Jennifer, a 33-year-old writer, has had more than 110 houseplants since she began collecting in January. Today, they're an essential part of her daily routine. Every morning, she rolls out of bed, heads to the living room and begins a 45-minute tour of all her plants. Even before brushing her teeth or feeding the dog, Jennifer inspects every leaf.
Though she is a little extreme, Jennifer is just one of many plant enthusiasts spending hours a day and thousands of dollars cultivating plant collections in their homes. American gardeners spent a record $76.3 billion on garden last year. A quarter of that spending was attributed to people aged 18 to 34, whose spending on plants has grown at a higher rate than any other age group since 2014.
Houseplants should thank social media for their reappearance and growth in popularity. That's how Jennifer was hooked first. Her inability to keep plants alive had always been a running joke. However, while surfing on the Internet, she happened upon an eye-catching photo posted by a plant lover. She followed that account, along with several others over the course of a month or two, and her desire to grow a collection of her own strengthened. Soon, she was fully buried in plant culture. Recently, Jennifer even attended her first local plant swap.
It's no secret that millennials（千禧一代）are delaying major life milestones such as buying homes, getting married and having children, largely for financial reasons. “People are designed for connection and nurturing, but with more millennials waiting until later in life to have babies and settle down, young people are turning to plants,” said Lily Ewing. Plants often require less attention than other living things, such as pets, but still provide the opportunity to nurture something. Plants can provide a greater sense of fulfillment and purpose. Ewing added, "Keeping plants around the home or office also allows people to bring nature to their immediate surroundings when it can be hard to find time to get away from the day-to-day busy work and escape to the outdoors."
【小题1】Which one can best describe Jennifer's behaviour towards houseplants?| A．Reasonably affectionate. | B．Somewhat crazy. |
| C．Less enthusiastic. | D．Sensibly cautious. |
| A．To represent the millennials plant enthusiasts. |
| B．To introduce a writer with special affection for plants. |
| C．To compare with other gardeners. |
| D．To show a writer's life with plants. |
| A．The functions of social media. |
| B．Jennifer's inability to keep plants. |
| C．The reason for Jennifer's desire for plants. |
| D．The reappearance and growth of plants in popularity. |
| A．Because they want to get exposed to nature. |
| B．Because they have enough free time to stay indoors. |
| C．Because plants bring them nature and help nurture something. |
| D．Because plants can offer a greater sense of fulfillment than pets. |
