学进去

In the summer before I entered middle school, I read the book They Cage the Animals at Night. It’s a story about Jennings, a boy living in various orphanages（孤儿院）with only his stuffed animal（毛绒玩具）, Doggie, for companionship. It’s a fascinating book, but little did I know how it would _______ my life and the lives of others.

One day, as I looked across my room at the pile of stuffed animals, a(n) _________ came to me. I would _________   stuffed animals for children like Jennings. _________ , I contacted agencies   that   support   those   children   and   they   said   the   stuffed   animals   would certainly _________   children’s spirits.

I named my project “Cuddle Buddies”. I wrote articles for the local and   school   newspapers, _________   donations of   the   “buddies”— stuffed animals. My phone _________ ringing; schools, families, and toy factories all wanted to help. Much to my _________ , by the second week my living room looked like a zoo. Whenever Mom and I _________ the “buddies” to the agencies, the kids would be waiting there with their eyes down, too ____________ to look but shaking with excitement.

Six years after its launch, Cuddle Buddies continues to ____________ . Now over 25,000 stuffed animals have been ____________ to agencies worldwide. Simon, a seven-year-old boy in an African Children’s Home, couldn’t sleep at night after he lost his parents. When asked to choose his “buddies”, Simon ____________   a panda and soon after was sleeping through the night. I never dreamed Cuddle Buddies would     ____________ this way.

Upon graduating from high school, I designed a website, www.cuddlebuddies.net, to ____________   the project. The response was ____________ . More and more people joined me and two dozen Cuddle Buddies ____________   were established across the nation.

This has been a great experience. I’ve learned how to follow through on an idea and how   to ____________   impact   a   life.   I   will   go   to   college with   these ____________   in   mind   and continue my work with Cuddle Buddies, even when I ____________   a whole new set of exciting academic and nonacademic pursuits.