On a road trip to California’s breathtaking North Coast region, my husband Ken and I, my teenage daughter Lahre, and my nine-year-old son Shawn, stopped to have lunch and stretch our legs a bit.

As we walked toward the ___16___ entrance, a man with an untidy beard and dirty hair jumped up from a nearby bench and opened the door for us. An old bike ___17___ with a sleeping bag and the rest of his ___18___ rested against the bench, it was obvious that he was ___19___. But regardless of his ___20___, he greeted us as if we were his best friends, “Today’s soup and sandwich special’s a great deal.”

Once inside, my teenager whispered to me, “Mom, he ___21___.” And Shawn asked questions about him, not quite understanding the ___22___ of a homeless person. Ken and I explained the best we could, telling the kids to look to the person underneath and within ___23___ the dirt and smell.

With the windiest part of our trip just ___24___ us, the kids needed to take car-sick pills so I went back to the car to fetch them. As I ____25____ the front door, the “doorman” was opening it for an older couple, who rushed past him and didn’t even acknowledge his ____26____. I let the couple ____27____ first and then said a loud and gracious “thank you” to the doorman.

After going back inside, I asked our waitress, who was bringing the kids their dessert, to ____28____ one soup and sandwich special to our bill. Both the kids looked at me ____29____ — as we had already eaten but Ken knew exactly what I was doing.

By this time, we had to get back on the road to stay on schedule. As we rounded the comer of the very full restaurant, the “doorman” was sitting at a table enjoying his ____30____. When seeing me, he jumped up and ____31____ his hand for a handshake. It was then that I ____32____ he had tears in his eyes — tears of gratitude.

____33____ we can’t choose many things in life, we can choose when to show gratitude, and I was doing just that. Hopefully, when someone opens a door for Lahre and Shawn during their ____34____ through life, they will remember to say “____35____“ and have a great soup and sandwich special on the menu, too.

16. A. hotel’s        B. restaurant’s       C. shop’s             D. supermarket’s

17. A. connected       B. burdened            C. loaded              D. crowded

18. A. belongings      B. gatherings          C. findings            D. savings

19. A. hopeless        B. helpless            C. homeless            D. harmless

20. A. appearance      B. identity            C. age                 D. behavior

21. A. smiles          B. smells              C. shakes              D. sighs

22. A. description     B. desire              C. concern             D. concept

23. A. beyond          B. above               C. over                D. in

24. A. regardless of   B. instead of          C. ahead of            D. free of

25. A. noticed         B. ignored             C. followed            D. neared

26. A. patience        B. presence            C. tiredness           D. selflessness

27. A. come around     B. come about          C. come through        D. come to

28. A. add             B. admit               C. adjust              D. adapt

29. A. frightened      B. disappointed        C. excited             D. confused

30. A. meal            B. stay                C. drink               D. time

31. A. laid            B. extended            C. raised              D. waved

32. A. realized        B. assumed             C. valued              D. considered

33. A. Unless          B. While               C. Since               D. When

34. A. progress        B. opportunity         C. journey             D. performance

35. A. Thank you       B. Excuse me           C. I’m sorry          D. See you