Cambridge IELTS 5 · Academic · Test 4 · Passage 1
The Impact Of Wilderness Tourism — IELTS Reading Answers
All 13 answers for The Impact Of Wilderness Tourism, Cambridge IELTS 5 Academic Reading Test 4 Passage 1, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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The Impact Of Wilderness Tourism answer key at a glance
Questions 1–13. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Matching Headings (Q1–3), Yes / No / Not Given (Q4–9), Table Completion (Q10–13). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 1–3: Matching Headings
Strategy: Read the paragraph first and summarise its main idea in five words. Choose the heading that matches the whole paragraph, not a repeated keyword.
Section A
“The three most significant types of fragile environment in these respects, and also in terms of the proportion of the Earth's surface they cover, are deserts, mountains and Arctic areas Tourists are drawn to these regions by their natural landscape beauty and the unique cultures of their indigenous people”
Section A identifies deserts, mountains and Arctic areas as the three most significant fragile environments that attract tourists — heading iii.
Section B
“Once a location is established as a main tourist destination, the effects on the local community are profound The physical impact of visitors is another serious problem associated with the growth in adventure tourism”
Section B says effects on the local community 'are profound' and describes the 'physical impact of visitors' as another serious problem — heading v.
Section C
“Instead, 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”
Section C argues communities 'must achieve greater control over tourism ventures' to balance their needs with tourism's demands — heading ii.
Questions 4–9: Yes / No / Not Given
Strategy: These test the writer's opinions, not facts. Look for evaluative language, and treat 'may' or 'could' as weaker than the question's claim.
The low financial cost of setting up wilderness tourism makes it attractive to many countries.
“Countries all across the world are actively promoting their 'wilderness' regions - such as mountains, Arctic lands, deserts, small islands and wetlands - to high-spending tourists. The attraction of these areas is obvious: by definition, wilderness tourism requires little or no initial investment”
Wilderness tourism 'requires little or no initial investment', which is exactly what makes it attractive to countries.
Deserts, mountains and Arctic regions are examples of environments that are both ecologically and culturally fragile.
“As the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development recognized, these regions are fragile (i.e. highly vulnerable to abnormal pressures) not just in terms of their ecology, but also in terms of the culture of their inhabitants.”
These regions are fragile 'not just in terms of their ecology, but also in terms of the culture of their inhabitants', including deserts, mountains and Arctic areas.
Wilderness tourism operates throughout the year 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”
Tourism is limited to 'quite clearly defined parts of the year' because of marked seasonality, so it does not operate year-round.
The spread of tourism in certain hill-regions has resulted in a fall in the amount of food produced locally.
“In some hill-regions, this has led to a serious decline in farm output and a change in the local diet, because there is insufficient labour to maintain terraces and irrigation systems and tend to crops”
In some hill-regions tourism led to 'a serious decline in farm output' and a changed local diet due to insufficient labour.
Traditional food-gathering in desert societies was distributed evenly over the year.
“In Arctic and desert societies, year-round survival has traditionally depended on hunting animals and fish and collecting fruit over a relatively short season”
Desert and Arctic societies collected fruit 'over a relatively short season', not evenly across the year, so gathering was not evenly distributed.
Government handouts do more damage than tourism does to traditional patterns of food-gathering.
“Tourism is not always the culprit behind such changes. All kinds of wage labour, or government handouts, tend to undermine traditional survival systems”
Tourism, wage labour and government handouts are said to undermine traditional systems, but no comparison of the damage they do is made.
Questions 10–13: Table Completion
Strategy: Work row by row. The row label tells you where to look; the column heading tells you what kind of word you need.
“There has also been a renaissance in communal cheese production in the area, providing the locals with a reliable source of income that does not depend on outside visitors”
The table needs the product of the revived communal enterprise: 'a renaissance in communal cheese production' provides reliable local income.
“But some Arctic communities are now operating tour businesses themselves, thereby ensuring that the benefits accrue locally”
The table needs the business Arctic communities now run: 'some Arctic communities are now operating tour businesses themselves'.
“The Acoma and San Ildefonso pueblos have established highly profitable pottery businesses, while the Navajo and Hopi groups have been similarly successful with jewellery”
The table needs the Acoma and San Ildefonso product: they 'established highly profitable pottery businesses'.
“The Acoma and San Ildefonso pueblos have established highly profitable pottery businesses, while the Navajo and Hopi groups have been similarly successful with jewellery”
The table needs the Navajo and Hopi product: they 'have been similarly successful with jewellery'.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the The Impact Of Wilderness Tourism passage come from?
It is Passage 1 of Cambridge IELTS 5 Academic Reading Test 4, and it covers Questions 1–13.
What question types appear in The Impact Of Wilderness Tourism?
The passage is tested with Matching Headings, Yes / No / Not Given, Table Completion. Each type is explained on this page, alongside the answers.
Are these reading answers reliable?
Every answer is paired with the sentence that proves it, so you can check each one against the passage yourself. Use the page after a timed attempt, not instead of one.
Cambridge IELTS is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Band9Prep is not affiliated with Cambridge. This page is an independent study aid: it gives the answer key, the passage evidence and an explanation so you can review an attempt you have already made.