A Chinese knot (中国结) is a knot that is woven (编织) from a single rope to be different shapes. Each knot has     1     (it) own meaning. Now, you can see it as a decoration (装饰品) or a gift for friends. People can use ropes of different colors to weave a Chinese knot, but they usually choose red     2     it means good luck.

Chinese knots have     3     long history. People originally made them to record some events and send messages before they     4     (begin) to use words. It is well-known that the knots were used for decoration and to express thoughts and feelings in the Tang Dynasty. They were late popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Later in the Qing Dynasty, this art     5     (accept) by more common people.

Even today, Chinese knots hold sentimental (情感的) value and carry different     6     (information) when gifted and passed down through families. For example, lovers may give a knot     7     (express) their love. The “double happiness knot” is given and used at weddings (婚礼) to express each other’s love and wishes     8     growing old together. Besides that, knots are also used when people make traditional clothes in China. They can play the role of buttons (纽扣) and now silk is widely used to make these clothing knots.

It’s     9     (sure) a good choice for tourists to buy Chinese knots as gifts for their friends during their trips. Yiwu Commodity (商品) Market in Zhejiang Province is one of the     10     (famous) places for customers to buy different kinds of knots.

6 . Volunteers Wanted to Protect the Lake

Besides the animal zodiac system (十二生肖), Chinese people also show their connection with animals in other ways    1     Paper-cutting in the shape of animals is one of the most common examples.

Paper-cutting is an amazing art. People use scissors cut paper into different shapes of animals, flowers, cut babies and so on. This art just needs simple tools, but it is not easy at all. When we look at the masters to cut paper, it only takes them a few minutes to finish, but for green hands,    2    他们需要练习很长时间。

Paper-cutting has a long history. When it first appeared in around 386, it didn’t attract much attention because of the shortage of paper.     3    这种艺术直到 6世纪才开始流行。With the development of the art, even in royal (皇家的) families ladies were also judged by the ability at paper cutting. In the 21st century,    4     red paper-cutting which means good luck can be often seen in weddings.

Without doubt, all these handwork products can reflect the relations between humans and animals, and even the whole world, and also the wisdom of ancient Chinese people.     5     It’s regretful that fewer and fewer young people show interest in it. Maybe, when the young can understand the real spirit of the art, they will finally fall in love with it.

8 . Our much-loved 100-Word-Story Competition is back!

Our 100-word-story competition is your chance to show the world your storytelling talents!

Your stories should be original, unpublished and exactly 100 words — not a single word shorter or longer! Entries are now open and the submission deadline is January 5, 2024. Multiple entries are allowed per person. We are unfortunately only able to consider UK-based entries.

Please ensure that submissions are original, not previously published and exactly 100 words long (not including title). Don’t forget to include your full name, address, email and phone number when filling in the form. We may use entries in all print and electronic media.

There are three categories — one for adults and two categories for schools: one for children aged 12-18 and one for children under 12.

Please submit your stories by 5pm on January 5, 2024 either online or by post addressed to:

Reader’s Digest

100 Word Story Competition

Warners Group Publications

West Street

Bourne

PE109PH

The editorial team will pick a short list of entries, and the three best stories in each category will be posted online at readersdigest. co. uk on February1, 2024. You can vote for your favourite, and the one with the most votes will win the top prize and receive ￡1,000. Voting will close on February 29, 2024 and the winning entries will be posted online on April 16, and published in our May 2024 issue.

PS: Reader’s Digest is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism.

10 . Best apps to learn how to play guitar

TrueFire

TrueFire is a video lesson platform with a lot of big-name teachers. Courses range from the introduction of whole types to deep-dives into specific theory concepts. For most courses, there’re multiple camera angles offering close-ups of the left and right hands. Because of this presenting style, however, things can get crowded on the mobile app—it’s definitely a platform that works better on a desktop.

Courses can be purchased individually, but this’ll be expensive if you’re planning on buying more than a couple. Grabbing an All Access subscription will instead give you unlimited streams of TrueFire’s entire list.

Price: Either per-course, or $ 29/month or $249/year

The Gibson App

Gibson’s new smartphone app is aimed at guitarists of all levels. Essentially, this is a system that responds to you as you play along to lessons and exercises, making the experience feel like an interactive lesson. What we especially like about the app is how players get a free one-on-one video guidance with a professional Gibson guitar tech.

Price: $ 14.99 a month or $ 89.99 a year

Yousician

Yousician is designed for both beginners and intermediate players. Suitable for guitar, bass and even ukulele, the app offers step-by-step video tutorials, plus the ability to provide instant feedback on your performance. The app is free to download but it does require a subscription for unlimited and uninterrupted playtime across all platforms.

Price: Free(subscription service offered starting at $19.99 per month)

BandLab

BandLab is the perfect DAW(Digital Audio Workstation) for cooperation. You can upload tracks to the cloud-based workstation to further your music with over 100 guitar and bass presets. Not in the mood to write? Then discover and stream millions of tracks made by emerging and established artists to stimulate your creativity. It’s also totally free, with no paywalls or subscriptions.

Price: Free