The Economic Importance Of Coral Reefs - IELTS Reading Sample With Explanation

IELTS Reading section tests the candidate’s understanding of a wide range of passages and question types. IELTS Reading sample - The Economic Importance of Coral Reefs is an IELTS Academic topic. This IELTS reading passage contains two question types:

1. Identifying Information
2. Sentence Completion

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Economic Importance Of Coral Reefs - IELTS Reading Sample

1. A lot of people around the world are dependent, or partly dependent, on coral reefs for their livelihoods. They often live adjacent to the reef, and their livelihood revolves around the direct extraction, processing and sale of reef resources such as shell fish and seaweeds. In addition, their homes are sheltered by the reef from wave action.
2. Reef flats and shallow reef lagoons are accessible on foot, without the need for a boat, and so allow women, children and the elderly to engage directly in manual harvesting, or ‘reef-gleaning’. This is a significant factor distinguishing reef-based fisheries from near-shore sea fisheries. Near-shore fisheries are typically the domain of adult males, in particular where they involve the use of boats, with women and children restricted mainly to shore-based activities. However, in a coral-reef fishery the physical accessibility of the reef opens up opportunities for direct participation by women, and consequently increases their independence and the importance of their role in the community. It also provides a place for children to play, and to acquire important skills and knowledge for later in life. For example, in the South West Island of Tobi, in the Pacific Ocean, young boys use simple hand lines with a loop and bait at the end to develop the art of fishing on the reef. Similarly, in the Surin Islands of Thailand, young Moken boys spend much of their time playing, swimming and diving in shallow reef lagoons, and in doing so build crucial skills for their future daily subsistence.
3. Secondary occupations, such as fish processing and marketing activities, are often dominated by women, and offer an important survival strategy for households with access to few other physical assets (such as boats and gear), for elderly women, widows, or the wives of infirm men. On Ulithi Atoll in the western Pacific, women have a distinct role and rights in the distribution of fish catches. This is because the canoes, made from mahogany logs from nearby Yap Island, are obtained through the exchange of cloth made by the women of Ulithi. Small-scale reef fisheries support the involvement of local women traders and their involvement can give them greater control over the household income, and in negotiating for loans or credit. Thus their role is not only important in providing income for their families, it also underpins the economy of the local village.
4. Poor people with little access to land, labour and financial resources are particularly reliant on exploiting natural resources, and consequently, they are vulnerable to seasonal changes in the availability of those resources. The diversity of coral reef fisheries, combined with their physical accessibility and the protection they provide against bad weather, make them relatively stable compared with other fisheries, or land-based agricultural production.
5. In many places, the reef may even act as a resource bank, used as a means of saving food for future times of need. In Manus, Papua New Guinea, giant clams are collected and held in walled enclosures on the reef, until they are needed during periods of rough weather. In Palau, sea cucumbers are seldom eaten during good weather in an effort to conserve their populations for months during which rough weather prohibits good fishing.
6. Coral reef resources also act as a buffer against seasonal lows in other sectors, particularly agriculture. For example, in coastal communities in northern Mozambique, reef harvests provide key sources of food and cash when agricultural production is low, with the peak in fisheries production coinciding with the period of lowest agricultural stocks. In Papua New Guinea, while agriculture is the primary means of food production, a large proportion of the coastal population engage in sporadic subsistence fishing.
7. In many coral-reef areas, tourism is one of the main industries bringing employment, and in many cases is promoted to provide alternatives to fisheries-based livelihoods, and to ensure that local reef resources are conserved. In the Caribbean alone, tours based on scuba-diving have attracted 20 million people in one year. The upgrading of roads and communications associated with the expansion of tourism may also bring benefits to local communities. However, plans for development must be considered carefully. The ability of the poorer members of the community to access the benefits of tourism is far from guaranteed, and requires development guided by social, cultural and environmental principles. There is growing recognition that sustainability is a key requirement, as encompassed in small-scale eco-tourism activities, for instance.
8. Where tourism development has not been carefully planned, and the needs and priorities of the local community have not been properly recognised, conflict has sometimes arisen between tourism and local, small-scale fishers.

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Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet, write –

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1. In most places, coral-reef gleaning is normally carried out by men.
2. Involvement in coral-reef-based occupations raises the status of women.
3. Coral reefs provide valuable learning opportunities for young children.
4. The women of Ulithi Atoll have some control over how fish catches are shared out.
5. Boats for use by the inhabitants of Ulithi are constructed on Yap Island.
6. In coral reef fisheries, only male traders can apply for finance.
7. Coral reefs provide a less constant source of income than near-shore seas.

(Guide: Candidates need to study the question and answer True or False or Not Given)

1. Answer: False

Supporting Sentence: Reef flats and shallow reef lagoons are accessible on foot, without the need for a boat, and so allow women, children and the elderly to engage directly in manual harvesting, or ‘reef-gleaning’.

Keyword: allow, women, children, elderly, reef gleaning

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 1st Sentence

Explanation: In most places, coral reef gleaning is carried out by women, children, and the elderly because they are accessible on foot.

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2. Answer: True

Supporting Sentence: However, in a coral-reef fishery the physical accessibility of the reef opens up opportunities for direct participation by women, and consequently increases their independence and the importance of their role in the community.

Keyword: opens up, opportunities, direct participation, women, increase independence, importance, role, community

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 4th Sentence

Explanation: When women are involved in coral reef based occupation, this opens up opportunities for direct participation by women, increasing their independence and importance in the community.

3. Answer: True

Supporting Sentence: It also provides a place for children to play, and to acquire important skills and knowledge for later in life. For example, in the South West Island of Tobi, in the Pacific Ocean, young boys use simple hand lines with a loop and bait at the end to develop the art of fishing on the reef. Similarly, in the Surin Islands of Thailand, young Moken boys spend much of their time playing, swimming and diving in shallow reef lagoons, and in doing so build crucial skills for their future daily subsistence.

Keyword: important skills, knowledge, later, life

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 6th Sentence

Explanation: Coral reefs provide learning opportunities and important life skills for children. They learn the art of fishing and build crucial skills for their future daily subsistence.

4. Answer: True

Supporting Sentence: On Ulithi Atoll in the western Pacific, women have a distinct role and rights in the distribution of fish catches. This is because the canoes, made from mahogany logs from nearby Yap Island, are obtained through the exchange of cloth made by the women of Ulithi.

Keyword: women, distinct role, rights, distribution

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, 2nd Sentence

Explanation: Women in Ulithi Atoll have a distinct role in the distribution of fish catches because the canoes that are made from mahogany logs are obtained through the exchange of cloth made by the women.

5. Answer: Not Given

Explanation: There is no mention of the fact that boats which were used for the inhabitants of the Ulithi were constructed on Yap island. Therefore, the selected answer choice is ‘Not Given’.

6. Answer: False

Supporting Sentence: Small-scale reef fisheries support the involvement of local women traders and their involvement can give them greater control over the household income, and in negotiating for loans or credit.

Keyword: small-scale fisheries, involvement, local women, control, negotiating, loans, credit

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, 4th Sentence

Explanation: Local women are involved in small-scale fisheries which enables them to have greater control over the household income and negotiate for finance, loans or credit.

7. Answer: False

Supporting Sentence: Reef flats and shallow reef lagoons are accessible on foot, without the need for a boat, and so allow women, children and the elderly to engage directly in manual harvesting, or ‘reef-gleaning’. This is a significant factor distinguishing reef-based fisheries from near-shore sea fisheries.

Keyword: reef flats, accessible, allow, engage, directly, manual harvesting

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 1st Sentence

Explanation: Reef based fisheries are accessible on foot so, women, children and the elderly are directly and constantly engaged in manual harvesting which brings income.

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Questions 8-13

Complete the notes below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

How coral-reef-based resources protect people during difficult times

(Guide: Candidates need to fill the blanks with not more than two words)

Coral reefs can provide

• a resource bank, e.g. for keeping clams and 8 ………………….
• a seasonal back-up, when 9 …………………. products are insufficient, e.g. in northern Mozambique.
• a tourist attraction, e.g. 10 ………………… tours in the Caribbean.

Benefits for local people include:

• The creation of jobs.
• Improvements to roads and 11 ………………….

Important considerations:

Development must be based on appropriate principles.

• Need for 12 ………………….
• Poorly-planned development can create 13 …………………. with local fishers.

8. Answer: sea cucumbers

Supporting Sentence: In many places, the reef may even act as a resource bank, used as a means of saving food for future times of need. In Manus, Papua New Guinea, giant clams are collected and held in walled enclosures on the reef, until they are needed during periods of rough weather. In Palau, sea cucumbers are seldom eaten during good weather in an effort to conserve their populations for months during which rough weather prohibits good fishing.

Keyword: resource bank, saving food, giant clams, sea cucumbers

Keyword Location: Paragraph E

Explanation: Coral reefs act as a resource bank. It is used as a means of saving food for future. In Manus, giant clams are collected and used during rough weather. In Palau, sea cucumbers are eaten to conserve their population during rough weather.

9. Answer: agricultural

Supporting Sentence: Coral reef resources also act as a buffer against seasonal lows in other sectors, particularly agriculture. For example, in coastal communities in northern Mozambique, reef harvests provide key sources of food and cash when agricultural production is low, with the peak in fisheries production coinciding with the period of lowest agricultural stocks.

Keyword: buffer, seasonal lows, agriculture

Keyword Location: Paragraph F, 1st Sentence

Explanation: Coral reefs act as a seasonal backup when the agricultural production is low in northern Mozambique. They are a key source of food and cash.

10. Answer: scuba diving

Supporting Sentence: In many coral-reef areas, tourism is one of the main industries bringing employment, and in many cases is promoted to provide alternatives to fisheries-based livelihoods, and to ensure that local reef resources are conserved. In the Caribbean alone, tours based on scuba-diving have attracted 20 million people in one year.

Keyword: tourism, employment, promote, tours, scuba-diving, attracted

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, 1st Sentence

Explanation: Coral reefs have attracted tourism. In the Caribbean, scuba diving tours have attracted around 200 million people in a year.

11. Answer: communications

Supporting Sentence: The upgrading of roads and communications associated with the expansion of tourism may also bring benefits to local communities.

Keyword: upgrading of roads, communications, expansion, tourism, benefits

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, 3rd Sentence

Explanation: Expanding tourism brings benefits to the local communities since it leads to the upgradation of roads and communications.

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12. Answer: sustainability

Supporting Sentence: The ability of the poorer members of the community to access the benefits of tourism is far from guaranteed, and requires development guided by social, cultural and environmental principles. There is growing recognition that sustainability is a key requirement, as encompassed in small-scale eco-tourism activities, for instance.

Keyword: sustainability, key requirement

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, 5th Sentence

Explanation: Sustainability is important within the small-scale tourism activities.

13. Answer: conflict

Supporting Sentence: Where tourism development has not been carefully planned, and the needs and priorities of the local community have not been properly recognised, conflict has sometimes arisen between tourism and local, small-scale fishers.

Keyword: tourism development, needs, priorities, local community, conflict

Keyword Location: Paragraph H

Explanation: When the tourism development isn’t carefully planned, and when the priorities and needs of the local community have not been properly recognised, it leads to a conflict with the local, small-scale fishers.