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Having worked at a 7-Eleven store for two years, I thought I had become successful at what our manager calls “customer relations”. I firmly believed that a _________ smile and an automatic greeting would see me through any_________ that might arise. But the other night an old woman _________ my belief that a simple response could smooth over the difficulty of dealing with all kinds of customers.

The moment she entered, the woman presented a sharp _________ to our shiny store with its bright lighting and neatly arranged shelves. Walking as if each step were _________, she slowly pushed open the glass door. She coughed dryly, and _________ noisily with each breath. On a forty-degree night, she was wearing only a faded dress, a thin sweater too _________ to button.

After _________ around the store quietly for several minutes, the old woman stopped in front of the rows of canned vegetables. As I stood close to her, ready to help, my smile became harder to _________;her red-rimmed eyes were __________ closed by an old wound and the unpleasant smell of sweat rose from clothes.

“I need some food, but I can’t pay” she muttered in reply to my bright “Can I help you?” For a second, I wanted to say, “Take the can of corn.” But the employee rules __________ into my mind: Remain polite, but do not let customers get the __________ of you. Let them know that you are in control. I responded dutifully, “I’m sorry, but I can’t __________ anything for free.”

Moments after she left, I rushed out of the door with the can of corn, but she was nowhere in __________. For the rest of my shift, the image of the woman kept coming to my mind. I was __________ to realize how weak we are to stick to our better instincts (本性) when facing a moral dilemma.