When Nancy Lublin got $5,000 from her grandpa in 1996, she never once considered taking a vacation or paying off student loans .Instead, the 24-year-old New York University law student began thinking about helping low-income women get better jobs. "If a woman goes for a job interview poorly dressed, she won't get the job." Lublin says. “ but without a job, she can't afford suitable clothes."

    So with the money Lublin founded "Dress for Success” and began collecting women's clothes which were still in good condition but which their owners no longer needed. "So many women have clothes lying around that they will never wear again," one of Lublin's assistants says "Nancy's idea is so simple and yet so important to women."

    Many women come to Lublin's office before going to a job interview. Here, they receive a suit, shoes and any other things they need. Since it was set up, more than 1,000 women have turned to "Dress for Success" for help. Many of them have won jobs. Some have round jobs after being out of work for many years. Jenny, a 32-year-old woman who was recently hired as a law-firm office manager , says, "I made a good impression because of “Dress for Success”

    April is Financial Literacy Month，when Americans of all ages are encouraged to learn how to be smart about money.And this year，fifth­grade Rachel Kelly from Naperville，Illinois，is already at the head of her class.Kelly,11, won a nationwide contest called the Stock Market Game.

    Students who take part in the Stock Market Game，run by the SIFMA Foundation，a financial­education organization，pretend to buy stocks (股票) worth $100,000.Then they have to read financial news over several days to see if their investments would have gained money or lost money and write an article explaining their choices.

    “I  wanted  to  choose  a  company  that was well­known，” writes Kelly.“I thought about products that I see every day，so cars came to my mind.” Kelly picked the Japanese car company Honda Motors.“Honda Motor Company is the No.1 producer of motorcycles in the world and the fifth­largest producer of automobiles behind Toyota，Volkswagen，General Motors and Hyundai，” says Kelly.

    Honda makes many different kinds of cars，which Kelly thinks makes the company a safe investment.She explains that even if the cost of gas goes up，Honda has a good chance of staying in business because of the company's fuel­efficient cars，which run on less gas than most cars made today.

    “If one of their departments is not doing so well，it won't affect the overall company sales，” she writes.

    Because the stock Kelly picked performed well and her article was persuasive，Kelly won this year's contest.About 600,000 students from 4th to 12th grade competed.

    One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap(包装).

    On September 11th, 1958, mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my arms, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honor! I became four years old a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told stories. I told it again and again how much I loved it!

    One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept(哭泣) and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard mum and dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”and “dying”, and all these words sounded ominous.

    Christmas was coming. “Don't expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living rooms. “If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I had never seen him cry before.

    The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He's all right?”He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”

    “Thank God!” I heard mum cry.

    From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty：they were filled with love!

    A few weeks ago, I called an Uber to take me to the Boston airport for a flight home for the holidays. As I slid into the back seat of the car, the warm intonations（语调）of the driver's accent washed over me in a familiar way.

    I learned that he was a recent West African immigrant with a few young children, working hard to provide for his family. I could relate: I am the daughter of two Ethiopian immigrants who made their share of sacrifices to ensure my success. I told him I was on a college break and headed home to visit my parents. That's how he found out I go to Harvard. An approving eye glinted at me in the rearview window, and quickly, we crossed the boundaries of rider and driver. I became his daughter, all grown up — the product of his sacrifice.

And then came the fateful question: "What do you study?" I answered "history and literature" and the pride in his voice faded, as I knew it might. I didn't even get to add "and African-American studies" before he cut in, his voice thick with disappointment, "All that work to get into Harvard, and you study history?"

    Here I was, his daughter, squandering the biggest opportunity of her life. He went on to deliver the age-old lecture that all immigrant kids know. We are to become doctors (or lawyers, if our parents are being generous) — to make money and send money back home. The unspoken demand, made across generations, which my Uber driver laid out plainly, is simple: Fulfill your role in the narrative（故事）of upward mobility so your children can do the same.

I used to feel anxious and backed into a corner by the questioning, but now as a junior in college, I'm grateful for their support more than anything. This holiday season, I've promised myself I won't huff and get annoyed at their inquiries. I won't defensively respond with "but I plan to go to law school!" when I get unrequested advice. I'll just smile and nod, and enjoy the warmth of the occasion.

    Welcome to Amazon. Here are some top films to recommend this week.

    Magellan

    Scores 5.5

    101 min 2017

    When NASA picks up three outer space signals coming from within our own solar system, the space agency speeds a mission to investigate the sources. As Earth's lone messenger, they send Commander Roger Nelson, the test pilot for an experimental spacecraft called the Magellan, assisted by an on board A. I. named Ferdinand.

    Rent Movie HD $3.99

    Buy Movie HD $9.99

    The Lost City of Z

    Scores 6.6

    141 min 2016

    The Lost City of Z tells the unbelievable true story of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who journeys into the Amazon at the beginning of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a formerly unkown and advanced civilization that may have once ruled the region.

    Rent Movie HD $6.99

    Buy Movie HD $19.99

    The Post

    Scores 7.2

    115 min 2017

    Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep team for the first time in this exciting true story about how the Washington Post uncovered a huge cover-up of government secrets that lasted three decades. It made Richard Milhous Nixon, the president of the United States of the time, lose his power in the end.

    Rent Movie HD $5.99.

    Buy Movie HD $19.99

    Room

    Scores 8.2

    117 min 2015

    Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, Room is a unique and unexpectedly gentle exploration of the endless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack and his Ma escape from the closed surroundings that Jack has known in his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world.

    Rent Movie HD $3.99

    Buy Movie HD $12.99

    There aren't many actors around the world who have enough self confidence to turn down an offer from Steven Spielberg. Maybe that was why Juliette Binoche gave him a choice. She said she'd be happy to be in Jurassic Park as long as she could play a dinosaur. Of course he turned her down and it was probably a good thing. It's difficult to imagine Juliette ripping people apart with her teeth. However, her decision doesn't seem to have done her career any harm. She has gone on to make a string of hits, including The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The English Patient (for which she won an Oscar) and Chocolat.

    Success in the United States has not been so easy for other foreign stars. Gerald Depardieu is a good example. Since his first film in 1967, his filmography (影片集锦) lists 172 acting credits. But he has struggled on the other side of the pond. While some of his films have been popular in the US, they have usually been French films that travelled. One possible exception was Green Card, directed by Peter Weir, where he plays a French immigrant who goes through a fake wedding in order to stay and work in the United States. This is a predictable but sweet romantic comedy which typecasts (分配同一类型角色) its lead actors in terms of national stereotypes. While some reviewers were kind, others shredded both the film and Depardieu's performance.

    While Monsieur Depardieu hasn't received the recognition he would have liked in the United States, one Mexican actor has achieved almost instant success. Gael Garcia Bernal first gained recognition in Amores Perros in 2000 and a year later in Y tu mama tambien. Since then he has appeared with hometown hero, Brad Pitt in Babel and, under the direction of top producer and director, Jim Jarmusch, he starred in Limits of Control. He hasn't picked up an Oscar yet, but he was nominated for a BAFTA (英国电影电视艺术学院奖) in 2005 for his performance as the South American hero revolutionary Che Guevara, in Motorcycle Diaries. In the same year he played American music icon Elvis Presley in The King.