究竟要舔多少口才能吃到棒棒糖最中間的巧克力？廣告中，貓頭鷹說只要三口，所以我一直認為這就是正確答案。高中時，曾把許多人看作“貓頭鷹”，按照他們的方式去做事，以為同樣能取得成功。但最終發現，每個人都是一只獨一無二的“貓頭鷹”，只有自己掌舵生活的船，才能駛向你所期待的彼岸。而隨波逐流，只會讓你更加迷茫。

The Only Owl that Matters

獨一無二的貓頭鷹

By Sophie Zhang 陳小悅 注

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop[1]?

The first time I heard this during the Tootsie pop commercial[2], I was five years old. I immediately ran to the kitchen, got a Tootsie pop and began carefully counting the licks it took to get to the soft chewy[3] middle. I sat there in front of the television, tediously licking and counting. About after two hundred licks or so, I stopped. The temptation of the chewy center had proven to be too great, and I bit my way through the hard shell to the very center.[4] Besides, I already knew how many licks it took to get to the center—three. That's how many licks it took the owl in the commercial to get to the center, so that, to me, was the right answer.

In high school, I had grown out of eating Tootsie pops in front of the television. By this time, I had begun to focus on more worldly things—such as keeping my grade point average decent, participating in extra-curricular activities, and preparing myself for leaving home. [5] However, while I may have stopped eating Tootsie pops, I still held steadfastly[6] to the Tootsie pop philosophy—How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop? To me, the answer was still always what the owl had told me—three licks.

In my school, Model United Nations (MUN) was the most competitive, prestigious extra-curricular. [7] Everyone sought to win the coveted Chair position, which could eventually lead to the highest, most domineering position in the entire program—the Secretary General.[8] The MUN Chairs of our school were instantly assumed to be the smartest, highest-achieving students who would be the future CEOs and politicians of the world. In my freshman year[9], I joined the program.

The Chair position had become the center of the Tootsie pop and my owl had become various other students. My first so-called "owl" was Eric. After attending one major international MUN conference, he had landed the prestigious Chair position. So, I decided, if Eric, the owl, reached the center in only one lick, that’s how many licks it should take me. In my freshman year, I went to the tryouts and later found out that I had not made the cut for any international conferences. [10]I was devastated[11].

But then, I brightened—if Eric, my first owl, was wrong, maybe I should just find a new owl. My new owl was Iris. Iris had achieved the chair position at the end of her sophomore year[12], after attending two international conferences. I began working hard again. This time, I landed a spot in an international conference in Jakarta, Indonesia. I was thrilled, [13]not only that I had made the cut, but also because my new owl was so far leading me in the right direction. Maybe two really was the magic number. But then again, as I applied for the Chair position at the end of the year, I did not succeed. My owl was wrong again.

Now, slightly frustrated after going through two owls, I had to find a new owl. My last owl was Evan. It had taken him three tries—three licks—to get to the "center" of the Tootsie pop. Three was all I could afford. It was widely known that junior year[14] was the last year to become Chair. Taking a deep breath, I once again began the endeavor[15] to the center.

By this time, entering my third year in the MUN program, I had become known as one of the most promising MUN delegates. People had begun to respect my debate skills and viewed me as one of the top competitors. When I was cut from the international conference in my junior year, not only was I baffled[16], the entire school was as well. My last failure had ruined any chances of ever becoming MUN chair.

The MUN director told me that there was no particular reason that I had been cut from the team. According to him, there was simply "not enough space." But why, then, I asked him, had a boy who had barely spoken made the team and I had not? His answer was simply that I was "unlucky."

It was then that I began to realize. No matter how many times I tried out for an international conference, the MUN director was not going to give me a spot. I contemplated[17] quitting the program—but then, I wondered, who was I doing MUN for? Was I doing it to impress the director or was I doing it for myself? I decided to continue. While I may not have achieved the tasty center, the hard shell of the Tootsie pop was still enjoyable.[18]

Eleven years later, I visited the official Tootsie Pop website to find the real answer to the question that had plagued[19] me my entire high school life. How many licks does it take to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop? Three? A thousand? According to the website, "It depends on a variety of factors such as the size of your mouth, the amount of saliva[20], etc. Basically, the world may never know."

I finally understood. I couldn't use Eric, Iris, or Evan as my owls. Their mouths were all different sizes from mine and they all processed different amounts of saliva than me. None of them was the same as me. The only owl I could really use was myself—and I should have done that all along, instead of depending on them to find success.

Now, I am the only owl—and however many licks it takes to get to the center of the Tootsie pop depends on however many licks I choose to take—not how many the other owls take. Because I’m the only owl that matters.

1.Tootsie pop: 一種棒棒糖，外觀是一層水果硬糖，中心包有巧克力軟糖。它最知名的廣告詞是：你永遠不知道到底要舔多少下才能吃到中間的軟糖，所以干脆一、二、三大口咬下吧！
2. commercial: 商業廣告。
3. chewy: 柔軟而耐嚼的。
4. 中間那顆耐嚼的巧克力芯兒實在太誘惑，所以我就咬掉了包在外面的一層硬糖，直接吃中間的巧克力了。temptation: 誘惑；hard shell: 硬殼。
5. worldly: 世俗的；decent: 相當好的；extra-curricular activity: 課外活動。
6. steadfastly: 不變地，堅決地。
7. Model United Nations: 模擬聯合國大會；prestigious: 有聲望的。
8. coveted: 夢寐以求的；domineering: 盛氣凌人的；Secretary General: 秘書長。
9. freshman year: 大學一年級。
10. tryout: 選拔賽；make the cut: 達到標準。
11. devastated: 十分震驚的。
12. sophomore year: 大學二年級。
13. Jakarta : 雅加達，印度尼西亞首都；thrilled: 非常高興的。
14. junior year: 大學三年級。
15. endeavor: 努力。
16. baffle: 使……感到困惑。
17. contemplate: 思忖，考慮。
18. 雖然我可能沒法嘗到那美味的巧克力芯兒了，但包在棒棒糖最外面的那層硬糖同樣也很美味。
19. plague: 困擾。
20. saliva: 唾液。

（來源：英語學習雜志 編輯：杜娟）