ENGLISH COMPREHENSION TEXT

Read the following text and answer the questions on the main paper.

1 Running is healthy. Picking up litter is good for the planet. Why not do both?
Plogging is a new fitness trend where people pick up rubbish while running. This
activity started in Sweden and has since become famous around the world. On
Instagram alone, there are over 10,000 posts tagged #plogging, which is a
5 combination of the words ‘jogging’ and ‘plocka upp’ (Swedish for ‘pick up’).

Laura Lindberg, a plogger, says, “I read an article about plogging and realised I
had wasted many years of my running life not doing it. The next day I took gloves
and a bag and started picking up garbage along the way. I found it to be really
satisfying instead of just passing by litter and silently being angry at the person
10 who put it there.” Plogging brings awareness to just how much litter is on our
streets and parks like water bottles, dental flossers, cotton swabs and even
nappies.

Abby Drake, a true nature lover who plogs many times a week, says, “In the pile
of trash I collected on a 2 kilometres run near my flat, almost every 30 metres,
15 I found a beer can. It was like an Easter egg hunt.” She has now been plogging
for two months after she saw a Facebook video about it. Like Lindberg, she posts
her plogging experience via Instagram. How often you plog, how much or what
type of trash you collect, and how you transport it is really up to you. Drake, for
example, tries to pick up every single piece of trash that she sees. “No piece of
20 trash is too small,” she says. “They all make a difference to our planet’s health.”

Other ploggers collect trash in smaller bags as they run and some will carry it in
their hands (or even clothes). Part of the trend’s beauty, say ploggers, is that it
is an easy way to make a direct impact in your community. “It has empowered
me not to feel as frustrated about litter,” adds Lindberg. “I cannot walk by it
25 anymore. It just takes a second to bend down and pick something up off the
ground.”

“Whether you plog once a week or once a

month, it makes a difference,” adds Drake. “It’s
my new motivation for running,” she
30 continues. “If I can do something that’s
good for my body and the environment, it gives
me an extra punch to get out and run that day.”

(Adapted from https://www.self.com)