VOA慢速英语2020--为独居的美国老年人提供免费电话

The coronavirus pandemic can be especially difficult for older adults who live alone. To help support them, some American communities and groups have set up services aimed at meeting their needs for human contact and small talk.

The city of Plano, Texas offers such a program. A group of about 15 city government workers reach out to Plano's elderly individuals by telephone. Now, some residents¹ look forward to getting phone calls from total strangers.

The idea of getting calls from a stranger - just to chat - was immediately appealing to 81-year-old Dell Kaplan. "It gets pretty lonely here by yourself," she told The Associated Press.

Older individuals are more likely than other age groups to get infected with and die from COVID-19, the disease² resulting from the coronavirus. Because of this, health officials have urged people over 65 to keep staying home even as some areas begin lifting restrictions³ aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.

Kaplan enjoys the chats while missing⁴ out on family get-togethers, dining with friends and attending classes at a nearby college.

Holly⁵ Ryckman is one of the government workers taking part in the program. Together they make about 50 calls a week to Plano's elderly residents. "It's really just to give them a social outlet⁶ that they might not have otherwise," she said.

Ryckman noted⁷ that people receiving the calls have differing amounts of social contact in their lives. Some like to talk about family members who are keeping in touch. That is the case for Kaplan, who said she often speaks on the phone with family members and friends, and also keeps up with people on Facebook.

But Kaplan said her bi-weekly chats with Ryckman give her something to look forward to "besides the usual."

Brent Bloechle helped organize Plano's program. He says the city plans to keep it operating at least through mid-summer, and maybe permanently⁸.

Another project providing free calls to elderly Americans is the Friendly Voices program. It is a service of AARP, an organization representing the interests of older Americans.

Laurie Onofrio-Collier has been placing calls from her home in California to people across the country. She says her goal for each call is to help the other person "feel uplifted, to feel good."

Like the Plano program, Friendly Voices' volunteers help guide people to resources and local groups if they need help with getting food or other necessities⁹. But the main goal of the project is to provide a social connection.

Onofrio-Collier said the adults she has spoken with talk about a lot of things, from personal interests to happy memories. She connected with one caller over a shared experience. "We ended up talking about how ... when we were kids, we loved to read so much that we would read under the covers with a flashlight."

"I get off the phone with a smile," she said. Onofrio-Collier is among about 1,000 volunteers making the calls, notes Andy Miller¹⁰, who works¹¹ with AARP. He said some people ask for help with technology so they can stay connected with family members.

One volunteer helped a woman learn how to play a game of checkers online with her grandchild. "We're seeing a lot of that -- where people are just trying to stay connected to family in ways that they probably didn't do before," Miller said.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

pandemic – n. a disease spreading over a wide area and affecting a high percentage of the population

chat – v. to talk with someone in a friendly, unstructured way

outlet – n. a way for someone to express an emotion, idea or ability

uplift – v. to make someone happy or hopeful

kids – n. children

1 residents   

n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者

参考例句：

• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

5 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

6 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 necessities   

必要（性）( necessity的名词复数 )； （迫切）需要； 必需品； 自然规律

参考例句：

• They also supply other daily necessities to the city population. 他们也向城市居民提供其他日常必需品。
• Provide the bare necessities of life, especially food; keep away hunger. 供给生活必需品，特别是食物，以免于饥饿。

10 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

11 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。