17．One morning when I was sitting outside enjoying my coffee，l noticed a pigeon on the road in front of my home．
After a few minutes of watching the bird，I went back inside to refill my coffee cup．With coffee in hand，I sat down on my bench and noticed a feather lying on the ground between my feet．I leaned over to pick it up，thinking how nice that the pigeon had left me a gift．But as l looked up again，what I saw stunned me．Hundreds of feathers now covered the ground．The beautiful pigeon lay dead before my eyes-most likely hit by a car．
In tears，I went back inside to get a tool to bury it．This pigeon's life reflected（反射）my own．I had been hurt at work and would never be able to go back to my job again．I decided that this animal was going to be buried with dignity（尊严），and so I went to find something meaningful that I could bury along with the pigeon．
After several minutes of searching，I found a ribbon（丝带）on which was printed，"Who you are makes a difference．"I had been given to me by a group leader at the prison where I used to work，where I was involved in a special program that encouraged the prisoners to become more responsible for their actions and helped motivate them toward more productive lives．
Upon returning to the woods with the ribbon in hand，I was shocked to find the pigeon gone．Obviously it was taken away by a cat．There I stood，tears falling from my eyes，no bird to bury，a green ribbon in my hand．But the words on the ribbon stood out to me as never before："Who you are makes a difference．"
21．The underlined word"stunned"in Paragraph 2probably means"C"．
A．disappointed
B．excited
C．shocked
D．interested
22．Why was the writer unable to go to work？B
A．He was fired by the boss．
B．He was hurt at work．
C．He wanted to make a difference at home．
D．He was afraid to be attacked by the prisoners．
23．According to the passage，the writer was involved in the special program toC．
A．teach the importance of protecting birds
B．be a leader of the prisoners
C．encourage the prisoners
D．be a guard of the prison
24．We can infer from the last sentenceB．
A．the writer was discouraged
B．the writer changed the attitude towards life
C．the writer hated the cat very much
D．the writer missed the leaders．
分析 短文主要写了作者由于一只鸽子的死，联系到自己的生活，最终改变了自己对生活的态度的故事．
解答 21．C，词义猜测题，根据句子Hundreds of feathers now covered the ground．The beautiful pigeon lay dead before my eyes-most likely hit by a car．可知，作者看到地面很多羽毛，这只漂亮的鸽子被车撞死了，因此是"震惊的"，故答案为C．
22．B，细节理解题，根据句子I had been hurt at work and would never be able to go back to my job again可知，作者由于工作中受伤，再也不能去上班，故答案为B．
23．C，细节理解题，根据句子 I was involved in a special program that encouraged the prisoners to become more responsible for their actions 可知，作者参加特殊的项目是为了帮助囚犯，故答案为C．
24．B，推理判断题，根据最后一个句子Who you are makes a difference"世界因你而精彩"可知，作者改变了自己对生活的态度．
点评 解答任务型阅读理解题，首先对原文材料迅速浏览，掌握全文的主旨大意．因为阅读理解题一般没有标题，所以，速读全文，抓住中心主旨很有必要，在速读的过程中，应尽可能多地捕获信息材料．其次，细读题材，各个击破．掌握全文的大意之后，细细阅读每篇材料后的问题，弄清每题要求后，带着问题，再回到原文中去寻找、捕获有关信息．最后，要善于抓住每段的主题句，阅读时，要有较强的针对性．对于捕获到的信息，要做认真分析，仔细推敲，理解透彻，只有这样，针对题目要求，才能做到稳、准．
