Robotic pets are helping seniors avoid loneliness

甘肃秦安县西川中学高中部 康 瑶

生活中一些老年人常常会感到孤独，机器宠物的出现是否能给这些老人们带来改变呢？

题材体裁 文章词数 建议用时约383 7分钟科技 说明文

难词探意

2. epidemic /ˌepı΄demık/n. 流行病

3. recipient /rı΄sıpiənt/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.

会展旅游业的发展对于成都来说，不仅促进了城市经济的多元化发展，还大大解决了城市居民的就业问题，成为塑造城市形象的重要推动力，为成都市的核心竞争力的提升做出了巨大贡献。成都市会展旅游业的发展不仅仅带动了其自身的盈利能力，还带动了城市基础设施建设、餐饮业、住宿业、交通业、广告业等一大批相关产业的发展，使各个行业得到了有效的整合，促进了成都市服务产业水平的整体提升。随着市场经济的发展和产业结构的整合，成都市的会展旅游业也在逐步规范，形成了由政府主导和市场发展相结合的模式，使会展旅游业市场进一步扩大。

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在该句中为非谓语动词作定语，表主动，因而使用现在分词形式。

【句式仿写】制造这些笔的是一家小厂。