Close reading: a comic strip on utes

Today we are exploring a comic strip about the growth of utes in New Zealand in the last decade.  

1. Read this article
2. Make a google doc in your English folder.  Copy the questions from here and add your answers in.  
3. Answer the questions thoughtfully and with supporting detail.  This task is preparation for our reading comprehension test next week, and for the unfamiliar texts exam that you will all sit next year.
4. The title of this article uses alliteration.  Copy the title and explain why you think the author chose this title - what ideas did Morris want to suggest to us?
5. Explain what a double cab ute is in your own words.
6. Who is speaking in the green image below?  [The idea of a 'nuclear-free moment' is a reference to when Labour Primer Minister David Lange declared New Zealand a nuclear free zone in 1987.  It made New Zeakand famous at the time.]
   
   
   
   
7. Do you think Aucklanders have a big need for utes?  Give examples/evidence to support your answer.
8. List the top five selling vehicles in 2010.
9. List the top five selling vehicles in 2020.
10. Why do you think there has been such a change in patterns of buying vehicles?
11. Describe the link between climate change and driving larger vehicles, in your own words.
12. Who is Greta Thunberg and what is she famous for doing?
13. Looking at the image above, is the author saying that builders, plumbers and mechanics are the cause of the explosion in sales of large utes?  Give examples and evidence to support your answer.
14. Find an example of an advertisement on the internet that suggests that driving a large ute will reconnect you to nature.  Copy it into your document, and explain in your own words how the advertisement is suggesting that you will feel more connected to the outdoors if you buy/drive their vehicle.
    
    
    
    
    
    
15. Describe the safety issues caused by large utes.
16. What is a tax loophole?  Do you think the tax loophole described in this article is okay?
17. What do you think "disconnect between our intentions and actions" means?
18. In your opinion, are large utes a menace or a wonderful vehicle?  Write 1-2 paragraphs persuading me of your point of view.