The Impact of Wilderness Tourism: reading answers and analysis
Remote, fragile regions such as deserts, mountains and Arctic areas are marketing themselves to adventure tourists. Tourism there disrupts farming, food-gathering, forests and water supplies. But some communities in the Alps, Alaska and the American Southwest show that local control can turn tourism into a benefit.
Each heading (1-3) covers a whole long section. The YES / NO / NOT GIVEN block (4-9) runs through A and then B in order. The table (10-13) follows the examples in C in order.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: The sections are long, so read each one for its overall direction: A sets up the regions and why tourism is growing, B lists the damage, C turns to solutions. Several headings match only a single detail.
Question 1
Answer: iiiSection A
Which heading fits section A?
these regions are fragile (i.e. highly vulnerable to abnormal pressures)… Tourists are drawn to these regions by their natural landscape beauty and the unique cultures of their indigenous people.
Question says → Passage says
Fragile regionsthese regions are fragile / The three most significant types of fragile environment
the reasons for the expansion of tourism thereThe market for tourism in remote areas is booming / requires little or no initial investment / grateful for the hard currency they bring
Why: iii. Section A does two jobs: it defines fragile environments (deserts, mountains, Arctic areas) and explains why tourism there is booming: low set-up cost, beautiful landscapes, unique cultures, and governments wanting hard currency.
The trap: i, the expansion of international tourism, matches the first sentence only. A is about remote, fragile areas specifically, not tourism in general. vi fails because A is about adventure tourism, not mass tourism.
Question 2
Answer: vSection B
Which heading fits section B?
Once a location is established as a main tourist destination, the effects on the local community are profound.
Question says → Passage says
disruptive effectsthe effects on the local community are profound / serious decline in farm output / The physical impact of visitors is another serious problem
Why: v. B lists problems: farmers leaving their fields, a changed diet, dependence on bought food, trail erosion, deforestation and pressure on water. All of these disrupt local life.
The trap: iv, traditional methods of food supply, fits one part: hunting, fishing and gathering in Arctic and desert societies. But B mentions them only to show how tourism disrupts them. It's a detail, not the whole section.
Question 3
Answer: iiSection C, last part
Which heading fits section C?
communities in fragile environments must achieve greater control over tourism ventures in their regions, in order to balance their needs and aspirations with the demands of tourism
Question says → Passage says
How local communities can balance their own needs with the demandsbalance their needs and aspirations with the demands of tourism
Why: ii. C turns positive: the Swiss Alps, Alaska and the American Southwest are examples of communities controlling tourism. The section's conclusion almost repeats the heading word for word.
The trap: vi, economic benefits, is tempting because the pottery and jewellery businesses are 'highly profitable'. But they're examples of local control, and the tourism here isn't mass tourism.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 4-9
How to attack this block: The NOs are about timing: tourism is limited to parts of the year, and food was gathered over a short season. The NOT GIVEN asks you to compare two causes the writer lists side by side without ranking.
Question 4
Answer: YESSection A, second and third sentences
Does the low start-up cost make wilderness tourism appealing to many countries?
Countries all across the world are actively promoting their 'wilderness' regions… The attraction of these areas is obvious: by definition, wilderness tourism requires little or no initial investment.
Question says → Passage says
low financial cost of setting uplittle or no initial investment
attractive to many countriesThe attraction of these areas is obvious / Countries all across the world are actively promoting
Why: YES. 'Little or no initial investment' is a low set-up cost, and the writer says this is the obvious attraction for countries all over the world.
The trap: 'But that does not mean that there is no cost' comes next and can make you hesitate. That's about other costs (ecological and cultural), not the financial set-up.
Question 5
Answer: YESSection A, fifth and sixth sentences
Are deserts, mountains and Arctic areas fragile both ecologically and culturally?
these regions are fragile… not just in terms of their ecology, but also in terms of the culture of their inhabitants. The three most significant types of fragile environment in these respects… are deserts, mountains and Arctic areas.
Question says → Passage says
both ecologically and culturally fragilenot just in terms of their ecology, but also in terms of the culture
Why: YES. 'In these respects' points back to ecology and culture, and the three types named are deserts, mountains and Arctic areas.
Question 6
Answer: NOSection A, middle
Does wilderness tourism run all year round in fragile areas?
An important characteristic is their marked seasonality, with harsh conditions prevailing for many months each year. Consequently, most human activities, including tourism, are limited to quite clearly defined parts of the year.
Question says → Passage says
operates throughout the yearlimited to quite clearly defined parts of the year
Why: NO. Tourism is limited to certain parts of the year because of the harsh seasons. That contradicts 'throughout the year'.
Question 7
Answer: YESSection B, second and third sentences
Has tourism caused local food production to drop in some hill-regions?
In some hill-regions, this has led to a serious decline in farm output and a change in the local diet
Question says → Passage says
a fall in the amount of food produced locallya serious decline in farm output
The spread of tourismworking as porters for foreign trekkers
Why: YES. Farmers leave for better-paid portering work, and with too few people to tend crops, farm output falls. 'This' links the decline directly to tourism.
The trap: 'Tourism is not always the culprit' appears later in B and makes some people say NO. That sentence widens the blame; it doesn't deny tourism caused the hill-region decline.
Question 8
Answer: NOSection B, fifth sentence
Was traditional food-gathering in deserts spread evenly across the year?
year-round survival has traditionally depended on hunting animals and fish and collecting fruit over a relatively short season
Question says → Passage says
Traditional food-gatheringtraditionally depended on hunting animals and fish and collecting fruit
distributed evenly over the yearover a relatively short season
Why: NO. Food was collected over a short season to last the whole year. Short and seasonal is the opposite of evenly spread.
The trap: 'Year-round survival' contains the idea of the whole year, which tempts people to say YES. It's the survival that lasts all year, not the gathering.
Question 9
Answer: NOT GIVENSection B, middle
Do government handouts harm traditional food-gathering more than tourism?
Tourism is not always the culprit behind such changes. All kinds of wage labour, or government handouts, tend to undermine traditional survival systems.
Question says → Passage says
Government handoutsgovernment handouts
traditional patterns of food-gatheringtraditional survival systems
Why: NOT GIVEN. The writer says handouts also undermine traditional systems, but never compares the amount of damage with tourism.
The trap: 'Tourism is not always the culprit' suggests other causes matter, which can push you to YES. But 'also a cause' isn't 'a bigger cause'.
Table completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 10-13
How to attack this block: The names in the table lead you straight to each example in C. Each answer is one product or business type. Spelling counts, especially for jewellery.
Question 10
Answer: cheeseSection C, middle
What did the Pays d'Enhaut community start producing again?
There has also been a renaissance in communal cheese production in the area
Question says → Passage says
Revived production ofa renaissance in communal… production
Why: 'Renaissance' means revival, and what was revived was cheese production. One word only.
The trap: 'Second home developments' are in the sentence before, but they were limited, not revived.
Question 11
Answer: tourismSection C, middle
Also accepted: tourist / tour
What kind of businesses do some Arctic communities now run?
But some Arctic communities are now operating tour businesses themselves, thereby ensuring that the benefits accrue locally.
Question says → Passage says
Arctic communities - Operatesome Arctic communities are now operating
Why: The passage word is 'tour', and the key also accepts 'tourism' or 'tourist'. It's an adjective-like noun in front of 'businesses'.
The trap: 'Air' from the Alaskan 'air tour' example is too narrow. The table wants the general type of business.
Question 12
Answer: potterySection C, later part
What do the Acoma and San Ildefonso pueblos make and sell?
The Acoma and San Ildefonso pueblos have established highly profitable pottery businesses
Question says → Passage says
Produce and sellhighly profitable… businesses
Why: The names in the table lead you straight to the sentence, and the product is pottery.
The trap: 'Handicrafts' and 'artwork' come in the sentence before as the general category. The table wants the specific product for these two pueblos.
Question 13
Answer: jewellerySection C, later part
Also accepted: jewelry
What do the Navajo and Hopi groups make and sell?
while the Navajo and Hopi groups have been similarly successful with jewellery
Question says → Passage says
Produce and sellsimilarly successful with
Why: 'Similarly successful' links them to the pottery businesses, and their product is jewellery. The American spelling 'jewelry' is also accepted.
The trap: Spelling is the trap here: 'jewellery' has double l in British English. A misspelling loses the mark.
NO. 'Year-round survival' depended on gathering over a short season, so food-gathering wasn't spread evenly.
Words from this passage worth keeping
fragile(A)
easily damaged
seasonality(A)
changing strongly with the seasons
indigenous(A)
originally living in a place
profound(B)
very great or deep
undermine(B)
gradually weaken
legion(C)
very many
reinvigorating(C)
giving new energy and strength to
accrue(C)
build up or come to someone over time
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The full Cambridge 5 Test 4 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 5, Test 4, Reading Passage 1. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
