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The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Certificate R 134 min—Horror

Viewer points: 8.2 / 10

Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house troubled by evil spirits.

Director: James Wan

Stars: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Wolfe, Frances O'Connor

Warcraft (2016)

Certificate PG-13 123 min—Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Viewer points: 7.7 / 10

The peaceful land of Azeroth stands on the edge of war as its civilization (文明) faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc (兽族) warriors escaping their dying home to conquer another. As a tunnel opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home.

Director: Duncan Jones

Stars: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper

Now You See Me 2 (2016)

Certificate PG-13 129 min—Action | Comedy | Thriller

Viewer points: 7.1 / 10

The Four Horsemen resurface and are forcibly hired by a tech genius to pull off their most impossible magic show yet.

Director: Jon M. Chu

Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco

Me Before You (2016)

Certificate PG-13 110 min—Drama | Romance

Viewer points: 7.9 /10

A girl in a small town forms an unlikely bond with a recently-disabled man she's taking care of.

Director: Thea Sharrock

Stars: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance

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A Book Review—The Snake-Stone by Berlie Doherty

    The setting: Urban England (the cities), but also rural England (the countryside) including remote English villages.

    The theme: The main theme is a teenage search of self-discovery, in this case the search for a mother from whom the hero was separated at an early age. Its other concerns are love, getting on with others, being persistent and courageous and trying to deal with doubts, troubles and worries. As the book moves to a close, James' swimming coach says to him: “You are not like a kid obeying instructions any more. You are diving like a young man who knows where he is going.”

    The characters: James is the hero of the story. He is a championship diver, and has a comfortable life with his foster parents (养父母). Yet he also has the qualities to take him on a long journey to find his birth mother. The other characters in The Snake-Stone, James' parents, his diving instructor, best friend, the villagers, people he meets on his journey, are pictured realistically.

    The turning point: The turning point in the story comes while James' foster parents are away in London, and he wonders about the identity of his birth mother. The only clue he has is a fossil, “the snake stone” which she left behind along with a note on which she had written: “Take good care of Sammie. It was written on a torn envelope with parts of an address still there.

    The journey: Instead of going to London, James decides to find his birth mother. With help from his geography teacher, James sets out for the remote country village where his mother might be found. James has painful, challenging, but also humorous and happy travels. The mother he finally meets, Anne, has a minor yet powerful voice in the novel. He comes to understand why she left him at a stranger's door fifteen years before. Although the meeting is not long, it leaves him with a feeling of completeness. As a journey of self-discovery The Snake-Stone also provides its readers with a happy ending. Its hero says, on returning to his foster parents, “I was home.”

    While it's always a good time to visit Disneyland, there are times during the year that are better than others. Holidays, school schedules and yearly passholders greatly affect Disneyland's schedule. For example, Disneyland has a large number of locals. Many of those locals are yearly passholders, who think of the fantasy amusement park as their second home. They pop in for a few hours here or there — maybe on a weekday, or on a spring or fall Sunday morning before heading to the beach.

    Since the Happiest Place on Earth can be also one of the Busiest Places on Earth, it's helpful to have some tips in play when you hit the park. Here, we're outlining the best times to visit Disneyland in 2018.

    Weekdays in January (minus the week of New Year's Day)

    Weekdays in February (minus the days around President's Day)

    The first few days in March (until March 9, 2018)

    Weekdays in the second half of April 2018

    Weekdays in May

    The last two weeks of August

    The first half of September

    Mondays through Thursdays in November (minus the week of Thanksgiving)

    Mondays through Thursday during the first half of December

    If you're planning a visit, but don't see your particular dates here, click the comments below. We will be happy to provide answers. And our Disneyland Crowd Calendar is also available on line. It is a helpful tool to help you get an idea of expected crowds in advance.

    My sister and I were flying by ourselves from our home in Kansas to a summer camp in Minnesota. Our plane had a two-hour stop at the airport in Omaha, Nebraska. A flight attendant took us to a souvenir shop, where a toy airplane looked just like the plane my sister and I were flying on. I really wanted that airplane. I had $10 and the plane cost $8. I had no idea what I needed to buy at camp, but I bought the plane anyway. When we reached the camp, I discovered that there were no showers! Instead, we bathed in a lake every night. I needed to buy special soap because the regular soap I brought had chemicals that could harm the fish. The special soap cost $4 at the camp store. However, I had only $2 left.

    What upset me was that I couldn't get clean without the soap, which was soon found by my teacher, Sally. I had to tell her that I had spent most of my money on a toy airplane. She laughed and explained to me that a budget was necessary and it was a plan for spending money to help make sure you set aside enough for things you need, like soap, before you buy fun things, like toys.

    Sally gave me one of her extra(额外的) bottles of special soap. When I returned home, I decided to budget. I spent several weeks writing down everything I bought, just to get an idea of how I was already spending my money. Then I made my first weekly budget. My budget wasn't always the same each week. For some weeks, I would have more in my “Money In” account because I did some jobs around the house. Once summer vacation started, I didn't need to buy school lunches, so I had extra money to go to the neighborhood swimming pool or to give to the town animal shelter.

    Budgeting was hard, sometimes. Whatever week it was, I always made sure that “Money In” equaled “Save and Spend.” That's called making ends meet, and it's how you make sure that the money you have will always be enough to cover your plans to spend and save.

    The University of Birmingham is the first excellent UK Russell Group university to announce that it will accept the "Gaokao" exam for high­flying Chinese students wishing to join its undergraduate courses in 2019. High school students who complete the "National Higher Education Entrance Examination", or Gaokao, with top grades will be able to apply for direct entry onto Birmingham degree programmes without first completing a foundation year which is a routine for the freshman.

    Gaokao is usually taken by students in their last year of senior high school and, every year, each province in China sets the grades required to gain admission to its universities. It is usually held across China in early June. Students are tested in Chinese, Mathematics, a Foreign Language and social sciences or natural sciences.

    University of Birmingham Vice­Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood said: "The University of Birmingham has been challenging and developing great minds for more than a century. We welcome people from around the globe to study at Birmingham and Chinese students form an integral part of our education and research community. We are further opening access to Birmigham's wealth of education opportunities for the brightest and most dedicated Chinese students by accepting this strict and important qualification. I look forward to welcoming these high­flying students to the University of Birmingham."

    Gaokao is increasingly accepted by universities in Australia, the USA, Canada and mainland Europe. Birmingham will only be considering high quality students who achieve a minimum 80% Gaokao score and meet additional academic and English language requirements.

    Professor J on Frampton, Director of the University of Birmingham's China Institute said: "The University of Birmingham has a long history of educating students from China and one of our most famous graduates is Li Siguang­the founding father of Chinese geology. I am delighted that the University is now accepting the Gaokao. This gives the brightest and best Chinese students an opportunity to move straight into the first year of our undergraduate programmes and experience the benefits of studying at a global Top 100 university, such as Birmingham."

    Thanks to this new hands- free suitcase, carrying around heavy luggage may soon become a thing of the past. Designed by Israeli company NUA Robotics, this "smart" suitcase can follow you everywhere you go.

    The carry­on suitcase, now a prototype(雏形), connects to a smartphone app via bluetooth. It has a built­in camera sensor that can "see" you and follow you around on flat floors. It comes with an anti­theft alarm to prevent someone carrying it away when you're not looking. "It can follow and carry things for people around while communicating with their smartphone, and avoiding bumping into other objects," explained Alex Libman, founder of NUA Robotics. "We're combining sensor network, computer vision, and robotics. So if you download our app(应用), press the 'follow me' button, the luggage recognizes its user and knows to follow and communicate."

    NUA is still testing the products and trying to improve features like speed and customization(客户订制), but they hope to make the suitcase available to customers in a year's time. If it proves successful, they want to use the bluetooth pairing technology to automate(自动化操作)lots of other products, like shopping carts at the supermarket. These products are especially meant to be useful to the physically disabled and elderly. "Any object can be smart and robotic," Libman told Mashable. "We want to bring robots into everyday life."

    The Israeli tech company made it clear that the finished product will look just like a common suitcase. They're planning to partner with a carry­on luggage maker, since the product that makes it "smart" weighs just 2.5 pounds and can be fitted on old­fashion luggage.

    With NUA's smart suitcase, carrying around heavy luggage isn't a burden. But how their invention will handle tough blocks like stairs? It will be interesting to wait.