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Tourism Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

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Updated on Jul 02, 2024, 11:57

In the IELTS Reading section, your reading comprehension skills are rigorously tested. Lasting for 60 minutes, this segment comprises three passages, each accompanied by a series of questions in various formats like multiple choice, matching headings, and True/False/Not Given. Success in this section hinges on your ability to grasp key information, discern main ideas, and infer meaning from context.

 

To ace the IELTS Reading section, adopt effective reading strategies such as skimming for main ideas and scanning for specific details. Regular practice with sample questions and exposure to different question types will sharpen your skills for test day.

 

Prepare for an enlightening exploration of "The Evolution of Tourism," an insightful look into the factors that drive the growth and transformation of tourism worldwide. Delve into the historical development, economic impacts, and social dynamics that shape the tourism industry through engaging passages and accompanying questions. This will enrich your understanding of how tourism can be managed, promoted, and sustained in various regions.

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1. Tourism Reading Passage

You should spend approximately 20 minutes answering Questions 1 - 14 based on the Reading Passage below. This approach can help manage time effectively during a reading comprehension activity or exam. 

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2. Tourism Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Tourism

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1.

Tourism Reading Passage

General Information

  • Read Instructions: Understand each question before answering.
  • Manage Time: Spend about 20 minutes per passage.
  • Skim and Scan: Quickly get the main idea and find specific information.
  • Highlight Key Info: Underline essential words or phrases.
  • Answer All Questions: Attempt every question; no penalty for wrong answers.
  • Stay Focused: Avoid distractions and keep your attention on the task.
  • Check Spelling: Ensure correct spelling and grammar.
  • Transfer Answers Clearly: Write answers neatly on the answer sheet.
  • Don’t Dwell: Move on if stuck and return later.
  • Review: If time allows, review your answers.

 

 

 

 

Tourism Reading Passage


 

 

Paragraph A 
These days, tourism, holidays, and travel are the most important social concepts that most of commentators haven’t considered before. For a book, it is not a trivial subject where it does not involve any relevant facts in place. Since social scientists have considerable difficulty in explaining topics like work or politics, it might be thought that it will have much more difficulty in providing more trivial phenomena like holiday making. However, the study of deviance is an interesting counterpart. This contains an investigation of bizarre and idiosyncratic social practices which might be deviant in some societies. There is an assumption that the investigation of deviance will reveal some interesting facts about societies. It is said that a similar analysis can be conducted in tourism.

 

Paragraph B
Tourism is a leisure activity that is in contrast to regulated and organised work. It is an indication of how work and free time are separately categorised and regulated spheres of social activity in modern societies. The defined characteristics of tourism are being modern and a familiar concept of tourism is that it is organised within specific places and occurs for particular periods of time. The relationships between tourists start from the place they start their journey to staying in various places. The journey and the stay define that they visit other places of residence and work for a short term and enjoy nature. They have a clear intention of returning back to their home in a short period of time.

 

Paragraph C

A certain amount of the population of modern societies is involved in such tourist practices, thus new socialised forms have come into existence to deal with the huge character of the gazes of tourists, which is an opposite characteristic of the traveller. They choose the places to visit and gaze at because daydreaming on a different scale or involving different senses is intensely pleasurable compared to usual practices. Such activities are constructed and sustained in a variety of non-tourist practices such as films, television, literature, magazines, and videos, which create and reinforce daydreaming activities.

 

Paragraph D

Tourists usually visit the landscape and townscape features which detach them from the everyday experience. These aspects are taken into account because these activities are out of the ordinary. This view of tourist sights involves different forms of social pattern with high sensitivity to visual elements of landscape or townscape, which isn't found in everyday life. People stay longer in these sights which they would not do in their home environment. And they capture this vision in photographs, postcards, films, etc to create a memory which can be memorable after years.

 

Paragraph E

In the subject of tourism, one of the earliest studies is Boorstin's analysis of pseudo-events (1964) where he argues the contemporary. The reality cannot be experienced by Americans directly but they thrive on the pseudo-events. They get isolated from the local people, and host environment and the tourist travels in the groups and discover pleasure in inauthentic contrived attractions, gullibly cherishing the pseudo events and ignoring the outside world. The images of the different tourist destinations come to a self-perpetuating system of illusions that allows tourists to select the places to visit. Boorstin says that such visits make tourists familiar with the American-style hotel and doesn’t feel strange in the host environment.

 

Paragraph F

A group of professionals have come into the burgeoning tourist industry to service and reproduce the new objects for tourists to look at. These objects or places are placed in a complex and changing hierarchy. It depends on the interplay between the competition of interests involved in such objects and the change of class, gender and generational distinctions of taste within the visitor population. It has been said that to become a tourist, one needs to have the characteristics of modern experience. Travelling is a symbol of status in modern society, and it is also said that it is needed for good health. Thus the role of the professional is to cater for the needs and tastes of the tourists with their class and expectations.

2.

Tourism Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Tourism

Questions and Answers 1-6
  • The reading passage has six paragraphs, A-F.
  • Choose the correct heading for each paragraphs from the list of headings below
  • Write the correct number, i-x, for 1-6.

 

 

List of headings

 

i      Tourism cost

ii     Tourism and the politics involved in it

iii    Study of tourism justification

iv    Tourism and travel are in contrast

v     Modern Tourism essence

vi    Tourism vs leisure

vii   Artificiality in modern tourism

viii  Modern tour guides’ role

ix    Creation of alternative to everyday experience 

 

  1. Paragraph A
  2. Paragraph B
  3. Paragraph C
  4. Paragraph D
  5. Paragraph E
  6. Paragraph F

 

Tourism Reading Answers with Explanations (1-6)

 

Question Type:  Matching Headings

 

In a matching headings task, you are given a list of headings and a number of paragraphs or sections from the reading passage. Your job is to match each heading to the correct paragraph or section.
 

How to best answer the question:

 

  • Before diving into the paragraphs, read all the headings. 
  • Skim each paragraph to get a general sense of its content. 
  • Focus on the first and last sentences, as they often contain the main idea.
  • Look for keywords or phrases in the headings and try to find their synonyms or related concepts in the paragraphs.
  • The correct heading should encapsulate the overall idea of the paragraph.
  • If you’re unsure, eliminate headings that clearly don’t fit. 

 

 

1. Study of tourism justification

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph A

There is an assumption that the investigation of deviance will reveal some interesting facts about societies. It is said that in tourism, a similar analysis can be held.

 

Explanation

This statement explains how the study of deviance can be applied to tourism to uncover interesting societal facts.


 

2. Modern Tourism essence

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph B

It is an indication of how work and free time are separately categorised and regulated spheres of social activity in modern societies

 

Explanation

This paragraph discusses how modern tourism differentiates between work and leisure time, highlighting its essence in contemporary society.

 

 

3. Tourism and travel are in contrast

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C

Gazes of tourists which is an opposite characteristic of the traveller

 

Explanation

This line contrasts the passive observation of tourists with the more active engagement of travelers.


 

4. Creation of alternative to everyday experience

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph D
This view of tourist sights involves different forms of social pattern with high sensitivity to visual elements of landscape or townscape which isn't found in everyday life
 

Explanation

This statement describes how tourism provides experiences that differ significantly from everyday life, creating an alternative experience.


 

5. Artificiality in modern tourism

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph E 

Discover pleasure in inauthentic contrived attractions gullibly cherishing the pseudo events and ignoring the outside world

 

Explanation

This line discusses the artificial and contrived nature of many modern tourist attractions, which tourists often enjoy.


 

6. Modern tour guides’ role

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph F

Thus the role of the professional is to cater the needs and tastes of the tourists with their class and expectations
 

Explanation

This statement highlights the role of modern tour guides in meeting the diverse needs and expectations of tourists.

Questions and Answers 7-11
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 7-11 on your answer sheet write,

  • YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
  • NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
  • NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

 

 

7. The most trivial subject is tourism.
8. Travelling overseas is the only preference of tourists.
9. The deviance analysis can be a model for the analysis of tourism.
10. Tour operators cheat tourists.
11. Tourists focus more on places they visit than others.

 

Tourism Reading Answers with Explanations (7-11)

 

Type of question: Yes/No/Not Given

 

In this task, you are presented with a statement, and your task is to determine if it agrees with the information in the passage (Yes), contradicts the information in the passage (No), or if there is insufficient information in the passage to decide (not given).

 

How to best answer:

 

  • Understand the missing information outlined in the summary.
  • Identify key terms and phrases from the summary in the main passage to locate the missing words.
  • Ensure that the words you select from the passage match the context provided in the summary.
  • Finalise your answers by confirming that the chosen words accurately complete the missing parts of the summary.


 

7. No

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph A

Tourism, holidays, and travel are the most important social concepts
 

Explanation

The statement shows that tourism is considered an important social phenomenon, not a trivial subject.


 

8. Not Given

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph 
NA
 

Explanation

The passage does not provide any information about tourists' preference for travelling overseas versus other destinations.


 

9. Yes

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph A 
There is an assumption that the investigation of deviance will reveal some interesting facts about societies. It is said that in tourism, a similar analysis can be held
 

Explanation

The statement indicates that the analysis of deviance can indeed be applied to the study of tourism.


 

10. Not Given

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph 

NA
 

Explanation

The passage does not contain any information about tour operators cheating tourists.


 

11. Yes

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph  D 

People stay longer in these sights, which they would not do in their home environment
 

Explanation
The statement points out that tourists spend more time at tourist sights compared to their time spent in everyday environments, indicating a focus on these places.

Questions and Answers 12-14
  • Complete the sentences using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

 

 

12. The earliest event not experienced by American directly is  _________________
13. Tourist choose the places to visit and gaze is to _________________
14. In modern society travelling is a _______________

 

Tourism Reading Answers with Explanations (12-14)

 

Type of question: Sentence Completion

 

To answer sentence completion questions accurately, read the given sentence carefully and identify the missing word or phrase. Then, consider the context to determine the most suitable answer option that completes the sentence appropriately. Choosing the option that best fits the context will help you answer sentence completion questions accurately.

 

How to best answer the question

 

  • Carefully read the incomplete sentence and try to understand what information is missing.
  • Pay attention to the context and any clues provided in the sentence or the surrounding text.
  • Choose the option that best completes the sentence based on the information from the reading passage.

 

 

12. Pseudo events

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph  E

The reality cannot be experienced by Americans directly but they thrive on the pseudo events
 

Explanation

This phrase directly refers to the concept of "pseudo events" mentioned in the paragraph, which are events that Americans experience indirectly rather than directly.


 

13. Daydream

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C

They choose the places to visit and gaze because it has an intense pleasure in daydreaming on a different scale or involving different senses from the usual practices

 

Explanation

The term "daydreaming" reflects the immersive and imaginative experience tourists have while visiting and gazing at places, as described in the paragraph.


 

14. Symbol of status

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph F

Travelling is a symbol of status in modern society
 

Explanation

This phrase encapsulates the societal perception of travelling as a status symbol in contemporary society, as stated in the paragraph.

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FAQs

Q. What are some common misconceptions about the IELTS Reading test?

Ans. Common misconceptions include the belief that you need to understand every word in the passage, read the entire passage thoroughly, or that the questions are always straightforward. In reality, you can use skimming and scanning strategies, and questions often require critical thinking and inference.

Q. Are there any specific resources recommended for improving reading skills for the IELTS?

Ans. Yes, use resources such as Project Gutenberg for classic literature, Medium for contemporary articles, and apps like Kindle or Goodreads for a variety of reading materials. Practice comprehension exercises on websites like Khan Academy and Newsela to improve your reading proficiency.

Q. How important is vocabulary in the IELTS Reading test?

Ans. Vocabulary is crucial in the IELTS Reading test as it helps you understand the passage and answer questions accurately. Focus on learning academic and topic-specific vocabulary, and practice using context clues to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar.