The 87^th Academy Award nominations（提名）were announced on Jan 15,and The Grand Budapest Hotel stood out as a favorite with nine nominations, including Best Picture. Check out some other Best Picture nominees to see if you missed any of last year's top Hollywood films.

The Imitation Game

    This historical thriller is about British computer scientist, Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), the father of artificial intelligence. At the start of World War Ⅱ, Turing was asked to join a select team of mathematical geniuses to decode（解码）the system the Nazis used to send military messages. Besides the actual breaking of the code, Cumberbatch's portrayal（扮演）of Turing's personality, a mixture of decency（正派）and shyness, is also a highlight of the movie.

Birdman

    This dark comedy film is about how Riggan Thomson, a faded star once famous for his superhero roles, struggles to regain fame. American actor Michael Keaton, 63, who has a similar experience to Thomson's, plays the leading role.

Selma

    A stellar cast(主要演员) including talk show queen Oprah Winfrey may be one reason to see Selma. But that the film focuses on Martin Luther King Jr.'s struggle for civil rights also makes it worth viewing. Based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches, the film is a chronicle(编年史) of King's(David Oyelowo) campaign for political rights for African-American people.

The Theory of Everything

    We know English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking for his significant scientific discoveries, especially his black hole theories. This biographical film reveals the scientist's (played by Eddie Redmayne) secret romantic relationship with Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones), whom he meets and falls in love with at Cambridge and who later becomes his first wife.

Boyhood

    American Director Richard Linklater did an experiment in this film, using the same cast for l2 years to record a boy's growth. In two and a half hours, we see Mason, a Texas boy from a divorced family, grow from 6-year-old boy to a freshman in college.

    Charlotte Heffelmire was home in Vienna,Va.,for Thanksgiving break from the Air Force Academy when she saw that her father had gotten stuck under the pickup truck he'd been working on.

    "I was on my back,face up,and I was trying to get some brake lines when apparently the jack（千斤顶）slipped and fell down on me,"her dad,Eric Heffelmire,told WUSA9.Gasoline spilled（溢出）and caught fire,and he knew he was in trouble."I thought they 'd be pulling out a dead body later in the evening."

    After his struggling for 10 minutes,his barefoot teenage daughter came running into the garage."I felt the weight shift,and I said,'You almost got it.'and then it was just UGHHHRRR,and suddenly I'm pulled out,"Eric told NBC4.

    Even Charlotte,120 pounds and 5-foot-6,isn't sure where her power came from."It was some crazy strength, "she told WUSA9.

    Realizing the burning truck could set her house on fire at any moment,Charlotte jumped into the truck and drove it out of the garage."I didn't want the entire house to explode with the truck,so I started the truck,put it in four-wheel drive,and managed to drive it with three wheels,"she said.

    Then she went inside the house to grab her baby sister and got her grandmother out of the house too."I just did what I had to do,so I don't feel like a big hero or anything,"Charlotte said.Her local fire department,Fairfax County Fire and Rescue,felt differently,awarding her the Citizen Lifesaving Award.

    Miss Parker taught physics in a New York school. Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound ,and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them, “Now I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”

    Tom at once answered, “Your brother. Because electricity travels faster than sound waves.”“That's every good,” Miss Parker answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Parker said.“Yes, Kate.”

    “I disagree,” Kate said.“Your brother would hear you earlier because when it's 11 o'clock here it's only 8 o'clock in Los Angeles.”

    The islands of Malta and Gozo are brilliant for a family holiday, packed with fun places to visit whatever your children's ages. The islands' small size means everywhere is within easy reach.

    Sandy beaches and swimming spots

    One of Malta's best beaches for families is soft-sanded, sheltered Golden Bay. Older children can try activities such as stand-up paddle boarding, sailing or windsurfing, while the gentle slope of the beach makes it easy for younger kids to safely paddle in the sea.

    Eating out

    Children are welcome at most restaurants, though more upmarket places often only accept older kids. There are often kids' menus that tend to offer pizza, but you can always ask for a half portion of a starter dish (portions are huge in Maltese restaurants). With a wide range of cuisines on offer, children are bound to find something they'll like, Maltese food is strongly influenced by Italian cuisine, so there's pizza and pasta galore, and some kids will love the national dish-fried rabbit

    Accommodation

    Try to schedule at least a few days on Gozo as there are lots of self-catering farmhouses with pools to rent and it's even easier to get around than Malta. Smaller hotels in Valletta usually only accept older children.

    Transport and other tips

    The easiest way to get around Malta and Gozo is to drive, but the local bus service is reliable, easy to use, and fairly inexpensive. Buses are frequent between major towns, but only roughly hourly to and from smaller places. Ferries run between Malta and Gozo, and you can take tourist boats over to Comino.

    When I started working, I couldn't understand why there were some people who seemed to succeed in anything they tried, while there were others who just couldn't manage to achieve anything. After a while, I became amazed at the biggest difference lying in setting and reviewing goals regularly.

    Then I saw an academic study done by Dr. David Kohl on goals:

    80% of Americans claim that they don't have goals.

    16% of them have goals, but they don't write them down.

    Only 3% actually have written goals, but they don't review them regularly.

    Only 1% has written goals and they review them regularly, and these are among the highest achievers in the US.

    You need to set goals, independent of whether you want to achieve more or less. Goals are not only about achieving more or wanting to take on more in life-a goal starts with a simple desire.

    What do you do with your desires and wants in life? You could both ignore them and leave them to fade away in your mind, or listen to yourself and start taking action to get what you want in life.

    On the one hand, you can wish for a miracle, try to put the least amount of effort in, hoping to get the most out, and do nothing. On the other hand, you can get clear on the steps you need to take and take them, slowly, one by one until you reach success in that area and you will live with new amazing results in your life.

    Setting goals is the essential part to achieving success in any area. It begins with a desire, and then a written goal, followed by the right attitude and action, and that is your formula for success. Keep reviewing your goals and watch how your vision turns into your reality.

The Kendama World Cup

Old-fashioned fun is making a comeback!

Many kids are putting down their electronic devices and picking up an ancient toy. It is called a kendama, and it possibly dates back to the 16th century.

The kendama is a small wooden hammer with three cup-shaped ends and a spike on top. A wooden ball with a center hole is attached by string to the hammer. The goal is to make the ball land in a cup or on the spike. It sounds simple, but there are over 1,000 kendama techniques and tricks to master.

The game's popularity began to grow after the Japan Kendama Association was started in 1975. Today all ages participate in various competitions, including the Kendama World Cup(KWC).

The two-year-old event, which opens in Hatsukaichi, attracts people from all over the world. Players choose 10 different tricks from an approved list. They are then awarded points corresponding to the level of each trick.

A new Kendama World Cup winner will be named tomorrow in this popular sporting event.