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Today we're talking about loneliness.
今天我们要谈论的是孤独。
Loneliness and social isolation are growing public health concerns for people of all ages in the United States, from adolescents to the elderly.
从青少年到老年人，孤独和社会隔离正在成为美国各年龄段人群日益关注的公共健康问题。
Public health experts are worried because loneliness seems to be on the rise.
公共卫生专家十分担心，因为孤独感似乎正在上升。
And studies have long found correlations between loneliness and an assortment of medical conditions that threaten health and longevity.
长期以来，研究已经发现，孤独与一系列威胁健康和寿命的疾病之间存在关联。
The problem of loneliness may be even greater than we thought.
孤独的问题可能比我们想象的还要严重。
A new national poll found that about a third of older Americans are lonely and almost as many seniors feel isolated.
一项新的全国调查发现，大约三分之一的美国老年人感到孤独，几乎同样多的老年人感到与世隔绝。
This is a serious problem as research shows that chronic loneliness is particularly harmful to senior citizens.
这是一个严重的问题，因为研究表明，长期的孤独对老年人尤其有害。
That's because it can impair older adults' memory and damage their physical and mental health.
这是因为它会损害老年人的记忆，以及他们的身心健康。
Chronic loneliness even impacts the life expectancy of seniors, increasing their risk of early mortality.
长期孤独甚至会影响老年人的预期寿命，增加他们早期死亡的风险。
Let's take a closer look at that poll now.
现在让我们仔细看看这个调查。
More than a third of seniors in the poll said they felt lonely at least some of the time and 27% said they sometimes or often felt isolated.
超过三分之一的老年人表示，他们至少偶尔会感到孤独，27%表示，他们有时或经常感到孤独。
This reflects how much time the seniors spent with others.
这反映了老年人与他人相处的时间。
Almost 30% said they socialized with friends, family or neighbors once a week or less.
近30%的老年人表示，他们每周或偶尔与朋友、家人或邻居社交一次。
Women were more likely than men to report loneliness.
女性比男性更有可能产生孤独感。
But there's good news.
但也有好消息。
It looks like loneliness can be reversed, but researchers are still trying to determine the best way to do so.
似乎孤独是可以逆转的，但研究人员仍在尝试确定最好的方法。
Why is that?
为什么呢?
Resolving the problem of loneliness among seniors often isn't as simple as getting them together with others or moving them in with their children.
解决老年人的孤独问题往往不是让他们和其他人在一起或让他们和孩子住在一起那么简单。
In fact, the poll found that seniors who lived with their children were more likely to report feeling lonely than those who didn't.
事实上，调查发现，与孩子住在一起的老年人比那些没有孩子的老年人更有可能感到孤独。
This may be because loneliness refers to the discrepancy between actual and desired relationships.
这可能是因为孤独指的是实际关系和期望关系之间的差异。
So it's possible that someone who lives alone doesn't meet that definition, while someone in a house full of busy people does.
所以，独居的人可能不符合这个定义，而住在满是忙碌的人的房子里的人则符合这个定义。
How can we solve the problem?
我们怎样才能解决这个问题?
Well, the researchers assert that it's important to address each person's underlying cause of loneliness, whether it's the death of a spouse, medical problems or social expectations that haven't been fulfilled.
研究人员声称，重要的是要解决每个人孤独的潜在原因，无论是配偶的死亡、医疗问题还是没有实现的社会期望。
It's noteworthy that there is one general recommendation.
值得注意的是，有一个普遍的建议。
While finding solutions for loneliness is highly personal, research suggests the best interventions are those that involve meaningful social contact at least once a week, depending on the person that could mean volunteering, seeing an old friend or something else.
虽然寻找孤独的解决方案是高度个人化的，但研究表明，最好的干预措施是至少每周一次有意义的社会接触，这取决于个人，可能是志愿服务、见老朋友或其他事情。
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
请根据你刚刚听到的录音回答19 - 21题。
Question 19: Why does the speaker say the finding of a new national poll reveals a serious problem?
问题19:为什么叙述者说一项新的全国民意调查揭示了一个严重的问题?
Question 20: What is the good news the speaker talks about?
问题20:叙述者谈到的好消息是什么?
Question 21: What is the key to solving the loneliness problem according to the speaker?
问题21:根据叙述者的说法，解决孤独问题的关键是什么?
