为英国女王驾崩做准备 王室设定'伦敦桥已倒'暗号

 　　The day that the Queen dies will see a nation in mourning. But the plan for what will happen afterwards has already been meticulously¹ laid out.

　　女王驾崩之日，英国必将举国哀悼。而有关随后的程序的计划，早已进行过了精心的安排。

　　In fact, there is a code word that will be used to deliver the sad and tragic² news to the upper echelons³ of the Government that will signify her passing and the starting of what happens next – 'London Bridge is down.'

　　实际上，政府高层届时会听到一句内容为“伦敦桥已倒”的暗语，这句暗语表明女王驾崩，后续程序将正式启动。

　　According to the Guardian⁴ the Prime Minister of the time will be woken if they are asleep, and will be told by civil servants: "London Bridge is down."

　　据《卫报》报道，届时公务员会唤醒可能仍处于睡梦之中的首相，并将暗语的内容告知后者。

　　This message will signify to the PM that Queen Elizabeth II has passed away, kicking off a highly-organised series of events that will eventually lead up to the monarch⁵'s funeral.

　　听到这条消息，首相会意识到伊丽莎白二世已然驾崩，并立刻启动一系列仪式，举办女王的葬礼。

　　Once the Prime Minister has been told, the Foreign Office, from an undisclosed location in London, will inform 15 governments outside of the UK where the Queen is also the head of state.

　　一旦首相得知消息，英国外交部将在伦敦一处不对外公开的地点通知其他奉女王为国家元首的15个国家的政府。

　　The Global Response Centre will also pass on the news to the 36 other nations of the Commonwealth⁶ for whom the Queen has served as a symbolic⁷ figurehead.

　　英国全球响应中心也将通知英联邦其余的36个国家，上述国家奉女王为名义上的元首。

　　为英国女王驾崩做准备 王室设定'伦敦桥已倒'暗号

　　As for the general public, the media has already planned the details in how to break the news and start a period of mourning.

　　至于公众方面，各大媒体就如何宣布消息并开启哀悼期的细节早已进行了一番筹划。

　　Where previously⁸ the BBC was the first to reveal the death of a monarch, modern technology and social media has effectively destroyed that monopoly.

　　往常首家曝出君王去世消息的都是英国广播公司（BBC），现代技术和社交媒体的发展则有效地打破了这种垄断。

　　Instead, a newsflash will be sent to the Press Association, as well as the rest of the world's media at exactly the same time.

　　英国国家通讯社和世界其他媒体反而会同时接收到一则则简明新闻。

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

　　一位身着丧服的男仆将离开白金汉宫，在大门上张贴讣告，王宫的官方网站会在一个以黑色为背景的界面上宣布消息。

　　Newspapers and their respective websites will already have several stories ready to run, written in advance so that they can go up as soon as the news breaks.

　　各大报刊及其相应网站早已备好相关报道，并将文章内容提前写好，消息宣布的瞬间便可见诸报端和网站。

　　Television news, including Sky and ITN, have already signed up various royalty⁹ experts to chat to them exclusively, while rehearsals¹⁰ on delivering the news that have taken place for years will finally be put into action.

　　天空电视台和独立电视新闻公司等电视新闻媒体则早已与英国皇室方面的专家签约，以展开独家对话，为发布此条新闻的演练也会正式排上用场。

　　Unsurprisingly, newsreaders will be wearing black suits and outfits¹¹, while regular television coverage¹² will be cancelled to switch to the news that will dominate channels for weeks, if not months.

　　届时新闻广播员将身着黑衣，常规的电视报道也将为女王去世的新闻让路，后者占据电视屏幕的时间即便没有数月也会有几周之久。

　　A former BBC head of news told the Guardian that the organisation¹³ and planned mourning period will be needed so people can grieve for "the only monarch that most of us have ever known".

　　一位英国广播公司新闻部门的前负责人告诉《卫报》，组织工作和哀悼期筹划十分必要，如此人们才能缅怀“一位几乎人尽皆知的君王”。

1 meticulously   

adv.过细地，异常细致地；无微不至；精心

参考例句：

• The hammer's silvery head was etched with holy runs and its haft was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. 锤子头是纯银制成的，雕刻着神圣符文，而握柄则被精心地包裹在蓝色的皮革中。 来自辞典例句
• She is always meticulously accurate in punctuation and spelling. 她的标点和拼写总是非常精确。 来自辞典例句

2 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

3 echelons   

n.（机构中的）等级，阶层( echelon的名词复数 )；（军舰、士兵、飞机等的）梯形编队

参考例句：

• Officers were drawn largely from the top echelons of society. 这些官员大都来自社会上层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Except in the higher echelons, extensive classification has no place in the classification of vegetation. 除高阶类级之外，外延分类在植物分类中还是没有地位的。 来自辞典例句

4 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

5 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

6 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

7 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

10 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

13 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。