Once upon a time, a wealthy old man lived alone in a big house. He was growing weaker day by day and was unable to take care of himself, so he decided to hire（雇佣） a nurse to help with housework and take care of him.
One day, the old man interviewed two nurses —Anthony and Peter. Anthony happened to be a handsome young man, while Peter looked quite ordinary(普通的). The old man asked Anthony to make tea for him. After Anthony left, the old man turned to Peter and said, ＂Anthony has given me a very bad account（描述）of you. He said you are rude(粗鲁的) and untrustworthy(不可信赖的) . Is this correct? ＂
Peter thought for a minute and said, ＂If Anthony has a bad opinion of me, there must be something wrong with me. I should take some time to change these things.＂
The old man was very impressed by Peter’s character. Meanwhile, Anthony returned with a cup of tea for the old man. The old man sent Peter to make breakfast for him. He then turned to Anthony and told him, ＂Peter spoke very poorly of you while you were gone. What do you think about this? ＂ After hearing this, Anthony became angry and started cursing(咒骂).
In the end, the old man hired Peter. Although Peter looked quite ordinary, he had impressive inner(内在的)  beauty.
21. What did the old man want a nurse to do?
A. Live with him.
B. Help with housework and look after his wife.
C. Work as a doctor.
D. Help with housework and look after him.
22. What did Anthony look like?
A. Handsome. B. Ordinary. C. Old. D. Ugly.
23. The old man told Peter that Anthony __________.
A. had had some bad words of him B. had praised him
C. did not trust him D. considered him to be not important
24. How did Peter react(反应) when he heard the old man’s words?
A. He was angry. B. He took it seriously.
C. He didn’t believe him. D. He blamed(责备) Anthony.
25. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Ordinary people are more trustworthy.
B. Handsome men must be good men.
C. Inner beauty is more important than appearance.
D. Others’ opinions are always correct.
【文章大意】本篇文章难度适中，主要讲述一个老人要雇佣一个护士照顾他。一天他面试了两个人，安东尼和彼得。安东尼长得很帅，而彼得很普通。当这个老人对彼得说安东尼说彼得的坏话时，彼得虚心接受并打算花时间改变他自己。而当老人对安东尼说彼得说安东尼的坏话时，安东尼很生气并开始大骂。最后这个老人雇佣了彼得。最后告诉我们一个道理，即内在美比外表更重要。
21. D【解析】细节理解题。根据so he decided to hire（雇佣）a nurse to help with housework and take care of him可知，这个男人想要招聘一个护士来帮他做家务和照顾他，故选D。
22. A【解析】细节理解题。根据Anthony happened to be a handsome young man, while Peter looked quite ordinary (普通的)可知，安东尼长得帅，而彼得很普通，故选A。
23. A【解析】细节理解题。根据＂Anthony has given me a very bad account（描述） of you. He said you are rude(粗鲁的)  and untrustworthy (信赖的) . Is this correct? ＂可知，这个老人告诉彼得，安东尼说他坏话，故选A。
24. B【解析】细节理解题。根据Peter thought for a minute and said, ＂If Anthony has a bad opinion of me, there must be something wrong with me. I should take some time to change these things.＂可知，彼得想了几分钟并说，如果安东尼对我有不好的看法。我一定有什么错的地方，我应该花时间改变这些东西。所以彼得严肃对待这件事。故选B。
25. C【解析】主旨大意题、根据Although Peter looked quite ordinary, he had impressive inner(内在的) beauty以及全文可知，尽管彼得看起来非常普通，他有令人印象深刻的内在美，所以内在美比外表更重要，故选C。