Ejercicio Grupo B - 2 · Inglés PAU Canarias Julio 2021

Why living with and caring for plants is good for you

‘In Cacti We Trust’ is the motto of one of the many passionate plant lovers to be found on social media.

According to a survey, the cactus is the most Instagrammable houseplant by far, with an extraordinary 23

million posts dedicated to the spiny plant. Following in second place is the photogenic Hoya, and then the

Monstera, also known as the Swiss Cheese plant.

5 This overwhelmingly Millennial and Generation Z obsession has exploded in recent years. But why do

these particular generations love looking after plants so much? It’s a question explored in British author

Alice Vincent’s recent book Rootbound: Rewilding a Life. The author says she has a “strong emotional

connection” with plants. “There’s something deeply moving about seeing something germinate, flower or

even go to seed,” Vincent says. “There’s a real joy to be found in new growth after a long, dark winter. I

10 find that the seasonal change of plants and the natural world around them is something that helps to guide

me in my everyday life.”

Both Millennials and Gen Z grew up in a landscape that was increasingly obsessed with technological

advance and living online. Everything was expected to be quicker and easier than its predecessor. And

what is the antidote to that fast and furious digital life? Tending houseplants and gardening, according to

15 Vincent.

“With gardening, nothing is instant. Nothing is guaranteed. Nothing can be tapped on a phone. It is a slow,

physical and patience-testing activity – all of which is hugely relaxing when the rest of life is so rapidly

paced.”

Paradoxically, although tending plants acts as an antidote to digital life, it is the online world that has

20 helped the plant-tending Millennials and Gen Zers to find each other, and to form their own global

community. There is a whole world of so-called ‘plantfluencers’; notable among them is Baltimore-based

Hilton Carter. “In a sense, having plants is like having pets – they bring you joy, but they also need love

and attention. Plants need light and food. You have to be ready to commit to something that’s living. It’s

like if you visit an animal shelter, you don’t bring home every puppy or kitten, you bring one dog not 10

25 dogs. If you get a ton of plants not knowing how to care for them, you end up very sad, and wasting a lot

of money,” Carter points out. “Plants make gestures to you, if they have zero light for instance”. And if he

had to give just one bit of advice for tending plants? “Follow the light, and it’ll be easier to become a plant

parent.”.

Fragment adapted from BBC Culture, October 2020

2. ANSWER the questions below. COPY no more than 10 words and/or a number from the text to answer each question. (1.5 points)

a)

When did the new passion for plants begin to boom?

b)

Ironically, what has helped young people who are interested in plants to make contact?

c)

What is Hilton Carter’s single most important piece of advice about caring for plants?