Tourism and Its Impact
Lesson 6.2 trains matching features and scanning for names in a Reading passage about the impact of tourism.
- Scan a passage for named items efficiently
- Match features to the correct person or place
- Avoid distractor traps in matching tasks
Reading · Matching features strategy
Unlike most reading tasks, matching features are NOT in passage order. Underline every named item first, then work feature by feature.
- Skim the passage for 60 seconds — get the gist.
- Underline every name / place mentioned.
- Read feature 1, scan back to every name, decide which fits.
- Cross out names that can only be used once.
Reading · Mini-passage (Band 6.5–7.0 level)
Skye, off the west coast of Scotland, has seen visitor numbers more than triple in a decade, leading to strain on roads and water supplies. Madeira, by contrast, has invested heavily in walking infrastructure and now markets itself almost exclusively to active tourists. Cozumel relies on a single industry — cruise stops — and the local economy fluctuates with the schedules of two major shipping lines.
- Q1: Which island faces infrastructure stress from growth? → Skye
- Q2: Which island actively targets a specific tourist type? → Madeira
- Q3: Which island depends on one source of visitors? → Cozumel
Pathway focus · Academic data link
Academic passages often include figures. Underline every number — they're a Task 1 vocab quarry too.
- 'more than tripled' = grew by over 300%
- 'fluctuates' = rises and falls
- 'invested heavily' = strong investment
Listening Skills — Tourism's Economic Footprint
You will hear a seminar discussion between a tutor and two students about the economic impact of tourism on developing countries.
- Predict that answers involve percentages, jobs and industry names.
- Listen for contrasting opinions between the two students.
- Track who introduces each new point — the tutor often summarises.
- Note any figures that are corrected or clarified.
Listen first — the transcript stays hidden so this works like the real exam.
Listening audio
Tap play to generate and listen.
Questions 1-6. Which speaker made each of the following points? Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. There are more letters than questions, so you will not use them all.
- A. The tutor
- B. Aoife
- C. Marcus
- D. A visiting economist
- Introduces the topic for the seminar.
- Gives a figure showing the Maldives has the highest tourism dependence discussed.
- Explains why a government has been investing in financial services instead of tourism.
- Points out that sudden shocks can cause dramatic drops in tourist arrivals.
- Explains the concept of 'leakage'.
- Comments that raw statistics rarely tell the whole story.
Answer key
Exam Strategy
- Exam Tip
Eliminate the obvious 2 first, then choose between the remaining options.
Independent Practice
Do one full matching-features set in 10 minutes.
Key Takeaways
- Matching features = scan, don't read linearly.
- Underline names BEFORE reading the features.
- Common errors clinicError pairs: choose the sentence an examiner would accept.
- Sentence & summary completionWord-limit discipline: NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.
- Trend language workoutDescribe movement precisely — verbs, adverbs and noun phrases.
Optional — this doesn't affect your lesson or course progress.