作者：侯毅凌主编
出版社：外语教学与研究出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
《英语学习》2015年7—12期合订本(精选)试读：
2015年第7期
东看西看
IThe Only Owl that Matters独一无二的猫头鹰By Sophie Zhang∷陈小悦 注究竟要舔多少口才能吃到棒棒糖最中间的巧克力？广告中，猫头鹰说只要三口，所以我一直认为这就是正确答案。高中时，曾把许多人看作“猫头鹰”，按照他们的方式去做事，以为同样能取得成功。但最终发现，每个人都是一只独一无二的“猫头鹰”，只有自己掌舵生活的船，才能驶向你所期待的彼岸。而随波逐流，只会让你更加迷茫。
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop?
The first time I heard this during the Tootsie pop commercial, 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 chewymiddle. I sat there in front of the television, tediouslylicking 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.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.However, while I may have stopped eating Tootsie pops, I still held steadfastlyto 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.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.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, 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.I was devastated.
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, 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, 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 yearwas the last year to become Chair. Taking a deep breath, I once again began the endeavorto 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, 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 contemplatedquitting 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.
11 years later, I visited the official Tootsie Pop website to find the real answer to the question that had plaguedme 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, 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.
作者简介：Sophie Zhang（张苏菲）生于美国波士顿，后随家人移居北京，现为美国韦尔斯利学院的学生。Sophie从小热爱阅读和写作，丰富多彩的生活经历是她创作的灵感源泉。她的首部英文小说《柯盼的神奇旅程》（The Kohpan Crossing）已由外语教学与研究出版社出版。I The United States of Appetite美国——吃货之邦By Amirah Ahmad∷张健 注
想到美国人，你脑中可能会蹦出这些词：富裕、痴迷橄榄球、富于创新……还有一个最重要的词——肥胖！为什么美国人这么胖？尽管可以归咎于开车太多以至于锻炼不足，但主要原因还是美国人太爱吃。生活节奏太快，所以总是狼吞虎咽，吃得太多，但这还不是问题的全部。还有一个特别重要的原因：复活节、圣诞节、感恩节、万圣节、情人节、国庆节、超级碗……这么多节日，美国人都要用饕餮盛宴来庆祝！
If you were asked to describe stereotypes of the average American, some words that would immediately pop into your head may be: relatively wealthy, ignorant, obsessed with football, creative, and most of all: FAT.Having travelled through the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, I have not seen as many overweight people in other countries than I have seen in America. We can boast aboutthe healthy and fit individuals that also walk our streets, but they are certainly a minority in the nation. Our obesity can simply be explained by our love for food. Although part of the blame also arises from the fact that Americans excessively drive cars at the expense of walking and getting enough exercise, we've completely desecrated the idea of food.Instead of enjoying quality, we value quantity.
Take for example, the spur of growth for Chipotle.Chipotle is a fast-food, Mexican grill that serves burritos, tacos, burrito bowls,and other things that come to mind when you think of Mexican food. A typical burrito with all the toppingsweighs more than a pound. That's a half of a kilogram. The typical Chipotle-goer also manages to scarf down his entire meal.
This is the problem.
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