Question

this question has two parts. first, answer part a. then, answer part b.
part a
based on the passage, which statement describes what caused the popularity of houseplants to increase in modern times?
(a) early civilizations had plants inside their homes.
(b) people learned that houseplants were easy to care for.
(c) people developed new varieties of houseplants over the years.
(d) a new type of container made it possible to ship plants to other countries.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option a: Early civilizations having plants is about the past, not modern popularity cause. Eliminate.
• Option b: Ease of care could be a reason, but we need to check others.
• Option c: Developing new varieties might not directly cause modern popularity increase.
• Option d: A new container for shipping plants to other countries would increase availability, thus popularity. This is a more direct cause for modern times popularity increase compared to b (as shipping to new markets would boost popularity more broadly).

Answer:

d. A new type of container made it possible to ship plants to other countries.