Fill the gaps by using these key words from the text

Guardian Weekly 
©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 
Taken from the News section in
www.onestopenglish.com 

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Choose the best answer for each question: 
Why are SUVs controversial? 
Because they are big. 
Because they are like military vehicles. 
Because they are more damaging to the environment than smaller cars. 
What does Adam Weinstock do? 
He’s a parking attendant.
He tries to draw attention to the damage caused by SUVs. 
He damages private property. 
What is Ron DeFore’s advice
to the environmentalists? 
Hire a private detective. 
Choose your own vehicle. 
Stop complaining. 
Why did Hummer drivers regard their choice of vehicle as patriotic? 
Because US soldiers drove Hummers during the war in Iraq. 
Because they are large military vehicles. 
Because they don’t like environmentalists.
How much more fuel does an SUV use compared to an ordinary car? 
100% 
About 40% 
4.5% 
©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 
Taken from the News section in
www.onestopenglish.com 

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Find words in the text which are the opposites of these words: 
1. poor 
____________ 
2. genuine 
____________ 
3. civilian 
____________ 
4. public 
____________ 
5. heavy 
____________ 
6. unsuccessful 
____________ 
7. tiny 
____________ 
8. expensive 
____________ 
Fill the gaps using an appropriate preposition: 
Environmentalists are going to war ________ SUVs. 
Some streets in New York are full ________ SUVs. 
Ron DeFore wants environmentalists thrown ________ jail. 
He is tired ________ them criticising SUV owners. 
SUVs have a reputation ________ using a lot of fuel. 
Some people say SUV drivers do not care ________ the environment. 
________ comparison with other vehicles, SUVs use a lot of fuel. 
Higher fuel consumption makes a big difference ________ the environment. 
Should people be allowed to drive vehicles that use large quantities of fuel? 
Make a list of points for and against driving SUVs. 
©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 
Taken from the News section in
www.onestopenglish.com 

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©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 
Taken from the News section in
www.onestopenglish.com 

---

What does SUV stand for? 
Super Useful Vehicle 
Sports Utility Vehicle 
Safe Use Vehicle 
Why are environmentalists opposed to SUVs? 
They are only owned by rich people. 
They consume much more fuel than ordinary cars. 
They take up a lot of space in cities. 
Why do many Americans defend the use of SUVs? 
They believe people should be free to choose the type of car they drive. 
They regard buying an SUV as a patriotic act. 
They don’t care how much fuel they use.
Now look in the text and check your answers. 
Match the following idiomatic expressions used in the text with their meanings. 
1. gas-guzzling 
a. a play on words meaning 
“unpleasant cars”
2. bete noire 
b. filling a space completely; everywhere 
3. axles of evil 
c. fanatical environmentalists 
4. hot-button issue 
d. using a huge amount of fuel 
5. Gotham 
e. the favourite target for activists or protesters 
6. envirocrazies 
f. a very controversial topic 
7. wall-to-wall 
g. another name for New York City, derived from the city in the 
Batman movies 
©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 
Taken from the News section in
www.onestopenglish.com 

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Axles of evil 
Arnold Schwarzenegger has 
five. Mike Tyson has four. 
And they account for a third 
of all car sales in the US. But 
now environmentalists are 
going to war against the SUV. 
It's Tuesday night on the Upper 
West Side in New York and 
Adam Weinstock has his work 
cut out. As we turn the corner 
on 68th and Lexington, an 
entire block of sports utility 
vehicles awaits him. Half car, 
half truck they have names like 
Navigators, Excursions, 
Expeditions, Pathfinders, 
Cherokees and Escalades - 
names designed to evoke the 
great outdoors parked in the 
wealthy heart of densely 
packed Gotham. Weinstock 
approaches each one with a 
critical eye. "You'll notice the 
front grilles," he says, pointing 
to the bars framing the 
bumper. "They're particularly 
important for all the trees 
you're going to run into when 
riding around New York City." 
And then he slaps them with a 
fake parking ticket. "Violation: 
Earth," it says. "Open your 
eyes, take a few deep breaths, 
and get honest with yourself . . 
. Why do you 
need such a huge car? This 
is not a militarized zone." 
Ron DeFore, the 
communications director of 
SUV Owners of America 
(SUVOA), says if anyone like 
Weinstock touched his SUV 
(what others call a four-wheel 
drive or off-road vehicle), he 
would "hire a private 
investigator, track that animal 
down and get them put in jail 
for defacement of personal 
property". He is tired of 
"envirocrazies" giving 
Americans a hard time for 
their vehicle choice and 
believes their arguments 
about the environment and 
safety are bogus. His 
message to them? "Get on 
with your life and stop 
bitching." 
The SUV is all the rage. Along 
with its even bigger, uglier, 
warlike cousin, the Hummer, it 
makes up almost a third of all 
the cars sold in America. It has 
made "light trucks" the most 
successful category the US 
car industry has ever known 
and one of the most profitable. 
Indeed its popularity is 
matched only by the 
controversy it provokes. Its 
gas-guzzling reputation has 
made it the