If you've ever owned a chimney, you know that it can get pretty dirty. There's a whole lot of soot(烟灰) that gets stuck on the inside. That stuff has to get cleaned, or you could have a serious fire risk. While nowadays we have easier ways of doing this dirty job, in the way back days somebody used to climb up the chimney and clean all that soot. And the thing is, not just anybody could do it.

    You had to be really small to fit up in the chimney, so they used to give the task to kids – some as young as four or five years old. They worked for their boss known as a master-sweep. They were often covered in soot, and were very likely to get burned. They often developed what became known as soot wart, a form of cancer.

    Are your unfairness bells ringing? William Blake's certainly were. The physical dangers and widespread unfairness of the chimney-sweeping job really stuck in his throat, so much so that he wrote not one, but two poems called “The Chimney Sweeper”.

    The first poem (the one we're discussing here)was published in 1789 in a book called Songs of Innocence. These little poems took children and the joys of childhood innocence as their subject. As you've probably guessed by now, many of the poems in Songs of Innocence, like “The Chimney Sweeper”, are about the ways in which childhood innocence is destroyed by unkind old adults. For Blake, innocence is, in many ways, a total joke. It doesn't exist, because it's always taken away by the realistic world – chimney-sweeping, death, poverty, etc.

    What does a five-year-old chimney sweeper in 18th-century England have to do with you? More than you might think. It is reported that 150 million kids are in child labor in developing countries. Many of them work long hours and face dangerous health risks. Like Blake's chimney sweeper, these kids are not even given a chance at innocence because experience keeps getting in the way.

Primavera Sound

    To kick off the summer, there's no better place to be than Barcelona. On the concert lineup, you'll find bands like The Zombies, Arcade Fire, and Bon Iver. Then take some time to soak up the local food, wine, and culture.

    Date: May 31 – June 4, 2018

    Location: Barcelona, Spain

    Music Type: Indie, rock, hip-hop

    Price: 80€ – 300€ (around $86 – $323)

    Recommended places to stay in Barcelona:

    Hotel 1898

    Hotel Barcelona Universal

    Mercer Hotel Barcelona

    Governors Ball

    One of the greatest summer concerts in New York City is Governor's Ball, which takes place in early June at Randall's Island Park. Some of the many artists playing include Tool, Phoenix, Lorde, Flume, and the Wu-Tang Clan.

    Date: June 2-4, 2018

    Location: New York City, New York, USA

    Music Type: Rock, hip-hop, pop

    Price: $105 – $305

    Recommended places to stay in New York City:

    W New York – Union Square, Union Square, New York City, United States

Aloft Harlem

    Super 8 Long Island City LGA Hotel

    Courtyard New York Manhattan / Upper East Side

    Bonnaroo

    Bonaroo is another epic summer event that draws in crowds of around 60,000 each year. Some of the most iconic music legends will be playing this year, including U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weeknd, and Chance the Rapper.

    Date: June 8-11, 2018

    Location: Manchester, Tennessee, USA

    Music Type: Rock, hip-hop

    Price: $210.50 – $554+ fees

    Recommended places to stay in Manchester:

    Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Manchester

    Country Inn & Suites Manchester

    The Ambassador Inn & Luxury

    Girls who lack confidence in school have a new champion. She is only 10 years old. Alice Tapper, a fifth - grader says, that her goal is to encourage girls of all ages to “be more confident in raising their hands”. Alice cared so much about the issue (问题) that she helped create a Girl Scout badge (徽章).

    The pink badge—Alice chose her favorite color—shows three hands reaching for the sky. It says, “Be brave. Raise your hand.”

    Alice's idea came during a fourth - grade field trip to Jamestown, Virginia. She found that boys raised their hands to answer questions even though they weren't sure of the answers. The girls just listened quietly.

    “Girls are afraid to raise their hands because they get shy. They have to be 90 percent sure, while boys just raise their hands and say, 'I know it,'” Alice said during a recent interview. She added that girls should have confidence, step up, and become leaders by raising their hands for women are equal to men.

    Alice's “Raise Your Hand” badge has become wildly popular, and not just in the United States. “People in Japan and China want to use the badge,” she said. “We sold out the badge quickly, but we're making more.”

    Alice wants to be a teacher when she grows up. But first, she wants to see a revolution in confidence for girls of all ages. She knows that won't happen overnight. “ It takes time,” Alice said, “but I can speed up the process.”

    Teachers' Day is, interestingly, not celebrated on the same day all over the world. In some countries it is marked by a holiday, in others it is a working day.

    International Teachers' Day is celebrated on October 5. Being held ever since 1994, it is in honor of teachers' organizations worldwide. Its aim is to encourage supports for teachers and to meet the needs of students.

    China   In 1939, Teachers' Day was set for August 27, Confucius' birthday. In1951, the celebration was stopped. However, it was founded again in 1985, and the day was changed to September 10.

    India   Teachers' Day is celebrated on September 5 in honour of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second president of India, whose birthday falls on that day.

    Russia   In Russia, Teachers' Day was celebrated on the first Sunday of October between 1965 and 1994. Since 1994, the day is observed on the October 5, just the same day as World Teachers Day.

    The US   In the US, Teachers' Day is non-official holiday. It is celebrated on the Tuesday of the first full week of May. A number of activities are organized in schools to honor teachers. The celebrations can continue for the whole week of May.

    Thailand   In Thailand, National Teachers' Day is celebrated every year on January 16. The first Teachers' Day was held in 1957. The day is a holiday in schools.

Harry, the first camel to arrive in Australia in 1840, was an unlucky beast. He was imported from the Canary Islands by explorer John Horrocks. On an expedition (探险), Horrocks picked up his gun in order to shoot “a beautiful bird to be added to the collection.” Perhaps Harry was an ecologist —- he lurched (突然倾斜), and the gun discharged, shooting Horrocks in the face.

    Horrocks not surprisingly died of his injuries, and his treatments ordered Harry to be shot. The first importation of a camel into Australia came to naught.

    In 1860, 24 camels arrived in Australia to be part of an expedition by explorers Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills. It was an unlucky expedition. The pair made one mistake after another, and ended up eating most of their camels, before starving to death.

    Six years later, more than 100 camels and their Afghan minders, arrived in Australia. This time it succeeded and thousands more camels followed.

    Sir Thomas Elder set up the first camel studs (种畜场) in South Australia, while others were set up in Western Australia. This time the camels bred (繁殖) like wildfire. They were used for working, rather than exploring expeditions.

    The imported Afghan cameleers were just as hardy and vital, leading camel trains across the cruel interior (腹地) of Australia, where few dared to go. The camels carried heavy packs of wool and supplies and opened up the desert areas as none had managed to do before. The train that does this crossing today is called The Ghan, in their honor.

    Motorization put these camel trains out of business, and many camels were turned loose. The camels loved Australia, and multiplied in amazing numbers. What is to be done with them?

    Not surprisingly they have become quite a tourist attraction and you can take a camel ride in the desert as the Afghan cameleers once did. But the fact is that camels create quite a problem in areas where they have taken over, as they damage local vegetation, muscle out native animals competing for food, and create chaos when they wander into settled area.

The World's Largest Insect

    This giant insect can be used as a toy.

    A child ties one end of a string to a stick and the other end around the "neck" of an insect. Holding the stick, the child lets the insect go. With a loud whirring sound, the insect takes off, pulling the string in a large curve over the child's head. The child laughs as the stick jumps around.

    The child is African, and the toy is the African Goliath beetle, the largest insect in the world.

    The Goliath is a true insect because it has six legs and a body that is divided into three parts. Like all beetles, it has two pairs of wings. The front pair are thick and stiff and protect the back pair, which are soft. It is these soft back wings that make the beetle fly forward. They also cause the loud whirring sound the beetle makes when it flies. To steer, the beetle twists and turns its legs the same way you steer a bike by turning its front wheel.

    African children often use the Goliath beetle as a toy. Although it is over 15 centimeters long, it is quite harmless.