Feelinglonelyhasabiggerinfluenceonolderpeople’slifeexpe...

栏目: 练习题 / 发布于: / 人气:1.61W

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Feeling lonely has a bigger influence on older people’s life expectancy(预期寿命) than smoking, top government adviser David Halpern said earlier this year.

This shocking fact, given that loneliness is reaching high levels in the UK – with 3.1 million over – 65s going more than a week without seeing a friend or family member – has caused quite a debate. Later retirement age is one idea for how the government might respond, but I think we can make a change without waiting for a new law.

My solution? Yup, you guessed it: the web. OK, I’m not mad enough to suggest that a piece of electronic equipment is a magic bullet(灵丹妙*) to loneliness, but I do, hand on heart, think that encouraging more older people to get online is the simplest and cheapest tool we can equip them with so they can reawaken old, or form new friendships.

One of my favorite jobs as Digital Champion is judging Age UK’s Internet Champion of the Year Award. Looking through this year’s shortlist, it was obvious that each participant had been suddenly filled with a desire to socialize because of the way the net had widened their social circle. Reading the shortlist, what also struck me was how far from rocket science getting older people online is.

One of this year’s winners, Brenda, has a great story that’s both totally special and also very typical. Brenda felt extremely lonely after her husband’s death. Several months later, she got online. Having quickly got used to using the computer, Brenda amazingly managed to make contact with a soldier who had stayed with her family during the Second World War. Starting up their friendship again after more than half a century is the kind of miracle(奇迹) the Internet has made us almost take for granted – but which would have been almost unthinkable just ten years ago.

28. Why did the author suggest the web as a solution?

A. It is an all-purpose tool.

B. It is strongly advised by the government.

C. It is the only way older people make new friends.

D. It can solve the problem of loneliness in an easy way.

29. What did the author learn from the shortlist?

A. Participants had a similar social circle.

B. Participants found it difficult to get online.

C. Participants benefited greatly from the web.

D. Participants knew each other because of the net.

30. As a lonely old woman, Brenda _____.

A. searched hard for her old friend