Question

    There are many programs for high school students today that help lonely teenagers deal with loneliness. However, loneliness is not only a problem for teens but also an important and rarely acknowledged one in the elderly.

In Britain, Tracey Crouch was appointed to be the first Minister of Loneliness in order to address the problems caused by loneliness. This is the first time such a position has been created.

In Britain, there are around 9 million people who say they are lonely frequently. In Germany, a study conducted by Ruhr University Bochum found that 20 percent of people over the age of 85 felt lonely, and 14 percent of those between age 45 and 65 felt socially lonely. In the United States, more than 25 percent of the population live alone, more than 50 percent are unmarried.

Loneliness is generally associated with heart disease, overweight, and anxiety. Additionally, the stress from loneliness can cause your cells to change on a molecular (分子) level that reduces its abilities to defend your body against diseases. In fact, doctors believe having feelings of loneliness is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day in regard to its effect on health!

In Britain, the new Minister of Loneliness will help introduce government policies on the problem and fund a charity—an organization for helping people in need, to devote their efforts towards aiding loneliness. There are charities that link lonely seniors to high school students in order to give them a line of communication whenever they feel lonely!

The possibilities for the new Minister of Loneliness are endless. For example, she can provide education services to household businesses so that they can identify lonely customers if they see one. Loneliness fits into the category of being a social problem that must be monitored by the entire community in order to help those in need. Therefore, government involvement in medical services and care for seniors and others is vital for happy seniors.

1.How does the author develop Paragraph 3?

A. By listing some statistics.

B. By giving examples of lonely people．

C. By pointing out similarities and differences.

D. By comparing different cultures in different countries．

2.What does the underlined word “equivalent” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Relevant． B. Opposite．

C. Similar． D. Superior．

3.What will the Minister of Loneliness do?

A. Do housework for lonely people．

B. Help fund charities to aid lonely people．

C. Communicate with anxious school students．

D. Develop friendships with the elderly．

4.What is the main idea of the text?

A. UK becomes the capital of loneliness．

B. Loneliness affects old people’s life worldwide.

C. Many teenagers suffer from loneliness．

D. UK’s Minister of Loneliness settles loneliness.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文为记叙文。孤独如传染病般肆虐于大街小巷，英国也不例外。于是，英国政府设置了一个听上去略显奇葩的“孤独大臣”，希望能缓解这一现象。

1.推理判断题。根据第三段可知，本段列举了大量的数据，从而推断出本段主要是以列数据的方式展开的。故选A。

2.词义猜测题。第四段主要叙述了“孤独通常与心脏病、超重和焦虑有关。此外，孤独带来的压力降低细胞抵御疾病的能力。”尤其是“In fact, doctors believe having feelings of loneliness is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day in regard to its effect on health!”中的关键词“its effect on health”结合句意“事实上，医生认为，就其对健康的影响而言，孤独感相当于每天抽15支烟！”可知，划线词的意思相当于C项（与......相似）。故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据第五段“In Britain, the new Minister of Loneliness will help introduce government policies on the problem and fund a charity—an organization for helping people in need, to devote their efforts towards aiding loneliness.”可知“在英国，新上任的孤独事务大臣将帮助政府出台有关这一问题的政策，并为慈善机构提供资金。慈善机构旨在帮助有需要的人，帮助他们克服孤独。”由此可推断出，帮助慈善机构,资助那些孤独的人。分析选项可知B正确。

4.主旨大意题。根据文章第二段“In Britain, Tracey Crouch was appointed to be the first Minister of Loneliness in order to address the problems caused by loneliness. This is the first time such a position has been created.”及全文可知，本文主要介绍为了解决人们的孤独问题，英国设立了一个特殊的官职，即“孤独大臣”，分析选项可知D项符合题意，故选D。