There have certainly been records that have been hugely popular and some of those have had a message. Can there be many songs that really did change the world? Did they really change the hearts and minds of ordinary people?

There is one, Goettingen, which did, but it's hardly known now.

Even though France and Germany are neighbors, there was bad feeling between them 50 years ago as a result of World War Ⅱ. Into this area of hatred and anger stepped a singer with a gentle voice.

Barbara was her stage name. She took it from her Russian grandmother. She was born in Paris in 1930. She was Jewish and so a target (目标) for the Nazis. But, twenty years after the end of the Second World War, she travelled to the German city Goettingen. She fell in love with the city and its people and recorded the song Goettingen, first in French and then in German.

It moved her German audience at the theatre. The song became a hit. A street was named after her. The city gave its Medal of Honor to her. The song's popularity made an important contribution to repairing France­Germany relations.

One of the people in the audience was a student by the name of Gerhard Schroeder. He later became Chancellor of Germany. He said:" I was a college student when she came to sing. It went to our hearts, the start of a wonderful friendship between our countries. "

Listening to the song today, it's easy to understand its attraction then. It is still a beautiful song of love, although it is a bit sad in parts. Barbara had much to be sad about. She was extremely frightened by the war.

In Germany, she was loved for the love she had given to the people. In France, she was a star. Streets were named after her there, too. A stamp had her face on it. When she died in 1997, 250 thousand people went to the funeral (葬礼).

Lionel Jospin, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002, once said:" Barbara was a woman who knew suffering and understood the suffering of others."

Pet lovers were very angry. Last May, a news article online said three states had passed laws limiting the number of pets that each household could have to only two. The news spread quickly, as many people shared the article on Facebook and other social media sites. But pet owners had nothing to worry about—the article was made­up.

Many fake (虚假的) news are harmless, but others might have played a role in real­world events. When it comes to online news, even adults can have a hard time telling fact from fiction. Education experts say kids should start learning how to tell the difference.

Of course, there are plenty of reputable websites you can visit to read the news. Well­known news organizations, such as The New York Times and the Associated Press, have their own sites.

But many other online "news" sources aren't always reliable. And many students have trouble finding out when articles aren't entirely true or are trying to persuade them to think in a certain way.

Why would someone purposely publish an article that isn't true? The most common reason is to make money. Websites are paid by the companies that post ads on them. Companies want to place their ads on sites that get a lot of visitors. So people create fake news with attention­catching headlines to try to get users to click on them.

Some of the biggest websites are trying to stop the flow of fake news. Last November, Facebook and Google banned fake news sites from advertising on their pages. Facebook is also working with fact­checking organizations to identify and flag fake articles. But experts say the best way to slow the spread of fake news is for people to be more skeptical(怀疑的) of what they read online.

Ariana caught another whiff(难闻的味道) and tried to hold her breath. She moved away slightly, but Ashley only moved closer and continued talking. Ariana felt trapped. She wanted badly to tell Ashley that she didn't smell very good. But how could she do that without hurting her feelings? Instead, she gathered the remains of her lunch to throw in the trash, thankful for the excuse to get some fresh air. She looked back to see Ashley eating quietly. Ashley's hair was tangled(乱糟糟的), and her clothes were dirty. Ariana forced herself to go back to the table and take her seat, vowing(发誓) that she would not sit with Ashley tomorrow.

When Ariana got home from school, she complained to her mother, "There's a girl named Ashley who likes to sit next to me in school, but she smells bad."

"She's probably having a tough day," said her mother.

"No, it's not just one day. She smells bad a lot," Ariana explained. "Nobody else likes to sit next to her, either."

"I don't think you understand Ashley's situation, so let me ask you this…," Her mother's tone was serious. "Who makes sure that your hair is combed every morning so you'll look nice when you go to school?"

"You do," answered Ariana.

"Who makes sure you're bathed and cleaned every day? And your clothes are washed and neatly ironed?"

"You and Daddy," Ariana said again.

"Do you live in a nice home? Do you have enough to eat?"

Ariana nodded, beginning to feel guilty. She was starting to understand now. Ashley couldn't help her situation because she was only seven years old—the same age as Ariana. Grown­ups are supposed to take care of kids.

"Why doesn't her family take better care of her?" Ariana asked.

"Not all children live in the best situation," her mother said. "The best thing you can do for Ashley is to treat her with kindness and sympathy."

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Ariana bit her bottom lip. Sadness for Ashley filled her heart.

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At the end of the school year, the second grade prepared to go on a field trip to the zoo.