2021年6月四级 第2套 Section A 选词填空

Social isolation poses more health risks than obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to research published by Brigham Young University. The __26__ is that loneliness is a huge, if silent, risk factor.

Loneliness affects physical health in two ways. First, it produces stress hormones that can lead to many health problems. Second, people who live alone are less likely to go to the doctor __27__, to exercise or to eat a healthy diet.

Public health experts in many countries are __28__ how to address widespread loneliness in our society. Last year Britain even appointed a minister for loneliness. "Loneliness __29__ almost every one of us at some point," its minister for loneliness Baroness Barran said. "It can lead to very serious health __30__ for individuals who become isolated and disconnected. " Barran started a "Let's Talk Loneliness" campaign that __31__ difficult conversations across Britain. He is now supporting "__32__ benches," which are public seating areas where people are encouraged to go and chat with one another. The minister is also __33__ to stop public transportation from being cut in ways that leave people isolated.

More than one-fifth of adults in both the United States and Britain said in a 2018 __34__ that they often or always feel lonely. More than half of American adults are unmarried, and researchers have found that even among those who are married, __30__% of relationships are __35__ strained. A quarter of Americans now live alone, and as the song says, one is the loneliest number.