IELTS - Integrated Skills

The Effects of Tourism - Reading, Vocabulary, Speaking & Writing

Tourism and historical buildings are popular topics in the IELTS test. This article helps you to practise reading, review vocabulary, prepare for the speaking test AND do some writing.

Continue reading for READING, VOCABULARY, SPEAKING and WRITING TASKS...

 

READING

First read the following paragraph adapted from an article in The Guradian Newspaper:

"The damage done by commerce to the world's historic places is fast outpacing the damage done by war. Moscow's exquisite steel-lattice Shukhov Tower, erected as a radio mast in 1922 and "Russia's Eiffel Tower", is about to be torn down so the site can be redeveloped. In China the old Silk Road quarter of Kashgar is at this moment being bulldozed in what is a world tragedy. At a time when chaos is threatening monuments in Syria, Libya and Iraq, it seems crazy to voluntarily destroy those that survive. Lest Britain lectures others, both the Tower of London and Parliament Square may be stripped of world heritage status because of the new apartments being built nearby."

EXERCISE A :

Answer the following questions:

1. According to the author, which causes more damage to historic places; war or commercial development?
2. Why is the Shukhov Tower being taken down?
3. According to the author, is destroying the Silk Road area of Kashgar in China good or bad?
4. Why are the monuments in Syria, Libya and Iraq under threat?
5. Which two historical sites in London are in danger? What are they in danger from?

 The answers are at the bottom of the page...

EXERCISE B:
Now read through the rest of   THIS ARTICLE  and answer the following questions: 

The article focuses on a specific problem caused by tourism in Venice. 

1. What is the problem?
2. What causes does the author suggest?
3. What solutions are put forward?
4. Which words or phrases helped you to find the problem, cause and solutions quickly? 

 The answers are at the bottom of the page...

 

VOCABULARY 

This article is full of useful vocabulary, phrases and collocations. 

EXERCISE C:
Find the following vocabulary items:

• cruise (liner)
• commerce
• golden egg
• visitors
• ancient
• facility
• historic places
• redeveloped
• sustainable
• heritage
• the pressure of population
• local authorities
• international tourists
• industry
• investment
• profit

EXERCISE D:
Use a dictionary to check the meaning of these words and notice the context in which they are used in the sentence/article.

SPEAKING: Part Three 

EXERCISE E:

Try discussing this issue with a partner. Use the ideas in the article and your own ideas to help you:

Try to use the vocabulary you just reviewed from the article!

• What kinds of damage can tourism cause?
• Does tourism have any positive effects on the visited cities?
• Why do so many people like to visit historical places like Venice?
• Should we limit the number of visitors to historical sites? Why? / Why not?
• How do you think cities will develop in the future?
• Should the government invest in protecting historical buildings or sites?
• What can travellers do to make sure they don't damage the places they visit?

WRITING : ESSAY

Read through the first part of an essay question:

• Nowadays more and more people like to visit historical places when they travel overseas. Some people say that we should try to protect these places.

Here we have a FACT, followed by an OPINION.

The TASK could be one (or more) of the following:

1. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

               OR...

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of protecting historical places?

               OR...

3. What are the causes of this phenomenon and what solutions would you suggest?

  

EXERCISE F

Consider how your answer would be different for each task 1, 2 and 3:

• What would you include in the introduction?
• What main topics would be the focus in your BODY paragraphs?
• What conclusions would you reach at the end of the essay?

EXERCISE G
Choose ONE of the essay TASKS and write your essay. Write AT LEAST 250 words.

1. Nowadays more and more people like to visit historical places when they travel overseas. Some people say that we should try to protect these places. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

  

2. Nowadays more and more people like to visit historical places when they travel overseas. Some people say that we should try to protect these places. What are the advantages and disadvantages of protecting historical places?

3. Nowadays more and more people like to visit historical places when they travel overseas. Some people say that we should try to protect these places. What are the causes of this phenomenon and what solutions would you suggest?

ANSWERS 

TASK A

1. According to the author, which causes more damage to historic places; war or commercial development? 
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT / COMMERCE - The key words here are "fast outpacing" 

2. Why is the Shukhov Tower being taken down? 

 SO THAT the site can be redeveloped. 

3. According to the author, is destroying the Silk Road area of Kashgar in China good or bad?

BAD - the key word is tragedy  

4. Why are the monuments in Syria, Libya and Iraq under threat?

CHAOS - in this case civil war/unrest

5. Which two historical sites in London are in danger? 

The Tower or London and Parliament Square.

What are they in danger from? They might lose their heritage status due to new apartment buildings nearby. 

TASK B:

1. The problem is large cruise ships which cause damage to the buildings in Venice. 
(Visitors to Venice have long been amazed, if not horrified, by the vast floating palaces, 15 storeys high and twice the length of St Mark's, that regularly loom over the basilica and the Doge's Palace, displacing thousands of tons of water to smash against the ancient piles and bricks. = PROBLEM)
(The impact on the walls of an hourly tsunami from big cruise ships can only be imagined. = PROBLEM)

2. The author suggests commercial interests and politics as causes.
(...shipping operators lobbied so that their customers could continue viewing the city from the comfort of their deck chairs. They claimed the facility was worth a million visitors and 5,000 jobs. = CAUSE)
 (The problem, as with most things Italian, lies in politics = CAUSE)

3. The author suggests that tourists and the tourist industry should pay to protect heritage sites.

(The answer must be... = SOLUTIONS)