Despite the fact that the Queen is currently alive and well, a secret plan has already been laid out for her death.

A code word has already been decided upon to deliver the news of her passing to the highest tiers of the government.

While the death of George Ⅵ was signalled by the words "Hyde Park Corner"— to stop operators at Buckingham Palace learning the news-the equivalent(相等的) word for Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ is "London Bridge is down".

The Prime Minister at the time will be woken, if not already awake, and informed by civil servants that "London Bridge is down”.

These words will signify the Queen has passed away, and that Operation London Bridgc-a highlyorganised set of arrangemcnts is to start.

The Foreign Office's Global Response Centre, located at an undisclosed location in London , will then immediately inform 15 governments outside the UK where the Queen is also the head of state. After this, the centre will pass on the news to the 36 other nations of the Commonwealth(英联邦) for whom the Queen has served as a symbolic figurehead for many decades.

It will not be long before the news spreads from world leaders to the general public, with the news of her passing to the Press Association and thus the global media as well.

This marks a brcak from the long-held tradition of the BBC being the first news outlet to learn of royal deaths. What's more, while George Ⅵ's death was not announced until four hours after he died, news of the Queen's death will be far more instant.

A footman in mourning clothes will be sent out of the door at Buckingham Palace at the same time to pin a notice of the news to the gates, while the official palace website will feature just one page, letting out the news on a dark background.

Tips for Cycle Trips

Cycling has many advantages as a form of travel, as it is the fastest way to travel by humanpower, and slow enough to allow the type of local involvement that is impossible with poweredtravel.Cycle travel is a cheap form of transportation.

Distance

On level terrain(地形),without a headwind, a cyclist of average fitness on a touring bike cancomfortably cover 60-120km a day.Distances of up to 250km a day are possible, but anythingmuch beyond 120km willrequire considerable physical tension and not allow many stops to enjoythe places you visit.For many80-100km a day will be the most suitable distance to aim for, as itwill give a sense of achievement and also leave plenty of time for meals and activities.

Geography

The gradient（坡度）of the trip will reduce your range.A basic rule is that for every 100metres of altitude you climb, you should add an extra 15 minutes to your journey time.In hilly ormountainous areas, the easiest routes for cycling are downstream along major rivers, as they will be downhilloverall.A long, roundabout route along a river will usually be easier than a short,direct route over a hill or mountain pass.However, it is worth bearing in mind that the most scenicroutes often come from hilly terrain(地形).

Eat

Food choice depends largely on where you are, so see the respective(各自的) sections for moreinformation about foods. As you will be working hard, it’s important to get enough energy in yourfood. On long trips away from major towns,there may be little quality food available, so beprepared to live on candy bars, prepared meat products and the like(and so on)if the need arises.

Sleep

While you can take a tent with you, many hotels and especially campsites can accommodate(provide … a place to stay)cyclists. However, there are also some hotels that may be less used to accommodating cyclists.Ifyou are exploring an unfamiliar world, asking about the accommodationcanspare you the search for anew place to stay after a long exhausting day of travel.

Four years ago, we asked ourselves: what if we could create a shopping experience with no waiting in lines and no checkout? Or could we create a physical store where customers could simply take what they want and go? Our answer to those questions is Amazon Go, where you could experience the idea of “just walk out shopping”.

Amazon Go is a new kind of store with no checkout required. We created the world’s most advanced shopping technology, so you never have to wait in line. With our “just walk out shopping” experience, simply use the Amazon Go app to enter the store, take the products you want, and go! No lines, no checkout.

Our checkout-free shopping experience is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning. Our “just walk out technology” automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in your virtual cart. When you’re done shopping, you can just leave the store. Shortly after, we’ll charge your Amazon account and send you a receipt.

We offer delicious ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options made fresh every day by our on-site chefs and favorite local kitchens and bakeries. Our selection of foodstuff ranges from bread and milk to cheeses and locally made chocolates. You’ll find well-known brands we love, plus special finds we’re excited to introduce to customers. For a quick home-cooked dinner, pick up one of our chef-designed Amazon Meal Kits, and you can make a meal for two in about 30 minutes.

Our 1,800-square-foot shopping space is conveniently compact(紧凑的), so busy customers can get in and out fast. It is located at 2131, 7th Ave,Seattle,WA, on the corner of 7th Avenue and Blanchard Street. All you need is an Amazon account, a supported smartphone, and the free Amazon Go app.

Amazon Go is currently only open to Amazon employees in our testing program, and will be open to the public soon.

Many shopping malls now have special areas that offer shoppers their first chance to experience "VR Technology". You may have entered one out of curiosity, or you may think it is just another piece of useless technology. Whatever your opinion, VR , or virtual(虚拟的) reality, is going to become a bigger part of our lives very soon.

2016 saw the introduction of many fancy products in the world of VR, including Microsoft's HoloLens and Samsung's Gear VR. All of them offer an exciting look at the new "realities" and opportunities that VR brings.

These, however, are the early days of a technology that is expected to go from strength to strength. And 2017 looks like it is going to be the year in which VR technology really takes off.

For a start, using VR will become more normal in 2017. Microsoft and Intel have already discussed their plans for simpler and less expensive VR headsets.

"The idea of VR will stop being a scifi (science-fiction) idea, and instead it will turn into an industry of real products used as ways to show off imagination," said Andrew, a designer at US VR Company, Survios.

It is also expected that VR products will play a part in more common and real-life fields like fashion and film. For example, to enjoy the atmosphere and energy of the front row experience at a fashion show, fans will no longer have to go along in the flesh. Instead, people will be ahle to enjoy the experience by just wearing a VR headset at home.

You can also expect VR mirrors and fitting-rooms sooner rather than later. "This is an especially good opportunity for brands looking to offer very personalized experiences, said Roy DeYoung from US-based marketing agency, PMX.

As time goes on, there will be less discussion about whether people will accept VR technology. It will simply be a discussion of when.

“He looks red.” “I’m feeling blue.” “She was green.” How often have you heard these expressions? They are actually fairly common. And they show how color relates to our emotions.

  Actually, color does have physical effect on the human body. It can influence the pituitary gland (脑下垂体), which helps control hormone production. Hormones can affect our moods, so it makes sense that color would, too. But it can also be used to change our moods.

  How do colors relate to moods and emotions?

  Red is all about energy, but it can also indicate anger.

  Orange is simulating, good for times when we just can’t seem to get started with something. It may be useful for reducing stress.

  Yellow is good for mental activities like reasoning and analysis. It can promote self—confidence and is helpful in situations when you need to be more optimistic.

  Green tends to make most people think of nature, since so much of the natural world is green. It’s about connections—with nature, or with our fellow humans. It’s also good for general stress, since it can help balance emotions.

  Blue is relaxing. It can stimulate creativity. Light blue can mean quiet, and dark blue can be depressing.

  White is definitely about peace. But it’s also associate with purity.

  How can you use colors to change your mood? Well, clothing is the most obvious choice. What you wear not only helps you feel a certain way, but also can give a strong impression about you to others—especially people you have never met.

  But you don’t have to change everything about your appearance. Sometimes a cap, a tie or a scarf, in a particular color will have the desired effect—without being too noticeable to others.

Our spiritual intelligence quotient (精神智商), or SQ, helps us understand ourselves, and live fuller, happier lives.

Though we’re all born with SQ, most of us don’t even realize that we have it. Fortunately, you donˈt have to sign up for classes to learn how to improve your SQ. Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding.

Sit Quietly. The process of developing spiritual intelligence begins with solitude (独处) and silence. To tune in to your spirit, you have to turn down the volume (强度) in your busy, noisy, complicated life and force yourself to do nothing at all. Start small by creating islands for silence in your day. In the car, instead of listening to the music, use the time to think. At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few breaths and let them out very, very slowly. Enjoy the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed.

Step Outside. For many people, nature sets their spirit free. Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset. If you are walking with the dog, take the time to admire flowers in bloom; follow the flight of a bird and watch clouds float overhead.

Ask Questions of Yourself. Ask open-ended questions, such as, “What am I feeling? What are my choices? Where am I heading?”

But don’t expect an answer to arrive through some supernatural forms of e-mail. “Rarely do I get an immediate answer to my question,” says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito, California. “But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem in a perspective (角度) I never considered before.”

Trust Your Spirit. While most of us rely on gut (本能的) feeling to realize danger, spiritual intelligence pushes us, not away from, but towards some action that will lead to a greater good.

Do you like spicy food?

What’s your opinion on spicy food? Some people cannot handle even the smallest amount of chili-red pepper-in their dinner while others can’t get enough of it.

Scientists have long been puzzled by why some people love chili while others loathe it. Plenty of research has been done on the subject, dating as far back as the 1970s. Previous results showed that a love of chili is related to childhood experiences, and cultural influences affect our taste buds too. But the latest study has found that a person’s love of spicy food may be linked to his or her personality more than anything else, CBC News reported.

‘We have always assumed that liking drives intake-we eat what we like and we like what we eat. But no one has actually directly bothered to connect these personality traits with intake of chili peppers,’ said Professor John Hayes from Pennsylvania State University, who led the study.

But before you look at the study, you should first know that “spicy” is not a taste, unlike sour, sweet, bitter and salty. It is, in fact, a burning sensation that you feel on the surface of your tongue. This got scientists thinking that maybe a love of spicy food is brought about by people’s longing for thrill, something they usually get from watching action movies or riding a roller coaster.

In the study, 97 participants, both male and female, were asked to fill out questionnaires about certain traits of their personality, for example, whether they like new experiences or tend to avoid risks. They were then given a glass of water with capsaicin, the plant chemical that makes a chili burn, mixed into it.

By comparing the answers to the questionnaire and what participants said they felt about the spicy water, researchers found that those who tended to enjoy action movies or take risks were about six times more likely to enjoy the spicy water.

Interestingly, we used to believe that the reason some people can withstand spicy food is that their tongues have become less sensitive to it. However, this latest study has found otherwise. “It’s not that it doesn’t burn as badly, it’s that you actually learn to like the burn,” Hayes explained.

By the end of last year, a British woman had failed her driving theory(理论) test 110 times. But the woman is not giving up just yet. It is hard to believe that the 30-year-old, from Southwark, southeast London, has failed the test three times — taking her total number of unsuccessful attempts（尝试）to a record 113. This year, the price of the test was lowered from ￡31 a time to￡25. Amazingly, if she had started sitting the exam at the age of 17, she would have sat it more than eight times a year for the past 13 years.

Although no other learner has come close to the woman’s number of attempts to pass her driving theory test, several seem to be trying their best. A 30-year-old man from Peterborough has failed the theory test 86 times. A 27-year-old man from Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and a 39-year-old man from London have both failed their 66th attempt to pass the exam this year. And a 47-year-old man from Reading has struggled through 61 tests without any luck.

Research shows that although men are said to be around six percent more likely to pass the practical（实践的）driving test than women, they are six percent less likely to pass their theory test. Even when learners manage to pass the theory test, some still struggle to master the practical exam and have to spend a lot of money on it.

For example, one middle-aged man forked out at least￡2,294 sitting the practical driving test — a record of 36 times before, thankfully, passing at his 37th attempt. The practical driving test, which lasts about 40 minutes, costs￡62 to take on a weekday or￡75 on an evening, weekend or holiday. It is generally considered more difficult than the theory test.

Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合) voice across cultures.

Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.

It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.

“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,” Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan. “What I’m hoping to accomplish is that mu generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and write anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.”

Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost. “The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same,” says Moran.

Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party, “Just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music,” says Moran. “For me, it’s the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感) lie? Are we, as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,” says Moran, “So I want to continue those dialogue. Those are the things I want to foster.”