2 . In February, Japan appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto as the country’s first Minister of Loneliness to address the issue of isolation for the growing number of the population who live alone.

Loneliness has been a long-standing issue in Japan. Half a million people in the country live a solitary(独身的) life. They are known as hikikomori – “those who withdraw from all social contact and often don’t leave their houses for years at a time”, according to the BBC.

“In Japanese strict social norms(行为规范), high expectations from parents and a culture of shame make Japanese society a fertile ground for feelings of inadequacy.” Takahiro Kato, who studies and treats hikikomori, told the BBC.

But the pandemic has only worsened the effects of this lifestyle. According to figures released by the National Police Agency, in 2020 Japan saw a rise in suicides for the first time in 11 years. A total of 20,919 people took their own lives, 750 more than the previous year. The majority of them were single women and students.

Before the pandemic(疫情), most people who live alone had a fairly normal routine: a full day of work, dining with friends afterward, then going home. But the pandemic forced them to stay indoors, reducing the few chances they had to socialize.

Sakamoto hopes to deal with the issue of increased feelings of isolation. At a news conference on Feb 12, he said that he hopes to “carry out activities to prevent social loneliness and isolation and to protect ties between people”.

After all, just as UK poet John Donne wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”

1. What does the underlined word “inadequacy” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Respecting the elderly.	B．Lacking self-confidence.
C．Hiding to avoid trouble.	D．Following social norms.

2. Why did Japan see a rise in suicides in 2020?

A．The pandemic put people out of work.

B．The pandemic made solitary people feel lonelier.

C．People suffered from anxiety due to the pandemic.

D．Being outside their routine caused inconvenience.

3. What can be inferred from what John Donne wrote in the last paragraph?

A．Man is a social animal.

B．Everyone is like everyone else.

C．People should be ashamed of being alone.

D．People can find ways to deal with loneliness.

4. What does the article mainly talk about?

A．The reason why there are hikikomori in Japan.

B．The responsibility of the Minister of Loneliness.

C．How the pandemic has affected people's lives in Japan.

D．Why Japan appointed a Minister of Loneliness.