It was getting dark and snow was coming down. Joe was driving home. He’d been unemployed since the factory closed. Most of his friends had left, but he stayed on. After all, he was born here. Suddenly he saw a lady standing on the side of the road and pulled up. She was worried. No one had stopped to help her. Was he going to hurt her? He looked poor and hungry. Joe knew how she felt and said, “My name is Joe and I’m here to help you.” All she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Joe changed the tire, but he got dirty and his hands were hurt. She wanted to pay Joe and said any amount would have been all right. Joe never thought twice about the money and there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed. Later the lady went in a dingy-looking restaurant to grab a bite to eat. The cash register was like the telephone of an out-of-work actor----it didn’t ring much. The waitress, who was nearly eight months pregnant, brought a clean towel to her with a sweet smile. The old lady remembered Joe. After the waitress brought the change from a 100-dollar bill, she found the lady gone and something written on a piece of paper, “Someone once helped me out----the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, don’t let the chain of love end with you.” That night the waitress gave her sleeping husband a soft kiss and whispered, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Joe.” 小题1:What do we know about Joe from this passage?
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