1 . Get Digital Scotland, Simon Community Scotland’s digital inclusion programme, is proud to announce the start of Get Connected 100! This is a Scotland-wide project giving 100 people experiencing homelessness access to the digital world.

Our Get Connected 100 project will connect and support 100 people to get online. Each participant (参与者) will receive a free digital device (设备) and unlimited connectivity for 12 months. In addition to free digital technology, frontline workers at Simon Community and in our partner organisations are trained as digital champions to provide person-centred support based around a digital skills learning framework (框架). The project will give people easy access at all times, right in their pocket, and support to build skills and confidence to get online.

Research from the University of the West of Scotland shows us that people who experience homelessness are among the most digitally excluded (排斥的) groups in our society. This is a great disadvantage in life which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to COVID-19 we depend even more heavily on digital technology for many daily activities: socialising with friends, managing finances (资金), getting the latest news, accessing health services and having fun. Digital technology has never been so important to our lives.

The project is being funded by the Scottish Government. Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “I am glad to fund this project to support 100 people experiencing homelessness in getting connected to the digital world. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that access to digital equipment, data and skills is a basic necessity. The funding, as part of our £100 million winter support package, will certainly help people deal with the additional financial pressures of winter and COVID-19.”

Last year, Simon Community Scotland funded a “Get Connected Pilot” in Edinburgh to develop and test this approach. We wanted to make sure people facing loneliness during lockdown could get support and be connected with loved ones and professional services. The results for the people who were part of the pilot were life changing. 100% of participants said that getting a connected device and support through this pilot positively affected their lives. Our pilot showed that digital access opens up a whole world of opportunities!

Every year I travel a lot to appreciate tourist     1    （attract）. As the saying goes, “Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles.” Large quantities of practice     2    （be）the same important as reading large volumes of books. Since 2015, I have visited more than twenty cities at home and abroad, during     3     time I enjoyed wonderful views of mountains and rivers and saw the powerful strength of our motherland as     4    （good）as the great changes of the world.

However, COVID-19     5    （sweep）the globe during the past two years.     6     great many, people were infected with the disease. But a great part of them have been cured on account     7     the wise policies of our government. Despite     8    （affect）, we firmly believe that our government will pay what it takes     9    （save）her people. At the same time, there are countless organizations and individuals voluntarily     10    （struggle）against the disease. Victory belongs to us, our country and the whole world.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

6 . Roberto Novo has styled the hair of a lot of stars. But during COVID-19, he’s turned his gifts to the heads of lesser-known, older New Yorkers- and he’s done it for free.

The Argentina-born stylist welcomes them to his Manhattan apartment or visits them in their homes. His two dogs keep everyone company. He calls his project “Free haircut and puppy love.”

It started last summer when he and his dogs visited a client who had been isolated (隔离) for months due to COVID-19. Seeing how happy it made her, he asked if she had friends in her apartment building who might be interested in a free hairdo.

“It doesn’t get any better than that — bring some joy to senior citizens in these hard times,” Novo said. “People are really suffering in this situation right now. So if I can help them with a simple haircut, that’s a gift.”

On a recent day, Novo and his dogs walked into Madelon Spier’s apartment and quickly turned the living room into a salon (美发厅). Sitting in a black chair, Spier waited to get her hair styled. “I think he’s an amazing artist. And we’re all pictures that he’s painting,” Spier said. “There’s his personality (特色), and his way of cutting — a way of looking at a person and knowing what’s right for them,” said Spier.

Neighbor Andrew Langerman said Novo also gave him his first haircut in months. “I’ve just been so lonely during COVID-19,” he said, and now, “I feel a lot better. I wasn’t really feeling very well when I came here but then I felt great just being with everybody. And I had a good haircut.”

As Novo finished a cut, he ordered pizzas that the group later shared. They talked and laughed.

“I always tell people if I die and I’m born again, I’ll do everything exactly the same way,” said Novo.

Major school districts around the United States     1     (permit) students to attend class without face coverings to date. New York City ended the     2     (require) rules on March 7.

As we all know, the rules relating to face coverings or masks have caused fights among     3     (educate), school boards and parents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Some families are happy that their children no longer have to wear masks, which can make children focus     4     study better, while others hold the different ideas about the quitting of the restriction.

Falling COVID-19 infection rates and new federal health recommendations are the driving force for     5     drop of the rules. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued new guidelines     6     (say) most healthy Americans, including students can     7     (safe) stop wearing masks. However, there are still many concerns about low vaccination rates among American children     8     officials in many large cities have said they will keep mask rules for the time being.

Undoubtedly, wearing masks can cause trouble for students to understand     9     teachers are instructing in the classroom. But it remains     10     (see) what will happen in the following months, so we are supposed to be cautious about the ongoing changes.