Robotic pets are helping seniors avoid loneliness

甘肅秦安縣西川中學高中部 康 瑤

生活中一些老年人常常會感到孤獨，機器寵物的出現是否能給這些老人們帶來改變呢？

題材體裁 文章詞數 建議用時約383 7分鐘科技 說明文

難詞探意

2. epidemic /?ep??dem?k/n. 流行病

3. recipient /r??s?pi?nt/n. 接受者

For some, limiting the spread of coronavirus has meant long periods of isolation. And for older adults—who are among the most vulnerable to the illness—that social distancing has come at a particular cost.

With visits to nursing homes still restricted in several states in America, some agencies for the elderly are carrying out creative ways to fight the loneliness resulting from a lack of social contact.

“Pretty”, was the word an Alabama senior used to describe the lifelike robotic companion pet she received from a new pilot project administered by the Alabama Department of Senior Services. It was the first word she had said in a long time, according to departmentcommissionerJean Brown.

The Alabama agency, along with several other state agencies managing programs for seniors in New York, Florida and Pennsylvania, has cooperated with robotic pet manufacturer Ageless Innovation to combat loneliness and provide comfort and companionship for isolated seniors. With insight into the growingepidemicof loneliness and need for interactive play among older adults, the company developed their line of Joy for All Companion Pets to feel, look and sound like real pets, Ageless Innovation's CEO Ted Fischer said. “We have technology inside that product that allows you to respond to touch, sound and light in different ways. And what we found is that older adults wanted realism,” Fischer said. “That's part of the magic of a companion pet.”

New York became the first state in the US to test the robotic pets with isolated older adults and results showed that using pets to lower social isolation is highly successful—with 70% of pilot participants reporting a decrease in isolation after one year, according to a news release from Ageless Innovation. Brown said that she was impressed by the state of New York's results with the companion pets and became interested in how the pets could improve the lives of isolated seniors in Alabama. “When I learned that we might be able to help ease the feelings of loneliness for around $100 per recipient, I thought that would be a great way to try it out,” Brown said.

會展旅游業的發展對于成都來說，不僅促進了城市經濟的多元化發展，還大大解決了城市居民的就業問題，成為塑造城市形象的重要推動力，為成都市的核心競爭力的提升做出了巨大貢獻。成都市會展旅游業的發展不僅僅帶動了其自身的盈利能力，還帶動了城市基礎設施建設、餐飲業、住宿業、交通業、廣告業等一大批相關產業的發展，使各個行業得到了有效的整合，促進了成都市服務產業水平的整體提升。隨著市場經濟的發展和產業結構的整合，成都市的會展旅游業也在逐步規范，形成了由政府主導和市場發展相結合的模式，使會展旅游業市場進一步擴大。

In fact, the Alabama Department of Senior Services has already seen promising results and local agencies are into their second round of ordering robotic pets.

1. Why were the robotic pets created?

A. To cure seniors of mental problems.

B. To improve seniors' physical health.

C. To offer comfort and companionship to isolated seniors.

D. To lower the risk of being infected with coronavirus.

2. What can we know about the robotic pets?

A. They may be popular among adults.

B. New York became the first state to test them.

C. Most Alabama seniors thought highly of them.

D. They feel, look and sound different from real pets.

3. What's Brown's attitude to the robotic pets?

A. Neutral. B. Disapproving.

C. Positive. D. Confused.

Sentence for writing

With visits to nursing homes still restricted in several states in America, some agencies for the elderly are carrying out creative ways to fight the loneliness resulting from a lack of social contact.

【信息提取】resulting from a lack of social contact在該句中為非謂語動詞作定語，表主動，因而使用現在分詞形式。

【句式仿寫】制造這些筆的是一家小廠。