2 . As a female athlete in 2021, I think about change all the time. I think about how much has changed since I first began skiing, and the boys didn’t think I belonged because I was a girl. Now we ski together and they know I belong.

And I think about how much still needs to change, and how we need to keep pushing the envelope for women athletes to be treated as fairly as the men. And how I can use my voice and my platform to help make that change. I’ve always dreamed big. My mom taught me that from day one. She taught me that the first person to believe in you must be yourself.

The ideas of “good” and “bad”, when it comes to the way you behave or portray yourself, are so subjective (主观的), that if you attempt to conform (顺从) to them, you’ll never fully succeed. I learned that the only way to fit a mold, is to create one for yourself, and that takes courage. And now I want to be a strong female role model for all young girls. To show them what they can accomplish through sport, through skiing. To show them what is possible when you have the courage to dream big, and follow those dreams.

One of my mottos is: “If it were easy, it wouldn’t be a dream.” Adversity (逆境) and possibility of failure are what make life interesting. When I learn a new trick, it’s okay to be scared. It’s okay that I will probably fall a million times before I get it right. It takes courage to be able to fall. But then, you use that courage to your advantage, and you work harder, and practice more, and eventually you land that new trick.

3 . AR surgical guide, developed by South Korean medical-technology startup SKIA Company, is assisting breast-cancer surgeries at Ewha hospital in Seoul.

When a tablet PC is held above a patient’s chest, CT images of the area the tablet is pointed at are displayed on the screen, showing the precise location of tumors (肿瘤) and tissues. It’s like looking into the body before any cuts have been made. The tablet can be moved around above the chest to see the CT images from different angles.

Traditionally, a doctor would look through a patient’s CT results on a computer monitor, and then make cuts of what they believe is the right depth at the desired location to carve out tumors. The new AR technology works as an assistant helping surgeons operate with greater accuracy.

“The AR technology acts like a navigation (导航) app for surgeries. It’s much easier to get to your destination when you have a digital guide,” says Lee Jun-woo, a breast-endocrine surgeon and oncologist (肿瘤学家) at Ewha hospital who has been testing SKIA’s product on patients. The technology wouldn’t be possible without the ability of the hospital’s private 5G network to send data in time.

Earlier this year, Ewha hospital took its first steps toward cooperative remote surgeries by connecting an operating room through its private 5G network with doctors in other locations, enabling them to virtually join in a surgery and exchange information. “As remote-surgery technologies mature and expand, cooperative surgeries like the ones being tested at Ewha hospital could become more common, while hospitals could also use the technology to train doctors in techniques such as robotic surgeries,” adds Mr. Lee.

Beyond the medical space, South Korea is working to speed up the adoption of private 5G networks in different industries. The government set aside 60 billion won, roughly $46.2 million, to support new private 5G projects across South Korea in 2022 and 2023.

4 . There are more than 500 species of sharks. They are as diverse as the dwarf lantern shark, which is smaller than a human hand, and the whale shark, which can grow as long as a school bus. Given that there are a large number of unique species, some characteristics may be true for one species, but not for another.

Sharks have one of the longest lifespans compared with other animals. Greenland sharks are the longest-living known vertebrate on Earth, according to a study published in the journal Science. Researchers determined that the North Atlantic species likely lives for an average of 272 years, and often doesn’t reach maturity until 150 years of age. And they can live for 400 years, scientists have estimated.

The earliest evidence of shark fossils dates back as far as 450 million years. Additionally, sharks have survived five mass extinctions, one of which destroyed around 96% of all the life in the sea.

Reproduction patterns in sharks vary. On average, sharks give birth after 11 or 12 months of pregnancy, but some sharks, such as the frilled shark and basking shark, can be pregnant for over three years. Some sharks, like mako sharks and bull sharks, give live birth, while other sharks, like cat sharks, lay eggs.

Sharks are mainly silent creatures, as they don’ t have organs for producing sound. Instead of speaking, they communicate through body language. Besides, sharks have a sixth sense——picking up nanoscopic electromagnetic (纳米磁的) currents. This extra sense can help them navigate the ocean and find prey (猎物), or even a mate. With this sense, sharks hunt sick and weak animals, playing a crucial role in keeping the ecosystem healthy.

5 . Jim Savage was setting out for a day’s fishing off the Florida coast when he heard the cries of a baby dolphin in trouble. The three-month-old had got her tail caught in the ropes of an abandoned crab trap. Jim knew that if he left her, the dolphin would have little chance of survival. He cut her free and got in contact with the authorities. She was taken to Clear water Marine Aquarium, but her injuries were so severe that she lost her tail.

The aquarium staff named the baby dolphin Winter and she gradually learned how to swim again. Unfortunately, because of the way she was moving in the water without her tail, she was in danger of developing a problem with her spine (脊椎). Kevin Carroll and Dan Strzempka, who ran a company making artificial limbs, heard about the problem and had a brilliant idea. Kevin and Dan told the staff at the aquarium that they would make an artificial (人造的) tail for Winter!

There were a lot of challenges that Kevin and Dan had to deal with along the way, like trying to fit an artificial tail on a playful young dolphin that doesn’t want to stay still! It took over fifty prototypes (模型) and a year and a half before Winter finally got her new 30-inch tail. After seeing her swim with it for the first time, Kevin said that the months of hard work had been truly worth it.

Making the tail was only half the story, though. For Winter to be able to swim properly, the artificial tail needed to be held in place without damaging her skin. Specialists came up with a soft material that firmly holds the skin and doesn’t hurt. Designed especially for Winter, this material was so successful that “WintersGel” is now being used to make artificial limbs more comfortable for people with false arms and legs all around the world.

In 2011 the tale (故事) was made into a film, “Dolphin Tale”, starring Winter herself. It’s about a dolphin that would have died, but survived because a few people cared.

6 . 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.

7 . 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

8 . Yellowstone Tour

On March 1, 1872, Yellowstone became the first national park for all to enjoy the unique geologic features. Within Yellowstone’s 2.2 million acres, visitors have wonderful opportunities to observe wildlife in a well-preserved ecosystem and view geologic wonders like the Grand Canyon (峡谷) of the Yellowstone River.

Tour Features

●Budget tour (低预算旅行)

This budget tour uses tented camps.

●Private tour

This tour will be organized specially for you and won’t be shared with others.

●Can start any day

If availability permits, this tour can start on any day.

This tour accepts children of all ages. Children under 3 are free.

Rates Per Person

●Rates are per person and exclude (排除) the international flight from/to your home country.