For the first time, a team of refugees will compete at the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a plan this week for a team of up     1     10 Refugee Olympic Athletes.

This news became     2     hot topic on social media Thursday. Facebook users called the plan a “wonderful gesture” and “the     3     (great) news I’ve heard in a while.” More than 40 high-performance athletes,     4     happen to be refugees,     5     (identify) as possible Olympic athletes so far.

CNN reported Thursday that one of them is a 17-year-old     6     (swim) named Yusra Mardini. She fled Syria on a boat headed for Greece from Turkey. The boat started filling with water. Mardini and her sister got in the water and helped pull the boat and its 20 people onboard to     7     (safe).

Mardini now     8    (live) in Germany. She has received funding from the IOC for her training. The Refugee Olympic team will participate     9     the Olympic opening ceremony in Rio on August 5. The team will march out (出场) just before athletes from Brazil.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said that, “By     10    (welcome) this team of refugee athletes to Rio, we want to send a message of hope for all refugees of the world.” The United Nations says that more than 60 million people around the world are refugees.