We took the bus every day that summer. During the early morning ride from the town, we sat lazily and ________.

One of the ________ was a small grey man who took the bus every morning. He walked with a bend and a sad look on his face when he, with some ________, boarded the bus and sat down alone behind the driver. No one ever ________ him.

Then one July morning he said good morning to the driver and ________ to everyone before he sat down.

The next day, the old man boarded the bus ________, smiled again and said in a loud voice: “And a very good morning to all of you!” Some of us looked up, ________, and said “Good morning” in reply.

The following weeks we were more interested. Our friend now ________ a nice old suit and an out-of-date tie. The thin hair had been carefully combed (梳理). He said good morning to us every day and we began to nod and ________ with each other little by little. It ________ that the people on the bus were really nice and we shared our stories from then on.