and answer the four questions that follow:-
The stranger came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year, over the down, walking from Bramblehurst railway station, carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand. He was wrapped up from head to foot, and the brim of his soft felt hat hid every inch of his face but the shiny tip of his nose; the snow had piled itself against his shoulders and chest, and added a white crest to the burden he carried. He staggered into the 'Coach and Horses' more dead than alive, and flung his portmanteau down. "A fire," he cried, "in the name of human charity! A room and a fire!" He stamped and shook the snow from off himself in the bar, and followed Mrs. Hall into her guest parlour to strike his bargain. And with that much introduction, and a couple of sovereigns flung upon the table, he took up his quarters in the inn.
Mrs. Hall lit the fire and left him there while she went to prepare him a meal with her own hands. A guest to stop at Iping in winter time was an unheard-of piece of luck, let alone a guest who was no "haggler," and she was resolved to show herself worthy of her good fortune.
What 'good fortune' has struck Mrs.Hall?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → To have an occupant in her guest house during the off-season.
The passage says that "A guest to stop at Iping in winter time was an unheard-of piece of luck". Winter was the off-season (the time of year when few visitors come), so having someone stay at the inn then was her good fortune. That he was no haggler only added to it ("let alone").
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: A guest who did not haggle for fire and home-cooked food. — Incorrect. To haggle is to argue over a price. Only partly true: that he did not haggle is mentioned only as an extra ("let alone"); the luck itself was having a guest in winter. The option also ties the haggling to the fire and food, which the passage does not do.
Example: She haggled with the vendor until he lowered the price.
Option 3: She finally got an opportunity to make a meal with her own hands. — Incorrect. Result, not cause: cooking the meal herself is how she responds to her good fortune, not the good fortune itself.
Option 4: The guest was ready to strike a good bargain. — Incorrect. To strike a good bargain is to get a deal in one's own favour; that would be bad for Mrs. Hall. Contradicted: the passage says the guest was no haggler and flung his sovereigns on the table.