1 . 41-year-old Tracey Matayian is one of those Maasai women who fought hard to become the first-ever Maasai female referee. In an interview, Matayian said during her formative years, she couldn’t hide her passion for football and would join local boys every time she saw them play, which resulted in her being called names by other girls and occasionally getting scolded by her parents for keeping too much male company.

Matayian later joined a teachers’ training college. After graduating from college, she worked with Compassion International and would often encourage children of both genders to play football.

“It was then that I got an opportunity to referee a game between Rongai Football Club and Compassion International. There was no other referee at the time and since I was readily available, I went ahead to referee the match,” she recalled. Matayian added that after the game, she was eager to do more than just play and train the young children as she was also cultivating a lively interest in refereeing.

She would later help form football teams for both boys and girls from the local clubs. “The game occupies them as they get to spend time in the field, especially during the period they were home due to COVID-19. Football is a game of rules, and thus it ends up drilling discipline and character into young boys and girls,” said Matayian. She added that many of the youths were previously living an aimless life on account of laziness, but through football she has managed to occupy them.

Nevertheless, her efforts to follow her passion have not gone without challenges. Her dress code was criticized all the time. “This became a big issue for some people. They always complained that I was not respecting our culture by wearing shorts. But I have no option, since that’s the official dress code for the game. I often explained this to my beloved people, but it took a long time for it to be accepted by my community,” notes Matayian.

2 . Hearing the Olympics were coming to Vancouver, I decided to go for its voluntary work. I’d forgotten what it was like to put myself out there to make friends. I was glad I didn’t have anyone I knew with me because I wouldn’t have met Callie ________. Taking the risk of sitting by her started a ________. I still keep in touch with her.

As night fell before the opening ceremonies, I was stationed outside the MMC. Accents from all over ________ my ears. The games seemed to ________ the whole world. Suddenly, I could see people running toward the harbour. I turned to Callie, “Isn’t that the way to the torch (火炬)?” We looked at each other and started to run. My heart pounded as I sprinted. The air seemed to be ________ with everyone’s excitement, like a kind of electric energy pulsing through us. I’d never felt a(n) ________ like it before. Then, fireworks ________ into the air above us. Their bright colors glittered against the dark sky. I had ________ the lighting of the torch many times on TV, but to actually see it ________ was amazing. When the last of the fireworks ________, there stood the Olympic torch unveiled (揭幕) in all its ________ with its flames licking at the night sky.

Even now, I can still remember the heat from the torch. I had been one of the ________ MMC staff to walk underneath it while it burned. A beacon (灯塔) of ________ for the future. I stood for a moment right under it, listening to the ________ voices of my new friends, and I knew I’d made one of the best ________ of my life.

Gao Tingyu thrilled the home crowd by becoming the first Chinese man     1     (claim) an Olympic gold medal in speed skating, winning the 500 meters on Saturday.

“Gao has conducted an excitingly fast and excellent     2     (perform) at the National Speed Skating Oval. And the March of the Volunteers will be played again inside the stadium,” said the message from the General Administration of Sport shortly after the competition. This is also the fourth gold medal for Team China at the ongoing Beijing Olympic Winter Games     3     the first Olympic gold in the country’s speed skating history.

In 2018, the     4     (high) potential Gao already won a bronze medal at Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea, as he said after the win in Pyeongchang: “I feel like that my capacity has reached the point     5     I can compete for Olympic medals. As long as I’m in a stable state of mind, I think for me the opponent is only     6     (I).”

Gao has won championships in various competitions ever since he     7     (admit) into China’s speed skating team in 2015.

He has suffered from severe back injuries and had     8     eight-month break before     9     (compete) in the China Speed Skating Championship in 2021, winning gold.

Gao was also the     10     (nation) flag bearer at the opening ceremony of Beijing 2022 on February the 4th.