Question

“how amusing,” she said. “but come over here now, dear, and sit down beside me on the sofa and i’ll give you a nice cup of tea and a ginger biscuit¹² before you go to bed.”
“you really shouldn’t bother,” billy said. “i didn’t mean you to do anything like that.” he stood by the piano, watching her as she fussed about with the cups and saucers. he noticed that she had small, white, quickly moving hands and red fingernails.
“i’m almost positive it was in the newspapers i saw them,” billy said. “i’ll think of it in a second. i’m sure i will.”
there is nothing more tantalizing¹³ than a thing like this that lingers just outside the borders of one’s memory. he hated to give up.
“now wait a minute,” he said. “wait just a minute. mulholland . . . christopher mulholland . . . wasn’t that the name of the eton¹⁴ schoolboy who was on a walking tour through the west country, and then all of a sudden . . .”
“milk?” she said. “and sugar?”
“yes, please. and then all of a sudden . . .”
“eton schoolboy?” she said. “oh no, my dear, that can’t possibly be right, because my mr. mulholland was certainly not an eton schoolboy when he came to me. he was a cambridge¹⁵ undergraduate. come over here now and sit next to me and warm yourself in front of this lovely fire. come on. your tea’s all ready for you.” she patted the empty place beside her on the sofa, and she sat there smiling at billy and waiting for him to come over.

1. biscuit (bĭskĭt) n.: british term meaning “cookie.”
2. tantalizing (tantə-līzĭn) adj.: teasing by remaining unavailable or by withholding something desired by someone; tempting. (in greek mythology, tantalus was a king condemned after death to stand in water that moved away whenever he tried to drink it and to remain under branches of fruit that were just out of reach.)
3. eton: boys’ prep school near london.
4. cambridge: famous university in england.

notes

predict
billy seems about to remember why christopher mulholland’s name was in the newspaper (line 283). what do you think he’s about to say before he’s interrupted by the landlady?

infer
pause at line 291. why do you think the landlady keeps interrupting billy?

Explanation:

For the "PREDICT" question, Billy seems to be on the verge of recalling something significant about Christopher Mulholland in the newspaper, likely related to a disappearance or an incident during his walking - tour. For the "INFER" question, the landlady may be interrupting Billy to divert his attention from his thoughts about Christopher Mulholland, possibly to keep him from uncovering something she doesn't want him to know.

Answer:

PREDICT: He might say something about Mulholland's disappearance or an incident during the tour.
INFER: To divert his attention from his thoughts about Mulholland.