Question

from “a good action”
from the golden windmill and other stories
by stacy aumonier
1 as edwin turned the corner of the station road, the impulse crystallized. one good action, today he would perform one good, kind, unselfish, unadvertized action. no one should ever know of it. just one today. then perhaps one tomorrow. and so on; in time it might become a habit. that is how one progresses. he took his seat in the crowded third - class smoker and pretended to read his newspaper, but his mind was too actively engaged with the problems of his new resolution. how? when? where? how does one do a definitely good action? what is the best way to go to work? one could, of course, just quietly slip some money into a poor - box if one could be found. but would this be very good and self - sacrificing? who gets money put in a poor - box? surely his own family were poor enough, as far as that went. but he couldnt go back home and give his wife a sovereign. it would be advertising his charity, and he would look silly doing it. his business? he might turn up and say to his assistants: “boys, you shall all have a days holiday. well shut up, and heres your pay for the day.” advertising again; besides, what about the hundreds of poor workers in the neighborhood who relied for their mid - day sustenance on “rothecarys pride - of - the - ocean popular place to eat”? it would be cruel, cruel, and—bad for business in the future. the public would lose confidence in that splendid gold - lettered tablet in the window, which said “cod, brill, halibut, plaice, pilchards always on hand. eat them or take them away.”
2... no, it would not be a good action in any way to close the popular place to eat. edwin came to the conclusion that to perform this act satisfactorily it was better to divorce the proceeding entirely from any connection with home or business. the two things didnt harmonize. a good action must be a special and separate
which best summarizes the passage?
○ edwin seeks the best way to do something kind, but many of his attempts to give a woman money for an act of charity fail.
○ edwin cares about the well - being of others. after observing a woman in need, he tries to help her without drawing attention to himself.
○ as a successful business owner, edwin learns a lesson in how to properly give women money, but she is too proud to accept his help.
○ though he tries to do the right thing, edwin considers how to help a woman whom he needs or has seen look underprivileged without...

Explanation:

The passage focuses on Edwin deciding to perform an unadvertised, selfless good action, then brainstorming how to do it (ruling out charity, poor-boxes, and closing his business for a holiday as unsuitable options). The correct option matches this focus on his attempts to find the right charitable/selfless act, even as he rejects unsuitable methods.

Answer:

Though he tries to do the right thing, Edwin sometimes struggles to figure out how to help a woman whom he meets on the bus but without embarrassing her