1 . Age is just a number, and for Alan Camsell that couldn’t be more true. At 89, the Penrhyn Bay Strollers’ goalkeeper, and his teammates, believe he’s the oldest shot-stopper in the football league.

And now he’s been nominated(提名) in Sky Bet’s search for Real Football No. 1s. The UK’s No. 1 betting app is on the hunt for those at grassroots level who have made a special contribution to the beautiful game.

Alan says, “My wife told me when we had our first grandchild in our forties, ‘It’s alright being old, but don’t look old and don’t behave old.’ I’ve taken that to heart. Problems are there to overcome. I’ve had hip and knee replacements, cataract operations, and had a pacemaker put in just a few months ago. I’ve also got a hernia, but I just play on.”

The golden-age goalkeeper’s exploits on the football field have attracted TV coverage worldwide, and his record of the oldest shot-stopper remains unmatched. But incredibly, Alan didn’t have the chance to be a goalkeeper until he was 39.

“I’ve always followed the game, but the family business meant working weekends. So when evening five-a-side came around, I jumped at the chance to play,” he says.

While most players wear shin pads(护腿) and the occasional knee support, Alan has to go the extra mile to ensure he can play pain free during the football matches for his Welsh-based club.

Despite his health problems, Alan insists he’s got no intention of hanging up his boots any time soon. He adds, “I’ll play on forever and I’ve got no other plans. As long as the team’s prepared to put up with me, I’ll keep going.”

3 . A 23-year-old woman just set a record for the fastest solo row across the Atlantic. Departing from the Canary Islands, Payne rowed 59 days, before arriving in Antigua. The _________ achievement was made for a charity. More than $14,200 was raised to help people _________.

The challenge was described as one of the hardest ones on Earth. No _________ was allowed—all necessities must be brought along. But she was _________ enough to keep going without extra help.

The last 8 miles was really _________ for Payne. It was that point where she knew she couldn’t give up and that she had to _________ it. Although 8 miles was _________ in the great plan of 3,000 miles, it felt like some of the longest for her. However, hunger, lack of sleep and the test of body and mind were _________ by sighting fantastic sea life and _________ the beauty of the sunrise and sunset. So the __________ was worthwhile.

Payne rowed 15 hours per day alone in the Atlantic Ocean with strong winds. “In the last week, I thought I wasn’t going to break a __________ at all because the wind dropped and I was going nowhere,” she said. “There was one day when I rowed __________ for 18 hours, but I only rowed less than 10 miles. That was pretty__________. I could just feel the race record slipping away.”

But finally Payne __________ it with a strong will. She received the cheers of the crowd when approaching Antigua. She could hear the __________ from her family and friends waiting for her.

5 . Blackburn high school had a reason to be optimistic this season. For one, they had a famous coach Palus. They also had a promising football _______ named Gary. Although he was a green hand, he had the _______ to play football and could give the team a spark (火花). Palus liked Gary so much that he would often give him a _______ home. However, it was _______ at the same place.

“Then one day, he opened up to me that he had to stay with his sister from place to place,” _______ Palus to CNN.

Gary said that after his father passed away, the family couldn’t _______ to live in an apartment. When he understood his mother’s_______, he knew he had to do something. From that point on, Gary said he was couch (沙发)-surfing from friend to friend, not knowing where he’d _______ each night. And he had to do a part-time job after his football _______every day.

Palus was ________ after hearing his story. After some ________, he decided to have the boy sleep in his house and ________ him as a family member. Gary trained even harder and became the best one in his team. His story ________ his teammates so much that the team won the first national championship for the school in 2022. When asked, Gary gives all ________ to the one thing that he thought he would never have, “They’re my ________ and I can’t imagine where I would be without their support.”

8 . Every one has a dream. As a boy, I dreamed of flying planes. When I told Dad I wanted to be a(n)_________ , he said, “You need to do your job well on the farm first, and then you may_________ your dream.” The farm was an everyday responsibility (职责)- that_________ Saturday, Sunday and Christmas too. Every morning I got up at four o’clock to milk and_________ the cow. After the milk was bottled, my elder brothers and I_________ it to people’s homes. I was paid five cent a bottle. At that time I _________that to be successful you have to take care of your responsibilities.

When I was 16, I signed up for flying lessons. To pay for the lessons I_________a small restaurant with some friends. One of our regular_________was the president of the Farmers Bank. Every_________ I got, I talked to him about my dream. One day I told him I needed __________$ 3, 500 to buy my own__________He lent me the money so that I could fly people within 150 miles of the airport.

Twelve years later, __________ I was flying people around the world as a pilot of a big airline company. After ten years in the company I started my own__________.

Today I run a(n) __________ company, but it was on the farm that I learned the principles (原则) that have____________me. Hard work and determination do make dreams come true.

9 . Dawn Loggins didn’t have a typical senior year. Back in 2012, Loggins was waking up early to get to school to put in a before-school _________ as a janitor (清洁工).

Before the rest of her peers _________ school, Loggins was cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing floors, and _________ down the very desks she would _________ later in the day as a student. After 7 hours at school, Loggins didn’t get to _________ home to enjoy an after-school snack or downtime either._________ , she clocked back in for another two-hour time on janitorial duty.

“I don’t mind cleaning,” Loggins said. “If you have to walk through trash to get to your desk, you’re not going to have an environment that _________ learning.”

While the teen was clearly hardworking, it wasn’t immediately obvious to school officials how badly Loggins _________ the financial support her job provided, until she asked her boss for _________ one day. The reason? Without electricity at home.

Even more shocking, while Loggins was at summer school, she __________ calling home, only to find out the phones had been __________ and her parents had moved away-without her. And she became __________ . When the school realized the extent of the neglect Loggins had been living with, they surrounded her with __________ . The community took her in, providing her with housing and food and clothing and helping her to apply for college.

And the efforts __________ : Loggins was accepted into Harvard University. Today she works as a motivational speaker, speaking to __________ that include education, homelessness, and women and youth empowerment.