Whether you love happy endings or a dark reality in TV dramas,you could soon be able to decide what you get. Netflix,the TV-streaming company behind hit shows such as The Crown and House Of Cards,is working on ways to give viewers control of key plot decisions.

    Some of the storylines will be simple and linear,like the Choose Your Own Adventure books that many grew up with.For example,viewers might decide whether a prisoner in the drama Orange Is The New Black joins a gang (黑帮) or not.

    The technology could also potentially be used to allow Princess Margaret to marry Peter Townsend in The Crown,instead of having her relationship with the divorcee (离婚者) blocked by the Establishment.Other storylines will be much more complex,allowing viewers to connect plot points in a variety of ways using their TV remotes.

    A source said,"We're doing work on branch narratives (叙事) so you are actually making choices as you watch. All the content will be there,and then people will have to get through it in different ways.We'll see how it plays out. It's an experiment.We'll see if it gets much success.For creators,it's a new field."

    Actors would film numerous alternate plot segments (片段) in advance,letting viewers choose which route to take through the story.Netflix will run a trial with choose-your-own-adventure shows for children later this year, based on an established character.If they are successful,it will use the format for TV programmes aimed at adults. Netflix president Reed Hastings confirmed that the company is working on interactive shows,saying,"Once you have got interactivity,you can try anything."

    At least five million UK households are thought to be signed up to Netflix,and it is challenging traditional broadcasters.Earlier this year,BBC boss Lord Hall promised to reinvent the iPlayer so that it overtakes Netflix as a destination in its own right,rather than a catch-up service.

    In many countries, schools have long summer holidays, with shorter holidays in between. However, a new report suggests shortening school holidays to stop children forgetting what they have learnt during the long summer break. Instead of three school terms, it says, there should be five eight-week terms. And there should be just four weeks off in the summer, with a two-week break between the other terms.

    Sonia Montero has two children at primary school and works full-time. She supports the idea. “The kids,” she says, “have much longer holidays than me and I can't afford to take several weeks off work, so I need someone to take care of them. But nobody wants the work in the summer months — they all have holidays of their own.”

    Not surprisingly, some young people disagree. Student Jason Panos says “It's a stupid idea. I would hate staying at school in the summer. It's unfair, too. The people who suggest this had long school holidays when they were young, but now they want to stop us enjoying the summer. The kids in Spain and America have much longer holidays than here, but they don't forget everything they've learnt in a few months.”

    Nadia Salib agrees. “Sure,” she says, “the first week at school after the summer is never easy, but you soon get back into it. The real problem round here is that kids get bored after so many weeks out of school, and then some of them start causing trouble. But the answer is to give them something to do, not make everyone stay in school longer.”

    Welcome to Arundel Castle which is situated in West Sussex, England. The castle has a history of nearly 1,000 years and has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world. Arundel Castle also plays a starring role in many films.

The Gardens

    The White Garden is planted with soft white iceberg Roses, and Snow White Lilies.

    The Rose Garden is newly planted with lovely old-fashioned English roses that are at their very best in June and July.

    The Organic Kitchen Garden produces a wide range of seasonal fruits and vegetables, pears, cherries and apples.

The Castle Shop

    In the Castle Shop, you will discover a wide and interesting range of gift ideas for everyone. It offers gifts and souvenirs designed to appeal to all tastes and pockets. Foods, china, books, and stationery (文具) are all available. Many are sold in this Castle Shop only.

    At Arundel Castle we pride ourselves on supporting local suppliers and actively encourage environmentally friendly products.

The Arundel Festival

    Saturday l6th to Monday 25th August

    The annual Arundel Festival gets bigger and better every year. It is one of the most amazing, diverse and easily accessible arts festivals in the UK, offering a mix of visual arts, music, theatre and street entertainment.

Parking

    Coaches and mini-buses can drop off at the main Castle entrance in Mill Road and park in the main town car park that is opposite the Castle entrance. Please inform us when making your booking of how many parking permits are required.

    You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson. Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?

    Jane Addams (1860-1935)

    Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

    If it weren't for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today. Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world's lakes and oceans.

    Sandra Day O'Connor (1930-present)

    When Sandra Day O'Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator (参议员) and, in 1981, the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court. O'Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.

    Rosa Parks (1913-2005)

    On December 1,1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott. It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in,” said Parks.

    Dutch masters exhibition in Beijing

    The 17th century Dutch Golden Age had several significant artists and a range of great pieces produced during the period—including Jan Vermeer's Young Woman at Virginal, Jan Lievens' Boy in a Cape, and Turban and Rembrandt's Self-Portrait with Shaded Eyes.

    Some of the most refined examples of the time, including the three pieces mentioned above, will make their debut（首次亮相）in China as part of a world tour of The Leiden Collection.

    If you go:

9 a.m.-5 p.m., June 17-Sept 3 (closed on Mondays).National Museum of China, I Wusi Avenue, Dongcheng district. 010-6400-1476.

Ticket: 50 yuan ($7)

    The Age of Mechanical Reproduction

    The Age of Mechanical Reproduction, the latest exhibition at the Riverside Art Museum, features 41 artworks of US pop icon Andy Warhol, covering art installations, paintings and photographs. Warhol's well-known installation Electric Chair is a highlight of the show, which is also its debut in Asia.

    If you go:

10 a.m.-5 p.m., through August 28 (closed on Mondays).The Riverside Art Museum, Hongyan Road, Chaoyang district. 010-5309-2062.

Ticket: 60 yuan

Back with a bang

    Beijing-based hand Escape Plan will hold a concert in Beijing this weekend. The band is most famous for the song The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.

    If you go:

7:30 p.m., June 17.Beijing Worker's Gymnasium, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang district. 400-610-3721.

Ticket: 280-980 yuan

Purple clay teapots

    Yixing purple clay potteries are a vital part of Chinese pottery culture and have been included in China's list of national intangible cultural heritage（国家非物质文化遗产）.A selection of more than 80 purple clay teapots will go on display at the Poly Art Museum starting Friday. The exhibit will include a range of delicate teapot works of Ji Yishun, Wang Xiaolong and Gao Lijun, who are all inheritors（继承人）the time-honored（历史悠久的）pottery handicraft.

If you go:

    9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.(closed on Sundays),through June 30.Poly Art Museum, New Poly Plaza,1 Chaoyangmen North Street 9.010-6500-8117.

Ticket: 20 yuan

Grief ran through the first decade of my career. I photographed stories about terrible topics: immigration, conflict, war. On the cover of my notebook in 2019, I wrote, "Discover the joy again." It was intended to remind me to play more.

Sometimes I'd get a rare assignment where I could breathe — for example, photographing an article on tea for an airline magazine. I took the job hoping to make interesting, almost movie images, but at the end of the day, I found I'd made nothing of the sort. Packing up my camera, I felt like a failure.

On the drive back to the hotel, I noticed heavy steam rising from a building up ahead. Arriving at the scene, I opened the car door — and realized it was a tourist attraction traditionally pulled by a steam engine. Then, out of nowhere, a figure ran toward me. I picked up my camera and quickly made three pictures. One was out of focus. One was poorly composed. But one worked.

When I submitted my pictures to the editor for the tea article, this one wasn't chosen to be published, but I knew it meant something to me. I had been looking for good luck in my own life. This photograph symbolized exactly that.

I was 27 when I first traveled to India after the sudden passing of my father. Over many months, with my best friend, I traversed India with no phone, with limited Internet, and with healing as my compass. I climbed mountains, swam in the sea, and lived in relief entirely.

As I learned to travel to some of the world's cities with the largest population, I began to see life with more color and magic. I permitted myself to walk aimlessly, with no goal but to observe, and each moment became a dance. If this journey taught me anything, it's that what comes next will bring its own magic.