1 . Bike safety tips

Before you go on your next two-wheeled adventure, make sure you’re familiar with the ins and outs of bicycle safety.     1     — one powered by an electric motor in addition to your pedaling (踩踏板).

Many of the safety recommendations are the same for both types of bikes. Wear a helmet (头盔). Ride with the flow of traffic rather than against it. Make sure you’re visible to motorists — even some traditional bikes now come with lights.     2     — left: extend your left arm out to the side; right: extend your right arm or bend your left arm up at a right angle. Don’t talk on the phone, text, or listen to music. And if you’re an e-bike rider, pay attention to these tips too:

·Be sure your bike is ready to ride. That starts with checking that the tires are inflated (充气) and the brakes (刹车) are working properly. If the bicycle hasn’t been used for a while, take it for a tune-up before you take it for a ride. “    3    ,” says Ash Lovell, electric bicycle policy director at People for Bikes, a cyclist advocacy organization. And before and after every ride inspect your bicycle for possible damage.

·    4    . “When you’re riding in the street, even in a protected bike lane (车道), read the signals, pay attention to the lane markings, and check the signage to see where e-bikes are allowed,” Lovell says. Many places have already adopted a classification system for e-bikes; signs in these places may specify which types of bikes are allowed on which roads and paths. You may check the People for Bikes website for more information.

·Be aware of your speed. This is important for e-bike riders. “    5    ,” says Lovell.

3 . For decades, Frederick Banting and Charles Best were believed to have contributed to the discovery of insulin (胰岛素) between 1921 and 1922 at the University of Toronto (U of T). In 1923, the university created the Banting and Best Chair of Medical Research, followed by the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research and the Banting Institute (1930) and, in 1954, the Best Institute.

However, the 1923 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded jointly to Banting and John J. R. Macleod. The physiology professor, who headed up the laboratory where the research took place, had been much more involved in the research than was later acknowledged. After learning that Macleod was honoured alongside him rather than Best, Banting shared his prize money with Best. Macleod, meanwhile, split his share of the prize with the fourth member of the team, J. Bertram Collip, a young biochemist from the University of Alberta. Collip’s essential contribution was producing a purified pancreatic extract (胰腺提取物), which was administered on Jan. 23, 1922, to Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old patient at Toronto General Hospital. That shot was the first successful human trial of insulin.

Much of the early research on insulin took place in the old medical school building at U of T. Opened in 1903, it featured state-of-the-art technology, including facilities for animal research. But Banting, a war-time surgeon, lecturer and medical researcher, was unimpressed. When he arrived in 1921, the operating room had lain unused for years and needed a thorough cleaning to make it usable. Located just below the building’s roof, it also became unbearably hot during the summer. Early laboratory testing took place right there.

In 1982, Michael Bliss, a history professor at U of T, restored Macleod and Collip to their rightful place as co-discoverers of insulin. In 1990, a new plaque (牌匾) acknowledging the cooperation was put up outside U of T’s current medical sciences building.

4 . Magazines make great reading materials for kids. Libraries often have a large selection of periodicals (期刊) for every age group and reading level, and for many areas of interest. And some magazines may even have issues going back years and even decades! Below is a list of some of them!

It is about finding the bright side of life as a military kid! Inside each quarterly issue, your child will encounter inspiring stories, articles, and photographs! (8 to 16 years)

With articles, folk tales, and hands-on projects, Faces magazine takes young readers around the world for an honest and objective view of how children in other regions live. (9 to 14 years)

Make magazine publishes tested projects, skill-building tutorials, in-depth reviews and inspirational stories, accessible by all ages and skill ranges. (9 to 18 years)

Brio magazine for teen girls has a fresh new look that includes more pages filled with inspiring profiles, cultural insights, health & beauty tips, faith-filled features and added fun! (13 to 18 years)

Please note: Though all the magazines on this list are written for children, some issues may contain content that you may feel inappropriate for your child. As always, please review all reading materials before giving them to your child to read.

5 . A team of students, known as Solar Team Eindhoven, in the Netherlands has designed and built a powerful car that’s completely powered by the sun.

Students at Eindhoven University of Technology have been working on solar-powered (太阳能) cars for years. The car they’ve built is called Stella Terra, the first solar-powered car that can travel off-road for long distances. They designed the entire car. On top were the solar panels (电池板). Most solar panels are only about 20％ efficient. That means they waste about 80% of the sunlight they get. But the Stella Terra’s solar panels are 97% efficient. They waste far less sunlight than even the best solar panels you can buy.

Like most electric cars, the Stella Terra stores energy in a battery (电池). Thanks to its powerful solar panels and its battery, when it’s sunny, the car can run for 710 kilometers a day. Stella Terra has a top speed of 145 kph. The car weighs just 1,200 kilograms. That’s about two-thirds the weight of a typical car.

The team recently took the car on its biggest test-1,000-kilometer test drive across Morocco. The car had to travel through forests as well as dry river-beds. It had to drive across desert sand and up steep mountain areas. It succeeded in doing all of this-and all without ever stopping at a charging station.

The team is very proud of their car, but they won’t be upset if car companies start to copy their ideas. In fact, they hope that the Stella Terra will help inspire car companies to work on similar projects. But despite their success, the students think it will take 5 to 10 years before car companies are able to build a similar car and that it needs much money.

7 . Adding to the achievements of a remarkable year, Taylor Swift has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023.

Already a superstar before 2023, Swift’s career has reached new heights thanks to the beginning of her Eras Tour that brought her 3.5-hour performance to 66 shows in 23 cities across North America, Argentina and Brazil. Promoted by her tour, Swift has been named the most-streamed female artist in the history of Spotify and Apple Music. According to Billboard, the tour made about $900 million (about 6.4 billion yuan) in 2023. In addition, the tour’s movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the biggest concert movie of all time, taking more than $250

As she was declare a billionaire by Bloomberg in November, a hidden “Taylor Swift economy” also promoted sales for business owners across the US. From soaps to a cruise inspired by her different “eras”, interest in Swift-related products went way up.

Apart from her financial contributions, Swift made a significant cultural impact by taking back control of her music. In 2019, her old record label, Big Machine, sold the master tapes of her first six albums (专辑) to Scoot er Braun. The sale meant that she didn’t have the rights to the albums. In response to this, Swift began re-recording her first six albums, tagging (加标签于) them “Taylor’s Version”. This move stressed her belief that artists deserve to own their work. “It’s all in how you deal with loss,” she told Time. “I respond to extreme pain by resisting.”

Heading into 2024, Swift will start the Eras Tour again in Japan and Australia. As USA Today noted, “Her current top has been a long time coming, but it may also be just beginning.”

8 . Cathy Brennan calmly paddled her bright yellow kayak (皮艇) down the Potomac River, continuing her voyage, the latest of her solo trips on major waterways. It was tough, but it allowed Brennan to let go of everything else, empty her brain of the everyday chores and focus on the now. “I’m in the moment, looking at the waves.” said Brennan.

The journey is a minimalist style: sleeping bag, small tent, rain jacket, change of clothes, first aid kit, apples and cheese sticks. When she’s thirsty, she scoops water from the rivers and pumps it through a filter. “I always drink the river,” she says. Brennan loves being on the rivers, seeing the bald eagles above, deer on the banks and a fascinating array of bugs and insects that never find their way into homes.

However, every few days Brennan will find a hotel for the night where she can get a shower and eat a cheeseburger. She’ll also check in with her husband John, who has helped her select the river and research the trips at their home. “He’s my virtual Sherpa (夏尔巴人) with benefits,” Brennan says, laughing. She has a phone with her but rarely calls or texts anyone. Her children usually keep track of her via the transponder that sends them her location every 10minutes or so.

Brennan knows that solo kayaking is not for everyone and she’s not reckless. Brennan grew up on a lake and was a strong swimmer and boater from an early age. When going through rough rapids, she watches the weather carefully. She is cautious about where she camps and who is around her. She has packed up her gear and headed back out on the river when she has felt unsafe.

Surely, she is alone on these journeys but she isn’t lonely. She suggested that we all need some disconnection from the wired world to find the wider world around us.