The Reading / Listening - Tiny 'Kei' Cars - Level 6

A momentous change might be coming to American roads following a visit to Japan by U.S. President Donald Trump. America's ubiquitous, muscular SUVs may soon be usurped by a four-seater, 660 cc car that is hugely popular in Japan — the "kei car". President Trump seems to have developed a particular fondness for this miniature automobile. He wants to pave the way for kei cars to be manufactured in the USA. He wrote on his Truth Social website: "I have just approved tiny cars to be built in America. Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries." He added that the cars were "inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient, and quite simply, amazing".

In Japan, kei cars account for around a third of all new vehicle sales. They are ideally suited to the narrow streets of Japan's bustling, densely populated cities. However, legislation needs to be passed to make the cars road-legal in the USA. The website Quartz reported that: "Most kei cars don't clear federal rules, and there are lingering concerns that the vehicles are too small and slow to be driven safely…on highways." Trump has directed his Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, to remove all barriers to their production. Mr Duffy said: "If Toyota or any other company wants to make smaller, more affordable and fuel-efficient cars, we have cleared the deck so they can…sell them in America."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Tiny 'Kei' Cars - Level 4  or  Tiny 'Kei' Cars - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/12/04/companies/trump-kei-cars/
  • https://qz.com/trump-tiny-cars-kei-japan
  • https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-issues-order-start-producing-smaller-cars-11154208


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. TINY CARS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about tiny cars. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       momentous / change / American roads / SUVs / 650 cc cars / built in America / cars /
       vehicle sales / narrow streets / densely populated / barriers / fuel efficient / affordable
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. ENGINE SIZE LIMIT: Students A strongly believe all cars should be limited to a maximum engine size of 1000 cc; Students B strongly believe otherwise. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. CARS: What are the pros and cons of these cars? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Pros

Cons

Kei cars

 

 

Hybrids

 

 

SUVs

 

 

Sports cars

 

 

Limousines

 

 

Pickup Trucks

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. ROADS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "roads". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. JAPANESE THINGS: Rank these with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Kei cars
  • Origami
  • Manga
  • Matcha
  • Karaoke
  • Bullet trains
  • Capsule toys
  • Sushi

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. momentous a. People or companies that make products.
      2. ubiquitous b. Became more common than something else.
      3. usurped c. Very small; a tiny version of something.
      4. fondness d. Very important.
      5. miniature e. Help something happen later.
      6. pave the way f. Found or seen everywhere; very common.
      7. manufacturers g. A warm, happy feeling about someone or something.

    Paragraph 2

      8. account for h. Related to a country’s main government.
      9. bustling i. Staying (hanging around) for a long time; not going away.
      10. densely j. Removed things/obstacles to get ready for action or for something new.
      11. federal k. Full of activity and noise.
      12. lingering l. Something used to carry people or things, like a car or bus.
      13. vehicle m. With many people or things close together.
      14. cleared the deck n. Make up part of something; constitute.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The article said the USA is going to make its roads narrower.     T / F
  2. The maximum engine size of a Japanese kei car is 660 cc.     T / F
  3. President Donald Trump wants more pavements in the USA.     T / F
  4. Donald Trump said Japan's kei cars were "simply amazing".     T / F
  5. Around half of all new cars in Japan are kei cars.     T / F
  6. It is legal to drive kei cars on American highways.     T / F
  7. Donald Trump said he wants barriers removed on American roads.     T / F
  8. The US Transportation Secretary hopes the USA can sell kei cars.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. momentous
  2. ubiquitous
  3. usurped
  4. pave the way
  5. inexpensive
  6. suited
  7. legislation
  8. lingering
  9. concerns
  10. fuel-efficient
  1. remaining
  2. low-priced
  3. very common
  4. laws
  5. prepare for
  6. worries
  7. important
  8. matched
  9. economical
  10. took over

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. A momentous change
  2. America's ubiquitous, muscular
  3. a four-seater,
  4. developed a particular fondness
  5. safe, fuel efficient, and quite simply,
  6. kei cars account for around a third
  7. They are ideally suited
  8. legislation needs to be passed to
  9. there are lingering
  10. remove all barriers to their
  1. for this miniature automobile
  2. production
  3. of all new vehicle sales
  4. make the cars road-legal
  5. 660 cc car
  6. might be coming
  7. concerns
  8. amazing
  9. SUVs
  10. to the narrow streets

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
usurped
fondness
simply
coming
long
hugely
approved
pave

A momentous change might be (1) _________________________________ to American roads following a visit to Japan by U.S. President Donald Trump. America's ubiquitous, muscular SUVs may soon be (2) _________________________________ by a four-seater, 660 cc car that is (3) _________________________________ popular in Japan — the "kei car". President Trump seems to have developed a particular (4) _________________________________ for this miniature automobile. He wants to (5) _________________________________ the way for kei cars to be manufactured in the USA. He wrote on his Truth Social website: "I have just (6) _________________________________ tiny cars to be built in America. Manufacturers have (7) _________________________________ wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries." He added that the cars were "inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient, and quite (8) _________________________________, amazing".

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
barriers
ideally
federal
deck
account
affordable
lingering
legal

In Japan, kei cars (9) _________________________________ for around a third of all new vehicle sales. They are (10) _________________________________ suited to the narrow streets of Japan's bustling, densely populated cities. However, legislation needs to be passed to make the cars road-(11) _________________________________ in the USA. The website Quartz reported that: "Most kei cars don't clear (12) _________________________________ rules, and there are (13) _________________________________ concerns that the vehicles are too small and slow to be driven safely...on highways." Trump has directed his Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, to remove all (14) _________________________________ to their production. Mr Duffy said: "If Toyota or any other company wants to make smaller, more (15) _________________________________ and fuel-efficient cars, we have cleared the (16) _________________________________ so they can...sell them in America."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  A momentous change might be coming ______
     a.  to American road
     b.  to American roadies
     c.  to American roadsters
     d.  to American roads
2)  America's ubiquitous, muscular SUVs may soon be usurped by ______
     a.  afford-seat
     b.  a four-sitar
     c.  afford-seater
     d.  a four-seater
3)  President Trump seems to have developed a particular ______
     a.  fondness for this
     b.  fondues for this
     c.  found ness for this
     d.  frond ness for this
4)  I have just approved tiny cars to be ______
     a.  built in America
     b.  built on America
     c.  building America
     d.  built tin America
5)  the cars were inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient, and ______
     a.  quite simple, amazing
     b.  quite simply, amazingly
     c.  quite simply, amazing
     d.  quiet simply, amazing

6)  In Japan, kei cars account for around a third of all ______
     a.  new vehicular sales
     b.  new vehicle sells
     c.  new vehicle sales
     d.  new vehicle sails
7)  ideally suited to the narrow streets of Japan's bustling, ______
     a.  densely populate it cities
     b.  densely populated cities
     c.  densely populating cities
     d.  dense populated cities
8)  there are lingering concerns that the vehicles are too small and slow to ______
     a.  be driven safety
     b.  been driven safely
     c.  be driven safely
     d.  be striven safely
9)  Trump has directed his Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, to ______
     a.  remove all barrier
     b.  removal barriers
     c.  remove all barriers
     d.  removal barrier
10)  make smaller, more affordable and fuel-efficient cars, we have ______
     a.  cleared the beck
     b.  cleared the deck
     c.  cleared the neck
     d.  cleared the peck

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

(1) _______________________________________________ might be coming to American roads following a visit to Japan by U.S. President Donald Trump. America's ubiquitous, muscular SUVs may soon (2) _______________________________________________ a four-seater, 660 cc car that is hugely popular in Japan — the "kei car". President Trump seems to have developed (3) _______________________________________________ for this miniature automobile. He wants to (4) _______________________________________________ for kei cars to be manufactured in the USA. He wrote on his Truth Social website: "I (5) _______________________________________________ tiny cars to be built in America. Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries." He added that the cars were "inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient, (6) _______________________________________________, amazing".

In Japan, kei cars (7) _______________________________________________ a third of all new vehicle sales. They are ideally suited to (8) _______________________________________________ of Japan's (9) _______________________________________________ cities. However, legislation needs to be passed to make the cars road-legal in the USA. The website Quartz reported that: "Most kei cars don't clear federal rules, and there (10) _______________________________________________ that the vehicles are too small and slow to be driven safely...on highways." Trump has directed his Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, to (11) _______________________________________________ to their production. Mr Duffy said: "If Toyota or any other company wants to make smaller, more affordable and fuel-efficient cars, we have (12) _______________________________________________ so they can...sell them in America."

Comprehension questions

  1. Where did President Trump go that sparked his interest in kei cars?
  2. What is the engine size of the kei cars?
  3. What has President Trump developed?
  4. On what platform did President Trump write about the kei cars?
  5. What did President Trump say car makers have long wanted to do?
  6. How many of Japan's new vehicle sales are kei cars?
  7. What in Japan are kei cars suited to?
  8. What kind of concerns are there about kei cars in the USA?
  9. What did President Trump ask the Transportation Secretary to remove?
  10. What did the US Transportation Secretary say has been cleared?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  Where did President Trump go that sparked his interest in kei cars?
a) an F1 track
b) Japan
c) a factory
d) Paris
2) What is the engine size of the kei cars?
a) 999 cc
b) 666 cc
c) 1000 cc
d) 660 cc
3) What has President Trump developed?
a) a fondness for kei cars
b) a new fuel
c) a Trump kei car
d) a new market
4) On what platform did President Trump write about the kei cars?
a) X
b) Substack
c) Truth Social
d) Reddit
5) What did President Trump say car makers have long wanted to do?
a) reduce the size of their engines
b) make kei cars
c) sell cars in Japan
d) make fuel-efficient cars

6) How many of Japan's new vehicle sales are kei cars?
a) around two-thirds
b) around a half
c) around a third
d) around three-quarters
7) What in Japan are kei cars suited to?
a) mountains
b) travelling long distances
c) parking
d) narrow streets
8) What kind of concerns are there about kei cars in the USA?
a) lingering concerns
b) serious concerns
c) mild concerns
d) legitimate concerns
9) What did President Trump ask the Transportation Secretary to remove?
a) barriers
b) road tolls
c) car taxes
d) fuel duties
10) What did the US Transportation Secretary say has been cleared?
a) legislation
b) the decks
c) the roads
d) traffic jams

Role play

Role  A – Kei Cars
You think kei cars are the best Japanese things. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): manga, matcha or karaoke.

Role  B – Manga
You think manga is the best Japanese thing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): kei cars, matcha or karaoke.

Role  C – Matcha
You think matcha is the best Japanese thing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): manga, kei cars or karaoke.

Role  D – Karaoke
You think karaoke is the best Japanese thing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): manga, matcha or kei cars.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'tiny'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'cars'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • momentous
    • muscular
    • fondness
    • approved
    • wanted
    • safe
    • account
    • ideally
    • passed
    • slow
    • other
    • deck

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Tiny 'Kei' Cars

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'SUV'?
    3. What do you think of cars?
    4. What do you think of SUVs and other large cars?
    5. Are smaller or larger cars best?
    6. What are the roads like in your country?
    7. What do you think of the four-seater, 660 cc kei car?
    8. How would you like to change roads in your country?
    9. Should we limit the engine size of cars?
    10. Do you think Americans will like tiny cars?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'car'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Should large cars be banned in cities?
    5. How can we encourage people to buy tiny cars?
    6. What are the safety concerns regarding tiny cars?
    7. What do you think of Japanese cars?
    8. What's your favourite car?
    9. What will cars be like in 20 years from now?
    10. What questions would you like to ask a kei car manufacturer?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    A (1) ____ change might be coming to American roads following a visit to Japan by U.S. President Donald Trump. America's (2) ____, muscular SUVs may soon be (3) ____ by a four-seater, 660 cc car that is hugely popular in Japan — the "kei car". President Trump seems to have developed a particular (4) ____ for this miniature automobile. He wants to pave the way for kei cars to be manufactured in the USA. He wrote on his Truth Social website: "I have (5) ____ approved tiny cars to be built in America. Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries." He added that the cars were "inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient, and quite simply, (6) ____".

    In Japan, kei cars account (7) ____ around a third of all new vehicle sales. They are ideally suited to the narrow streets of Japan's (8) ____, densely populated cities. However, legislation needs to be passed to make the cars road-legal in the USA. The website Quartz reported that: "Most kei cars don't (9) ____ federal rules, and there are lingering concerns that the vehicles are too small and slow to be driven safely...on highways." Trump has directed his Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, to remove (10) ____ barriers to their production. Mr Duffy said: "If Toyota or any other company wants to make smaller, more (11) ____ and fuel-efficient cars, we have cleared the (12) ____ so they can...sell them in America."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     moment     (b)     memento     (c)     momentous     (d)     momentarily    
    2. (a)     ubiquitous     (b)     ubiquity     (c)     oblique     (d)     antiquity    
    3. (a)     usurped     (b)     usurps     (c)     usurping     (d)     usurp    
    4. (a)     fondness     (b)     fond     (c)     fondling     (d)     fondue    
    5. (a)     adjust     (b)     just     (c)     justice     (d)     justly    
    6. (a)     amazement     (b)     amazingly     (c)     amazed     (d)     amazing    
    7. (a)     at     (b)     to     (c)     for     (d)     by    
    8. (a)     hustling     (b)     basting     (c)     bursting     (d)     bustling    
    9. (a)     clear     (b)     adhere     (c)     clarity     (d)     clean    
    10. (a)     tall     (b)     all     (c)     every     (d)     whole    
    11. (a)     afford     (b)     affordable     (c)     afforded     (d)     affords    
    12. (a)     cards     (b)     gantry     (c)     deck     (d)     patio

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. A temnmsoou change might be coming
    2. America's tuquibuiso, muscular SUVs
    3. euurpds by a four-seater, 660 cc car
    4. nmetiiuar automobile
    5. fmcauterunsar have long wanted to do this
    6. fuel cfifitnee

    Paragraph 2

    1. a third of all new lcheeiv sales
    2. Japan's unsglitb, densely populated cities
    3. taieilglons needs to be passed
    4. edaferl rules
    5. there are gnigrienl concerns
    6. more aodffaelrb

    Put the text back together

    (  1  )   A momentous change might be coming to American roads following a visit to Japan
    (    )   affordable and fuel-efficient cars, we have cleared the deck so they can...sell them in America."
    (    )   by U.S. President Donald Trump. America's ubiquitous, muscular SUVs may soon be usurped by a four-
    (    )   fondness for this miniature automobile. He wants to pave the way for kei cars to be
    (    )   In Japan, kei cars account for around a third of all new vehicle sales. They are ideally
    (    )   manufactured in the USA. He wrote on his Truth Social website: "I have just approved
    (    )   passed to make the cars road-legal in the USA. The website Quartz reported that: "Most kei cars don't clear federal
    (    )   rules, and there are lingering concerns that the vehicles are too small and slow to be driven
    (    )   safely...on highways." Trump has directed his Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, to remove all barriers
    (    )   seater, 660 cc car that is hugely popular in Japan — the "kei car". President Trump seems to have developed a particular
    (    )   successfully built in other countries." He added that the cars were "inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient, and quite simply, amazing".
    (    )   suited to the narrow streets of Japan's bustling, densely populated cities. However, legislation needs to be
    (    )   tiny cars to be built in America. Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so
    (    )   to their production. Mr Duffy said: "If Toyota or any other company wants to make smaller, more

    Put the words in the right order

    1. change   Momentous   be   might   to   coming   roads   American   .
    2. Developed  particular   a   for   fondness  miniature   this   automobile  .
    3. wants   He   pave   to   way   the   keis   for   .
    4. Approved   cars   tiny   America   be   to   in   built   .
    5. that   added   cars   the   inexpensive   were   .   He
    6. Around   third   a   all   of   vehicle   new   sales   .
    7. are   They   suited   ideally   the   to   streets   narrow   .
    8. Most   cars   kei   clear   don't   rules   federal   .
    9. Lingering   that   concerns   vehicles   the   too   are   small   .
    10. the   Cleared   so   deck   can   they   them   sell   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A momentous change might be going / coming to American roads following a visit to Japan by U.S. President Donald Trump. America's ubiquity / ubiquitous, muscular SUVs may soon be usurped / subbed by a four-seater, 660 cc car that is hugely popular / popularity in Japan — the "kei car". President Trump seems to have developed a particular fond / fondness for this miniature automobile. He wants to pave / pavement the way for kei cars to be manufactured in the USA. He wrote on his Truth Social website: "I have just approved tinny / tiny cars to be built in America. Manufacturers have long / longing wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries." He added that the cars were "inexpensive, safety / safe, fuel efficient, and quite simply, amazingly / amazing".

    In Japan, kei cars account to / for around a third of all new vehicle sales. They are ideally / ideal suited to the narrow streets of Japan's bursting / bustling, densely populated cities. However, legislation / legislative needs to be passed to make the cars road-legal in the USA. The website Quartz reported that: "Most kei cars don't clear federally / federal rules, and there are lingering / lingered concerns that the vehicles are too small and slow to be driven safely...on highways." Trump has produced / directed his Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, to remove every / all barriers to their production. Mr Duffy said: "If Toyota or many / any other company wants to make smaller, more affordable and fuel-efficient cars, we have cleared the deck so / that they can...sell them in America."

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    _  m_m_nt__s  ch_ng_  m_ght  b_  c_m_ng  t_  _m_r_c_n  r__ds  f_ll_w_ng  _  v_s_t  t_  J_p_n  by  _.S.  Pr_s_d_nt  D_n_ld  Tr_mp.  _m_r_c_'s  _b_q__t__s,  m_sc_l_r  S_Vs  m_y  s__n  b_  _s_rp_d  by  _  f__r-s__t_r,  660  cc  c_r  th_t  _s  h_g_ly  p_p_l_r  _n  J_p_n  —  th_  "k__  c_r".  Pr_s_d_nt  Tr_mp  s__ms  t_  h_v_  d_v_l_p_d  _  p_rt_c_l_r  f_ndn_ss  f_r  th_s  m_n__t_r_  __t_m_b_l_.  H_  w_nts  t_  p_v_  th_  w_y  f_r  k__  c_rs  t_  b_  m_n_f_ct_r_d  _n  th_  _S_.  H_  wr_t_  _n  h_s  Tr_th  S_c__l  w_bs_t_:  "_  h_v_  j_st  _ppr_v_d  t_ny  c_rs  t_  b_  b__lt  _n  _m_r_c_.  M_n_f_ct_r_rs  h_v_  l_ng  w_nt_d  t_  d_  th_s,  j_st  l_k_  th_y  _r_  s_  s_cc_ssf_lly  b__lt  _n  _th_r  c__ntr__s."  H_  _dd_d  th_t  th_  c_rs  w_r_  "_n_xp_ns_v_,  s_f_,  f__l  _ff_c__nt,  _nd  q__t_  s_mply,  _m_z_ng".

    _n  J_p_n,  k__  c_rs  _cc__nt  f_r  _r__nd  _  th_rd  _f  _ll  n_w  v_h_cl_  s_l_s.  Th_y  _r_  _d__lly  s__t_d  t_  th_  n_rr_w  str__ts  _f  J_p_n's  b_stl_ng,  d_ns_ly  p_p_l_t_d  c_t__s.  H_w_v_r,  l_g_sl_t__n  n__ds  t_  b_  p_ss_d  t_  m_k_  th_  c_rs  r__d-l_g_l  _n  th_  _S_.  Th_  w_bs_t_  Q__rtz  r_p_rt_d  th_t:  "M_st  k__  c_rs  d_n't  cl__r  f_d_r_l  r_l_s,  _nd  th_r_  _r_  l_ng_r_ng  c_nc_rns  th_t  th_  v_h_cl_s  _r_  t__  sm_ll  _nd  sl_w  t_  b_  dr_v_n  s_f_ly..._n  h_ghw_ys."  Tr_mp  h_s  d_r_ct_d  h_s  Tr_nsp_rt_t__n  S_cr_t_ry,  S__n  D_ffy,  t_  r_m_v_  _ll  b_rr__rs  t_  th__r  pr_d_ct__n.  Mr  D_ffy  s__d:  "_f  T_y_t_  _r  _ny  _th_r  c_mp_ny  w_nts  t_  m_k_  sm_ll_r,  m_r_  _ff_rd_bl_  _nd  f__l-_ff_c__nt  c_rs,  w_  h_v_  cl__r_d  th_  d_ck  s_  th_y  c_n...s_ll  th_m  _n  _m_r_c_."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a momentous change might be coming to american roads following a visit to japan by us president donald trump americas ubiquitous muscular suvs may soon be usurped by a four seater 660 cc car that is hugely popular in japan the kei car president trump seems to have developed a particular fondness for this miniature automobile he wants to pave the way for kei cars to be manufactured in the usa he wrote on his truth social website i have just approved tiny cars to be built in america manufacturers have long wanted to do this just like they are so successfully built in other countries he added that the cars were inexpensive safe fuel efficient and quite simply amazing

    in japan kei cars account for around a third of all new vehicle sales they are ideally suited to the narrow streets of japans bustling densely populated cities however legislation needs to be passed to make the cars road legal in the usa the website quartz reported that most kei cars dont clear federal rules and there are lingering concerns that the vehicles are too small and slow to be driven safely on highways trump has directed his transportation secretary sean duffy to remove all barriers to their production mr duffy said if toyota or any other company wants to make smaller more affordable and fuel efficient cars we have cleared the deck so they can sell them in america

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    AmomentouschangemightbecomingtoAmericanroadsfollowingavisi
    ttoJapanbyU.S.PresidentDonaldTrump.America'subiquitous,muscu
    larSUVsmaysoonbeusurpedbyafour-seater,660cccarthatishugelyp
    opularinJapan—the"keicar".PresidentTrumpseemstohavedevelope
    daparticularfondnessforthisminiatureautomobile.Hewantstopaveth
    ewayforkeicarstobemanufacturedintheUSA.HewroteonhisTruthSoci
    alwebsite:"IhavejustapprovedtinycarstobebuiltinAmerica.Manufact
    urershavelongwantedtodothis,justliketheyaresosuccessfullybuiltin
    othercountries."Headdedthatthecarswere"inexpensive,safe,fueleffi
    cient,andquitesimply,amazing".InJapan,keicarsaccountforarounda
    thirdofallnewvehiclesales.Theyareideallysuitedtothenarrowstreetso
    fJapan'sbustling,denselypopulatedcities.However,legislationneedst
    obepassedtomakethecarsroad-legalintheUSA.ThewebsiteQuartzre
    portedthat:"Mostkeicarsdon'tclearfederalrules,andtherearelingerin
    gconcernsthatthevehiclesaretoosmallandslowtobedrivensafely...on
    highways."TrumphasdirectedhisTransportationSecretary,SeanDuff
    y,toremoveallbarrierstotheirproduction.MrDuffysaid:"IfToyotaoran
    yothercompanywantstomakesmaller,moreaffordableandfuel-efficie
    ntcars,wehaveclearedthedecksotheycan...selltheminAmerica."

    Free writing

    Write about tiny kei cars for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    There is no need for car engines to be more powerful than 1,000 cc.  Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. TINY CARS: Make a poster about tiny cars. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. ENGINE SIZE: Write a magazine article about limiting all car engines to a maximum of 1,000 cc. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on tiny cars. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on tiny cars. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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