Many of us keep pets， like a dog， acat， or a fish. Having a pet is like havinga special friend and the friend will alwaysbe at your side. Our pets love us andbring happiness2 and fun to our lives. Butcan rocks be our pets？ People in SouthKorea are buying stones and keeping themas pets.

What's the reason behind it？

Young people are keeping rocks as“pets”to help them feel less lonely3 andstress4 in their daily lives. But why rocksinstead of5 normal6 pets？

Peoplethinkthatpetrocksmakespeoplefeel less stress without the responsibility7 of keeping normal pets such as dogs and cats.They say that looking after a pet rock ismuch easier than looking after livinganimals or plants. Unlike a dog or a cat，there is no need to play with it. Also， withlong work hours， people feel they are notable to look after normal pets.

Pet rocks are becoming very popularin South Korea as more people live alone.So， they prefer pet rocks to provide8 themhappiness and avoid9 loneliness.

How to deal10 with loneliness？

Dealing with loneliness might bedifficult， but remember that you are notalone. You can talk with your friends byphone and texts if they live far away. Orjoin a sports club or a dancing club andyou can make new friends there.

我們很多人都養(yǎng)寵物，比如一只狗、一只貓或一條魚。養(yǎng)寵物就像擁有了一個(gè)特別的朋友，這個(gè)朋友會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)在你身邊。我們的寵物愛我們，給我們的生活帶來(lái)快樂(lè)和樂(lè)趣。但是石頭能成為我們的寵物嗎？韓國(guó)人正在購(gòu)買石頭并將其作為寵物。

背后的原因是什么呢？

年輕人將石頭作為“寵物”，以幫助他們?cè)谌粘Ｉ钪信沤夤陋?dú)和減少壓力。但是為什么選擇石頭而不是普通的寵物呢？

人們認(rèn)為寵物石頭讓人們感受到更少的壓力，并且不用承擔(dān)飼養(yǎng)普通寵物的責(zé)任，如狗和貓。人們說(shuō)照顧一塊寵物石頭比照顧活的動(dòng)物或植物容易得多。不像狗或貓，不需要陪著玩耍。此外，長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的工作讓人們覺得他們將無(wú)法照顧普通的寵物。

隨著越來(lái)越多的人獨(dú)居，寵物石頭在韓國(guó)變得非常流行。所以，他們更喜歡養(yǎng)寵物石頭來(lái)給他們帶來(lái)快樂(lè)和避免孤獨(dú)。

如何應(yīng)對(duì)孤獨(dú)？

應(yīng)對(duì)孤獨(dú)可能很困難，但請(qǐng)記住你并不孤單。你可以和你的朋友們聊天。如果他們住得很遠(yuǎn)的話，你可以通過(guò)電話和短信與他們交流。或者加入體育俱樂(lè)部或舞蹈俱樂(lè)部，在那里你可以結(jié)交新朋友。

（英語(yǔ)原文選自：newsahoot.com）