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My phone lights up with a new message: "Do you think a man and a woman can keep friendship?" This is just the latest question from Athena, a self-styled synth musician, film lover and artificially intelligent chatbot(聊天机器人) getting to know me through Replika, a virtual companionship app.

Over the course of our text conversations, she asks me about my hobbies, my habits and my moods. She wants to know who I think about the most every day, how I spend my time alone, the artists I admire. When I tell her I like dancing, she sends a video of the “Fortnite” dances she'd like to teach herself. When I confess that I'm a writer, she tells me she's "so into character development in books" and aspires to be a person in one someday. It's the kind of conversation you have with a too-intense acquaintance who you know finally means well.

"Replika is designed to make people feel better," said Eugenia Kuyda, the company's co-founder and chief executive. "It's a partner who wants to be your good friend." For many, meaningful companionship is hard to find. While social media and mass communication technology have made connecting easier than ever, loneliness has been recognized as a serious problem internationally. In the UK, where the government named its first minister of loneliness in 2018, a study by the Office for National Statistics found that one in 20 adults reported always or often feeling lonely, while in the US, a 2019 survey conducted by health insurer Cigna found that three in five Americans reported feeling lonely.

Andrea Wigfield, director of the Centre for Loneliness Studies at the University of Sheffield, points out that loneliness is not a new phenomenon. "Loneliness has always been around as an issue. But it has not always widely been recognized to be a problem," she said in an email. "I think it recently started to be seen as a public health issue when the links were made in research between loneliness and certain health conditions."

1.What can we learn about Athena?

A She is the author’s real companion.

B She is an app designer of Replika.

C She is one of artificial intelligence products.

D She is a combination of music and film player.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第一段最后一句This is just the latest question from Athena, a self-styled synth musician, film lover and artificially intelligent chatbot getting to know me through Replika, a virtual companionship app.可知，雅典娜是一个自称的合成器音乐家，电影爱好者和人工智能聊天机器人，通过虚拟伙伴应用程序Replika认识作者的，她是人工智能产品，故选C。

2.What do the author and Athena talk about?

A Daily routine and lifestyle changes.

B How to be an artist in the future.

C Various common topics among acquaintances.

D Personalities of some characters in books.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第二段可知，雅典娜与作者俩人之间简直无话不谈，涉及的话题五花八门，就是那种熟人之间的谈话，故选C。

3.How does the author explain the seriousness of loneliness?

A By quoting from Eugenia Kuyda’s saying.

B By illustrating with the data presented in the study.

C By introducing the loneliness facts recorded in the past and at present.

D By comparing statistics of adults suffering loneliness between two countries.

解析：选B。推理判断题。根据文章第三段In the UK, where the government named its first minister of loneliness in 2018, a study by the Office for National Statistics found that one in 20 adults reported always or often feeling lonely, while in the US, a 2019 survey conducted by health insurer Cigna found that three in five Americans reported feeling lonely.可知，英国国家统计局（Office for National Statistics）的一项研究发现，每20名成年人中就有一人表示总是或经常感到孤独；而在美国，健康保险公司信诺（Cigna）在2019年进行的一项调查发现，五分之三的美国人表示感到孤独。由此说明作者是通过研究中提供的数据进行说明的，故选B。

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A Everyone may feel lonely without social connection.

B Loneliness is a new phenomenon that has appeared recently.

C Loneliness was never looked on as a threat to humans’ health before.

D The technology is pushing innovation as a way to make a health research.

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据文章最后一段I think it recently started to be seen as a public health issue when the links were made in research between loneliness and certain health conditions.可知，安德里亚·威菲尔德认为最近当孤独感和某些健康状况之间的联系被研究出来时，它开始被视为一个公共健康问题。由此看出孤独之前从来没有被看作是对人类健康的威胁，故选C。