题目内容：

请认真阅读下面短文, 从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。

How many licks (舔) does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop (棒棒糖)?

The first time I heard this in the Tootsie Pop commercial, I was five years old. I immediately started _________  and counting. After about two hundred licks or so, I stopped. The _________ of the chewy center had proven to be too great, and I   _________  my way through the hard shell (外壳) to the very center. Besides, I _________ knew how many licks it took to get to the center—three. That’s how many licks it took the owl (猫头鹰) in the commercial to get to the center, so that, to me, was the _________ answer.

In high school, I held to the Tootsie Pop _________  . To me, the answer was still always three licks.

In my freshman year, I joined the Model United Nations _________  in my school. The Chair position had   _________  the center of the Tootsie Pop and my _________  had become various other students. The first so-called “owl” was Eric who had luckily _________  the prestigious (声望高的) Chair position. So, I decided, _________ Eric reached the center in only one lick, that’s how many licks it should take me. I went to the tryouts with a view to obtaining the position but _________  .

At the end of my sophomore (高二) year, a new owl named Iris had _________  achieved the chair position after trying twice. I began working hard again. But then again, I did not make a _________  of it.

Now, slightly frustrated after _________ two owls, I found a new owl, Evan. It had taken him three licks to get to the “center”. Three was all I could _________. It was widely known that senior year was the _________  year to become Chair. I thought about _________ the program, but on second thoughts, I decided to continue.

Eleven years later, I visited the official Tootsie Pop website to find the real answer to the question that had _________ me my entire high school life. I finally understood. However many licks it takes to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop depends on however many licks I _________  to take—not how many the other owls take.

1.A. dreaming        B. admiring     C. licking      D. chewing

2.A. temptation     B. appearance    C. power        D. discovery

3.A. fought          B. followed     C. made         D. bit

4.A. seldom         B. never        C. already       D. nearly

5.A. brief           B. right         C. random       D. temporary

6.A. commercial      B. plan         C. philosophy    D. custom

7.A. program        B. conference    C. title         D. activity

8.A. become         B. changed      C. determined   D. explored

9.A. shell          B. hope         C. owl           D. companion

10.A. noticed        B. shifted      C. improved     D. landed

11.A. unless        B. if           C. before        D. until

12.A. failed         B. quitted       C. survived      D. struggled

13.A. yet           B. even         C. still       D. also

14.A. promise       B. success       C. point         D. joke

15.A. interacting with B. frightening away  C. going through  D. dealing with

16.A. afford        B. hold          C. admit        D. expect

17.A. middle         B. gap          C. last         D. initial

18.A. winning       B. criticizing C. quitting     D. arranging

19.A. motivated     B. troubled      C. attracted    D. instructed

20.A. learn         B. agree        C. refuse       D. choose