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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English, I'm Neil, and I'm Rob.

Do you enjoy your own company, Rob? Do you like being alone or do you prefer spending time with

friends? Well, recently, I haven't seen my friends much because of coronavirus. In fact,

I've hardly seen anyone this past year. It sounds like Rob has become a bit of a hermit,

someone who lives alone and apart from society. Yes, I've been forced to spend time alone,

but it wouldn't be my choice. I'd much rather be socialising and visiting friends.

If like Rob, the idea of being alone does not appeal to you, it might be hard to understand why

anyone would choose to be a hermit. But some people do, and in this programme,

we'll be hearing some of the reasons why. Throughout history and across all cultures,

there have been people who choose to leave behind the life and people they know to live in

isolation and silence. People like Christopher Wright, an American man who lived in complete

isolation in the forests of Maine for nearly 30 years. When Haikers discovered his tent,

all they found was an alarm clock. So my quiz question is this, why did Christopher

Wright the hermit of the Maine Woods need an alarm clock? Was it A to remind him when to hide

his tent? B to frighten away wild animals? Or C to wake him up at the coldest part of the night

so he didn't freeze to death? Well, if he wanted to be alone so much, I guess he needed to be

invisible, so I'll say A to remind him to hide his tent. Okay, Rob, we'll find out the answer later.

Christopher Wright may be an extreme example of someone seeking solitude, but there are many other

motivations for becoming a hermit. Some people are looking for peace and silence, and for others,

it's about being closer to God, focusing on what's inside and finding a sense of joy.

Meng Hu is a former librarian who now runs a website all about hermits. He says that in ancient times,

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