Passage 1 More people than ever are choosing to live alone. In the United States, more than one-quarter of the
population now lives in a single-person household, and in economically developing countries, the number
of people choosing to live alone has increased along with the rise in favorable economic conditions for
citizens. In a recent study, many people who live alone reported that they do not feel lonely, in fact, the
study's results suggest that people who live alone spend more time socializing and are more likely to attend
social events. These people may enjoy the fact that they can spend time interacting with others and then
return home or sign off of a social media site when they crave a dose of solitude. In many ways, it's the
best of both worlds: community when you want it, but guaranteed peace and quiet whenever you need.
Passage 2
"Communal living" is defined as an intentional community where people purposefully come together to live,
their commingling based on a shared life philosophy and/or a willingness to contribute equally in terms of
decisions, finances, and labor. There are hundreds of such communities in the U. S., including eco-villages
that focus on establishing "green" lives; -housing setups that emphasize the importance of interaction
between neighbors, and modern-day counter-culture communes, where living "off the grid" of a technology-
driven world is the goal. As American life becomes costlier and more people realize the social isolation
inherent in living alone, communal living may become an even bigger part of our lives in the future.
Question
The author of Passage 1 would probably respond to the reference in Passage 2 to the "social isolation
inherent in living alone" by