This was Liu Yao's first year not to return home for Spring Festival. Instead, the junior student stayed on duty at the National Cross-country Skiing Centre in Zhangjiakou, one of the competition sites of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Wearing a blue and white down coat, and, of course, a mask, Liu serves as a transport services assistant with two other volunteers.
It is cold in Zhangjiakou, especially after sunset, so wrapping up is essential if the volunteers are on duty outside. If it's too cold, theyshorten the intervals to 30 or 20minutes.
When Liu began dealing with the first Olympic arrivals, she said she was afraid she might give them the wrong directions because she was not totally familiar with the site, and felt a little nervous to speak English with foreigners. Having been busy chatting to people from all over the globe, Liu now realizes she has much to improve on as regard her language skills,and this has motivated her to work harder in the future.
"The Games are a major event, and being a volunteer makes me feel so proud of myself when I can make contributions to the country and society," Liu said.
She feels that her volunteer work has also broadened her horizons, providing her with a platform to connect with people from around the world. "I feel that people are very friendly,and that everyone gathers in Beijing because of love for sports," Liu said.
A. They are equipped with lots of hot packs and change shifts every 45 minutes.
B. Their working hours depend on the competition times.
C. Being a volunteer has given her the opportunity to level up her English skills.
D. Participating in Beijing 2022 has also given the youngster a sense of responsibility as a host.
E. They are mainly responsible for vehicle scheduling and providing traffic information for the Olympic family.
F. All of this gives her the impression that this is a pure sporting gathering.
G. They have been stationed in the center since late January.
