The most important lesson I learned in high school had nothing to do with math or American history. It came at graduation, several minutes before I left Miramonte High School.

I was rather shy at that time, _______to hang around with my few friends and to concentrate on my ________. I was doing so well that by the end of senior year, I had ________ scores and enough credits to go to college.

But my good record soon became a ________ to my well-being. In early June of senior year, the headmaster called me into his office. He asked me to give a leave-taking speech at graduation. I looked at him, my heart ________ fast. This was the ________ for my hard work? I said something, but not very clearly, and hurried away from the office.

I was ________ about the decision, finally agreeing to compromise. I wasn't the only speaker -- I would ________ the honor with five other students. Still, it was doubtful whether the task was ________ me. How would I give a speech to hundreds of people?

Graduation Day soon arrived and, as ________, I was nervous. I'd been practicing my speech for days, and I had it ________. But I had never been so ________ in my life. The first half hour of the ceremony passed, and then my ________ came. My name was announced. I managed to reach the platform without falling down. But within minutes, I accomplished my speech, ________ back to my seat.

Now I still have the ________ of that speech．My voice trembled a little, but ________ it was clear and strong. I'm proud of that tape. I achieved something I'd never ________ -- I spoke in front of hundreds of people. I didn't realize it at the time; ________, the successful completion of that speech gave me the ________ to participate in class at college, to give oral reports, and to eventually break free of my ________.

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 advertisement, 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 it took three licks to get to the center― that’s how many licks it took the owl （猫头鹰）in the advertisement to get to the center, so that, to me, it 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 was Eric who had luckily _______ the prestigious （有威望的）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 setbacks, 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.