Delights of Mass Tourism reach Galapagos Reading Answers

Jul 18, 2025

Delights of Mass Tourism reach Galapagos is an IELTS Reading Answer that contains 13 questions and needs to be completed within 20 minutes. Delights of Mass Tourism reach Galapagos Reading answers, also help you to prepare for your IELTS exam. Delights of Mass Tourism reach Galapagos Consist of questions like: Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage and Write no more than three words. Participants should go through the IELTS Reading passage to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions. Also, Delights of Mass Tourism reach Galapagos Reading Answers discusses single rat's arrival on Santa Fe Island sparks alarm over mass tourism in the Galapagos. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Topic:

Never has the discovery of a rat provoked so much alarm. It was only a single creature, but it had no business being on the island of Santa Fe in the isolated Galapagos archipelago, where conservationists now strive to keep foreign wildlife at bay as effectively as hundreds of miles of open ocean did for millions of years. The rat is alleged to have arrived on the MV Discovery, a giant British cruise liner that visited the islands in April. Today, the ship is due to return to the Galapagos, and arriving with it are 460 paying passengers, protests and a campaign to protect the islands from such mass tourism. Drawn by the unique wildlife and mystique, annual visitors to the archipelago have soared from about 40,000 in the late 1980s to more than 100,000 now.

Voyages of Discovery, the cruise company, promises visitors to the islands that The enigmas, secrets and charms of this spectacular and rich landscape are, like a dream, an unequalled adventure just waiting to be discovered.

But to environmental campaigners, the ship's arrival is a nightmare. Conservationists on the Galapagos have also found swarms of foreign insects on the islands since the liner's last visit and fear its return today could introduce more alien species that might further disrupt the sensitive eco-systems. The Discovery, the first large cruise ship to have visited the islands, is scheduled to return again this April and twice each year thereafter. Permits recently granted by the Ecuadorian government-the islands are owned by the South American country-could see one cruise ship stop there a month.

Leonor Stjepic, director of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, warned that such an acceleration in visitor numbers would overwhelm efforts to keep out pests and disease. The more people that come, the greater the risk of invasive species and the less effective the quarantine system is going to be. With the best will in the world it's virtually impossible to search a boat that size thoroughly. Just sheer numbers means it's much easier for something to slip through. And if we can't protect the Galapagos then what does it say about the other natural spaces in the world?

The Galapagos are not suitable for this kind of mass tourism. The islands just don't have the infrastructure for that number of people. Tourism has got to be high-value, low volume tourism, Stjepic claims. Before the Discovery's stopover, almost all visitors to the islands flew direct from the mainland. However, this cruise ship has travelled all the way down the coast of South America and could bring all sorts of things with it.

As well as the rat, and the insects, environmentalists say the Discovery's previous visit left the islands covered in litter, dropped by wealthy tourists who have no idea where they are or the impact their visit may have. Graffiti was scrawled at the visitor centre and one passenger reportedly asked where the local Starbucks was. The study of the impact of the liner's first visit was carried out by the local Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park Service. As well as the foreign wildlife, it found that sales for local businesses increased by 5%, a third of what was expected. Infrastructure was overwhelmed, they said, and local tour operators, who take visitors around the different islands, were forced to land large boats on fragile shorelines because elderly cruise passengers were unable to scramble in and out of rubber dinghies.

However, David Yellow, managing director of Voyages of Discovery, said the campaigners were speaking from ignorance. He said the firm operated under strict restrictions and carried out an in-depth environmental impact study before it was granted a licence to operate in the Galapagos. He claims that Voyages of Discovery is experienced at operating in environmentally sensitive areas and knows what to do. All passengers are given a lecture before they go ashore and Yellow says they adhere to it. The Discovery anchored at the island of San Cristobal during its stay, he said, a good 25 miles (40 km) from Santa Fe where the rat was found. Mr Yellow said there was no proof that the graffiti and litter were left by Discovery tourists. "Local people create litter. They are not as sensitive to the environment as the people we take there. There are local people who smoke a cigarette and throw it into the street."

Questions 28-34

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? write.

TRUE if the information in the text supports the statement

FALSE if the information in the text does not support the statement

NOT GIVEN if there is no information in the text about the statement

28. A rat was found on the ship MV Discovery.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "The rat is alleged to have arrived on the MV Discovery…"

Keywords: rat, MV Discovery, alleged

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 3

Explanation: The rat was found on Santa Fe Island, not on the ship itself. Its arrival via the MV Discovery is suspected but not confirmed.

29. Environmentalists are unhappy with the idea of cruise ships visiting the Galapagos Islands.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "But to environmental campaigners, the ship's arrival is a nightmare."

Keywords: environmental campaigners, nightmare, ship's arrival

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 1

Explanation: This clearly shows that environmentalists oppose cruise ships visiting the Galapagos due to their potential ecological damage.

30. Leonor Stjepic believes that the quarantine system on the Galapagos Islands was completely effective before large cruise ships began to arrive.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "The more people that come, the greater the risk… the less effective the quarantine system…"

Keywords: greater risk, less effective, quarantine

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 3

Explanation: Leonor Stjepic suggests the system becomes less effective with more tourists but doesn't state it was ever completely effective.

31. Leonor Stjepic thinks that the Galapagos Islands should focus on tourists who have more money to spend.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "Tourism has got to be high-value, low volume tourism, Stjepic claims."

Keywords: high-value, low volume, tourism

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, line 2

Explanation: She recommends focusing on wealthier tourists in smaller numbers to reduce environmental pressure.

32. There is a Starbucks on the Galapagos Islands.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "One passenger reportedly asked where the local Starbucks was."

Keywords: passenger, asked, Starbucks

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 2

Explanation: The question implies that Starbucks is not present; the passenger was unaware of its absence.

33. Local businesspeople are very happy with the arrival of the cruise ship.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "Sales for local businesses increased by 5%, a third of what was expected… Infrastructure was overwhelmed…"

Keywords: local businesses, 5%, overwhelmed

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 3

Explanation: The increase in revenue was below expectations and infrastructure struggled, showing locals were not pleased.

34. David Yellow gives lectures on environmental protection to passengers on the MV Discovery.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "All passengers are given a lecture before they go ashore and Yellow says they adhere to it."

Keywords: lecture, passengers, before they go ashore

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, line 4

Explanation: David Yellow says lectures are given, but it is not stated that he personally gives them.

Questions 35-40

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text.

35. Alien species have been kept away from the Galapagos Islands by………….

Answer: hundreds of miles of open ocean

Supporting statement: "…where conservationists now strive to keep foreign wildlife at bay as effectively as hundreds of miles of open ocean did for millions of years."

Keywords: hundreds of miles, open ocean, keep foreign wildlife at bay

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 2

Explanation: The open ocean has naturally prevented alien species from reaching the Galapagos for millions of years.

36. About ……………… visit the Galapagos each year.

Answer: more than 100,000

Supporting statement: "…annual visitors to the archipelago have soared from about 40,000 in the late 1980s to more than 100,000 now."

Keywords: annual visitors, more than 100,000

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 4

Explanation: The number of visitors has increased significantly, now exceeding 100,000 each year.

37. An acceleration in visitor numbers would …………….to keep out pests and disease.

Answer: overwhelm efforts

Supporting statement: "Leonor Stjepic… warned that such an acceleration in visitor numbers would overwhelm efforts to keep out pests and disease."

Keywords: acceleration in visitor numbers, overwhelm efforts, keep out pests and disease

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 1

Explanation: A rise in visitor numbers would make it harder to control invasive species and diseases.

38. Leonor Stjepic thinks that the islands ……………….. cannot handle large numbers of tourists.

Answer: infrastructure

Supporting statement: "The Galapagos are not suitable for this kind of mass tourism. The islands just don't have the infrastructure for that number of people."

Keywords: Galapagos, not suitable, infrastructure

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, lines 1–2

Explanation: The islands lack the facilities to support large volumes of tourists safely.

39. Many of the people visiting the islands are ……………… and cannot use small boats.

Answer: elderly cruise passengers

Supporting statement: "…local tour operators… were forced to land large boats on fragile shorelines because elderly cruise passengers were unable to scramble in and out of rubber dinghies."

Keywords: elderly cruise passengers, unable to scramble, rubber dinghies

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, lines 5–6

Explanation: Elderly tourists have mobility issues requiring special landing arrangements.

40. Leonor Stjepic and David Yellow disagree over who caused the …………… discovered after the first visit by the MV Discovery.

Answer: litter and graffiti

Supporting statement: "David Yellow said there was no proof that the graffiti and litter were left by Discovery tourists."

Keywords: graffiti, litter, no proof, Discovery tourists

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, lines 8–9

Explanation: Stjepic and Yellow disagree about who is responsible for the litter and graffiti after the cruise ship visit.

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