National Cuisine And Tourism - IELTS Reading Answers
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Attempt Matching Endings and Matching Features questions in the IELTS Reading passage on ‘National Cuisine And Tourism’. Get familiar with the tips to answer them and analyze the answers with explanations to build confidence.
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Passages such as ‘National Cuisine And Tourism’ would require you to discover the main arguments, the supporting details, and understand the context related to unfamiliar cultural and academic content. To score a band 8+ in the IELTS Exam, you need to learn to balance your speed and the quality of answers while answering on time. Practicing with this passage would help you to refine the techniques of skimming for the gist, scanning for the specific information, and prioritising the questions. By analyzing your answers against the correct ones, you will build confidence to level up your preparation.
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Types of Questions in ‘National Cuisine And Tourism’
One of the most common mistakes in the IELTS Reading section is to read the entire passage with no clear purpose. Therefore, you need to first analyze the different question types which you will encounter so that you can look for specific information using the relevant strategies. In this way, allocation of time can be managed more effectively and the quality of your answers will improve. The following are the question types which you need to answer for the passage on ‘National Cuisine And Tourism’.
- IELTS Reading Matching Endings [Q.1-Q.6]
- IELTS Reading Matching Features [Q.7-Q.10]
How to Attempt Questions in ‘National Cuisine And Tourism’?
The IELTS Reading passage, ‘National Cuisine and Tourism’, would assess your ability to understand the information and use specific strategies for each question type. In this way, you will become attentive to details so that you can learn and answer correctly. By knowing how to deal with each question strategically, you can answer within the given time period. The table below showcases the tips to attempt questions that will make you both confident and efficient.
| Question | Strategy |
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Matching Sentence Endings |
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Matching Features |
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Curious to learn how to improve your reading skills to get a band 9? Check out the video below!
IELTS Reading Passage on ‘National Cuisine And Tourism
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-10 which are based on the Reading Passage below.
National Cuisine And Tourism
1 To an extent, agriculture dictates that every country should have a set of specific foods which are native to that country. They may even be unique, However, even allowing for the power of agricultural science, advances in food distribution and changes in food economics to alter the ethnocentric properties of food, it is still possible for a country “to be famous for” a particular food even if it is widely available elsewhere.
2 The degree to which cuisine is embedded in national culture within the sociology of food literature two themes suggest that food is linked to social culture. The first relates food and eating to social relationships, (Finkelsteln, Vlssor, Wood), and the second establishes food as a reflection of the distribution of power within social structures, (Mennell). However, establishing a role for food in personal relationships and social structures is not a sufficient argument to place food at the center of national culture. To do that it is necessary to prove a degree of embeddedness. It would be appropriate at this point to consider the nature of culture.
3 The distinction made by Pierce between a behavioral contingency and a cultural contingency is crucial to our understanding of culture. Whilst a piece of behavior may take place very often, involve a network of people and be reproducible by other networks who do not know each other, the meaning of the behavior does not go beyond the activity itself. A cultural practice, however, contains and represents ‘’meta-contingencies” that is, behavioral practices that have a social meaning greater than the activity itself and which, by their nature, reinforce the culture which houses them. Celebrating birthdays is a cultural practice not because everybody does it but because it has a religious meaning. Contrast this with the practice in Britain of celebrating “Guy Fawkes Night”. It is essentially an excuse for a good time but if fireworks were banned, the occasion would gradually die away altogether or end up as a cult to California. A smaller scale example might be more useful. In the British context, compare drinking in pubs with eating “fish and chips”. Both are common practices, yet the former reflects something of the social fabric of the country, particularly family, gender, class and age relationships whilst the latter is just a national habit. In other words, a constant, well-populated pattern of behavior is not necessarily cultural. However, it is also clear that a cultural practice needs behavioral reinforcement. Social culture is not immortal.
4 Finkelstein argues that “dining out” is simply “action which supports a surface life”. For him it is the word “out” that disconnects food from culture. This view of culture and food places the “home’’ as the cultural center. Continental European eating habits may contradict this notion by their general acceptance of eating out as part of family life. Following the principle that culture needs behavioral reinforcement, if everyone “eats out” on a regular basis, irrespective of social and economic differentiation, then this might constitute behavioral support for cuisine being part of social culture. That aside, the significance of a behavioral practice being embedded in culture is that it naturally maintains an approved and accepted way of life and therefore has a tendency to resist change.
5 The thrust of the argument is that countries differ in the degree to which their food and eating habits have a social and cultural meaning beyond the behavior itself. This argument, however, could be interpreted to imply that the country with the greatest proportion of meals taken outside the home would be the one In which the national cuisine is more embedded in social culture. This is a difficult position to maintain because it would bring America, with its fast-food culture to the fore. The fast-food culture of America raises the issue of whether there are qualitative criteria for the concept of cuisine. The key Issue is not the extent of the common behavior but whether or not it has a function in maintaining social cohesion and is appreciated and valued through social norms. French cuisine and “going down the pub” arc strange bedfellows but bedfellows nevertheless.
6 How homogeneous is national cuisine like language, cuisine is not a static entity and whilst Its fundamental character is unlikely to change in the short run it may evolve in different directions. Just as in a language there are dialects so in a cuisine there are variations. The two principal sources of diversity are the physical geography of the country and its social diversity.
7 The geographical dimensions work through agriculture to particularize and to limit locally produced Ingredients. Ethnic diversity in the population works through the role of cuisine in social identity to create ethnically distinct cuisines which may not converge into a national cuisine. This raises the question of how far a national cuisine is related to national borders. To an ethnic group their cuisine is national. The greater the division of a society into classes, castes and status groups with their attendant ethnocentric properties, of which cuisine is a part, then the greater will be the diversity of the cuisines.
8 However, there is a case for convergence. Both these principal sources of diversity arc, to an extent, influenced by the strength of their boundaries and the willingness of society to erode them. It is a question of isolation and integration. Efficient transport and the application of chemistry can alter agricultural boundaries to make a wider range of foods available to a cuisine. Similarly, political and social Integration can erode ethnic boundaries. However, all these arguments mean nothing if the cuisine is not embedded in social culture. Riley argues that when a cuisine is not embedded in social culture It is susceptible to novelty and invasion by other cuisines.
Questions 1-6
Choose one phrase (A-K) from the List of phrases to complete each Key point below.
Write the appropriate letters (A-K) In Boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. The information in the completed sentences should be an accurate summary of the points made by the writer.
NB: There are more phrases (A-K) than sentences, so you will not need to use them all. You may use each phrase once only.
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List of Phrases
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1 The native foods of a country,
2 The ethnocentric properties of food
3 Celebrating birthdays
4 Cultural practice
5 Drinking in pubs in Britain
6 The link between language and cuisine
Questions 7-10
Use the information in the text to match the Authors (A-D) with the Findings (7-10) below.
Write the appropriate letters (A-D) in Boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.
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Authors
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7 There is a difference between behavior and cultural practice.
8 The connection between social culture and food must be strong if national cuisine is to survive intact.
9 The distribution of power in society is reflected in food.
10 The link between culture and eating outside the home is not strong.
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Answer with Explanation for ‘National Cuisine And Tourism’
Let’s look at the answers for the passage on ‘National Cruising And Tourism’! Check out the explanation and analyze the areas where you need to work on so that you can improve your IELTS Band Score. This step is crucial to see progress in your scores as you prepare for the Reading section. The answers with explanations are provided in the table below.
| Question number | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K | The beginning of paragraph 1 mentions that “agriculture dictates that every country should have a set of specific foods which are native to that country.” From the words ‘agriculture dictates that every country should have a set of specific foods’, we can infer that every country’s native food is, to a certain point, governed by its agriculture. Hence, the correct answer is ‘K.’ |
| 2 | G | In paragraph 1, there’s a line that states, “even allowing for the power of agricultural science, advances in food distribution and changes in food economics to alter the ethnocentric properties of food, it is still possible for a country to be famous for a particular food even if it is widely available elsewhere.” The term ethnocentric means believing that custom, and traditions of one’s own race or nationality are better than others. Therefore, from the aforementioned line, we can deduce that the economic and distribution factors can change the ethnocentric properties of food. Hence, the correct answer is ‘G.’ |
| 3 | F | In Paragraph 3, there’s a line where author Pierce claims that “Celebrating birthdays is a cultural practice not because everybody does it but because it has a religious meaning.” From the lines mentioned above, we can see that the author has directly answered the question that celebrating birthdays is a cultural practice not because it’s a trend but because it runs on a particular system of belief. Hence, the correct answer is ‘F.’ |
| 4 | J | The last few lines of Paragraph 3 conveys that “a constant, well-populated pattern of behavior is not necessarily cultural. However, it is also clear that a cultural practice needs behavioural reinforcement.” From the aforementioned lines, we can see that the author Pierce has directly mentioned that cultural practice is required to be supported by behaviour, for example, he compares drinking in pubs with eating ‘fish and chips’. Drinking in pubs is a cultural practice,as it is indicative of social fabric whereas eating fish and chips is just a national habit. This example confirms that cultural practice needs behavioural reinforcement. Hence, the correct answer is ‘J.’ |
| 5 | E | As per the 5th and the 6th line Paragraph, “in the British context, compare drinking in pubs with eating ‘fish and chips.’ Both are common practices, yet the former reflects something of the social fabric of the country.” From the words ‘yet the former reflects something of the social fabric’, we can infer that drinking in pubs in Britain is a reflection of the social fabric. Hence, the correct answer is ‘E.’ |
| 6 | D | The beginning lines of Paragraph 6 conveys “how homogeneous is national cuisine like language.” Moreover, “Just as in a language there are dialects so in a cuisine there are variations.” From the phrase ‘in a language there are dialects so in a cuisine there are variations,’ we can infer that language is the same as cuisine, that they both show a great deal of variety, and the link between language and cuisine is that both are diverse. Hence, the correct answer is ‘D.’ |
| 7 | B | The initial lines of Paragraph 3 convey, “the distinction made by Pierce between a behavioural contingency and a cultural contingency is crucial to our understanding of culture. Whilst a piece of behaviour may take place very often, involve a network of people and be reproducible by other networks who do not know each other, the meaning of the behavior does not go beyond the activity itself. A cultural practice, however, contains and represents ‘meta-contigencies’ that is, behavioural practice that have social meaning greater than the activity itself and which, by their nature reinforce the culture which houses them.” From the lines mentioned above, we can see the author Pierce has explained the significant difference between behaviour and cultural practice, where behavioural practice, for example, ‘eating fish and chips’ people of Britain do this, and other people who come there can also do it. As it is reproducible, while cultural practice has a social meaning which goes beyond the activity of behaviour and certain beliefs impose its nature. Hence, the correct answer is ‘B’. |
| 8 | D | According to Paragraph 8, “principal sources of diversity are, to an extent, influenced by the strength of their boundaries and the willingness of society to erode them. However, all these arguments mean nothing if the cuisine is not embedded in social culture. Riley argues that when cuisine is not embedded in social culture, it is susceptible to novelty and invasion by other cuisines.” We can deduce from that statement ‘when a cuisine is not embedded in social culture’ that author Riley implies that if the food is not firmly attached to the culture, it is prone to alteration via invasion. Hence, the correct answer is ‘D.’ |
| 9 | C | Paragraph 2 states that” the first relates food and eating to social relationships, (Finkelstein, Visor, Wood), and the second establishes food as a reflection of the distribution of power with social structures (Mennell).” From the lines mentioned above, we can see that Mennell claims that food also reveals distribution of power in the society. Hence, the correct answer is ‘C.’ |
| 10 | A | In Paragraph 4, Finkelstein argues “that ‘dining out’ is simply’ action which supports a surface life.’ For him, it is the word ‘out’ that disconnects food from culture. This view of culture and food places the ‘home’ as the cultural centre.” Therefore, it is Finkelstein who claims that the link between culture and eating outside the home is not strong. Hence, the correct answer is ‘A.’ |
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Consistent practice is the key to achieve success in the IELTS Reading section as the practice tests simulate the exam conditions. In this way, you will be able to understand how to answer different questions and work on the difficult ones. This will gain advantage since you will pinpoint the areas where you need to improve. Continue practising with different topics and remember to answer the questions under timed constraints.
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