Travel Books- IELTS Reading Answer

The Academic passage ‘Travel Books’ is a reading passage with various question types, each of which are asked in the IELTS Reading exam. Try to find the answers to get an idea of the difficulty level of the passages in the actual reading test. If you want more passages to solve, try taking one of our IELTS reading practice tests.

Reading Passage

Travel Books

Questions 27-28

27 What were most people traveling for in the early days?

A Studying their own cultures

B Business

C knowing other people and places better

D Writing travel books

28 Why did the author say writing travel books is also “a mirror” for travelers themselves?

A Because travelers record their own experiences.

B Because travelers reflect upon their own society and life.

C Because it increases knowledge of foreign cultures.

D Because it is related to the development of human society.

Questions 29-36

Questions 37-40

37 Why were the imperial rulers especially interested in these travel stories?

A Reading travel stories was a popular pastime.

B The accounts are often truthful rather than fictional.

C Travel books played an important role in literature.

D They desired knowledge of their empire.

38 Who was the largest group to record their spiritual trips during the post-classical era?

A Muslim traders

B Muslim pilgrims

C Chinese Buddhists

D Indian Buddhist teachers

39 During the early modern era, a large number of travel books were published to

A meet the public’s interest.

B explore new business opportunities.

C encourage trips to the new world.

D record the larger world.

40 What’s the main theme of the passage?

A The production of travel books

B The literary status of travel books

C The historical significance of travel books

D The development of travel books

Reading Answer

27 Answer: C

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph 1, line 2

Answer explanation: The 2nd line of the first paragraph states that Some travelers may have simply desired to satisfy curiosity about the larger world. Until recent times, however, travelers did start their journey for reasons other than mere curiosity. While the travelers’ accounts give much valuable information on these foreign lands and provide a window for the understanding of the local cultures and histories, they are also a mirror to the travelers themselves, for these accounts help them to have a better understanding of themselves. We can deduce from these lines that travelers simply desire to satisfy the curiosity of the outside world. Most people travel as they want to understand and get acquainted with new people and places. Thus, the answer is C.

28 Answer: B

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph 1, line 3

Answer explanation: The 3rd line of the first paragraph states, “While the travelers’ accounts give much valuable information on these foreign lands and provide a window for the understanding of the local cultures and histories, they are also a mirror to the travelers themselves, for these accounts help them to have a better understanding of themselves.” These lines suggest that traveling provides information on cities abroad and a window to better understand the local cultures and histories. They’re also a mirror to the travelers themselves for these accounts help them to gain a better understanding of themselves. Thus, the author says writing travel books are a mirror for travelers themselves because travelers reflect upon their society and life. Thus, the answer is B.

29 Answer: Persian wars

Question type: Table Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 5

Answer explanation: The 5th line of the 2nd paragraph states that the Greek historian Herodotus reported on his travels in Egypt and Anatolia in researching the history of the Persian wars. These lines suggest that during the time of classical Greece, travelers Herodotus reported on his travels in Egypt and Anatolia to gather information for the study of Persian wars. Thus, the answer is the Persian wars.

30 Answer: allies

Question type: Table Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 2, lines 6 – 7

Answer explanation: The 6th line of paragraph 2 illustrates that the Chinese envoy Zhang Qian described much of central Asia as far west as Bacteria (modern-day Afghanistan) based on travels undertaken in the first century BCE while searching for allies for the Han dynasty. We can deduce from these lines that during the Hans dynasty, traveler, Zhang Qian traveled Central Asia in search of allies. Thus, the answer is allied.

31 Answer: geographical knowledge

Question type: Table Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 2, last line

Answer explanation: The last line of the 2nd paragraph is that Hellenistic and Roman geographers such as Ptolemy, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder relied on their travels through much of the Mediterranean world as well as reports of other travelers to compile vast compendia of geographical knowledge. These lines indicate that during the time of the Roman empire, Roman travelers and Geographers like Ptolemy, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder depended on their travels through the Mediterranean to acquire a vast compendium of geographical information/ knowledge. Thus, the answer is geographical knowledge.

32 Answer: pilgrimage

Question type: Table Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 3

Answer explanation: The initial lines of the 3rd paragraph reveals that during the post-classical era (about 500 to 1500 CE), trade and pilgrimage emerged as major incentives for travel to foreign lands. These lines indicate that after the post-classical period, Muslim travelers traveled from East Africa to Indonesia Mecca for trading and pilgrimage. Thus, the answer is a pilgrimage.

33 Answer: India

Question type: Table Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 3, line 13

Answer explanation: The 13th line of the 3rd paragraph illustrates that between the 5th and 9th centuries CE, hundreds and possibly even thousands of Chinese Buddhists traveled to India to study with Buddhist teachers, collect sacred texts, and visit holy sites. Written accounts recorded the experiences of many pilgrims. We can deduce from these lines that during the 5th and 9th centuries, the Chinese Buddhists traveled to India to collect Buddhist texts and for spiritual enlightenment. Thus, the answer is India.

34 Answer: colonies

Question type: Table Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 6, line 2

Answer explanation: The 2nd line of the 6th paragraph states that European colonial administrators devoted numerous writings to the societies of their colonial subjects, particularly in the Asian and African colonies they established. These lines indicate that during the 19th century, the colonial administrator traveled to Asia and Africa to provide information for the colonies they set up. Thus, the answer is colonies.

35 Answer: principles

Question type: Table Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 6, line 5

Answer explanation: The 5th line of the 6th paragraph illustrates, “Painfully aware of the military and technological prowess of European and Euro-American societies, Asian travelers, in particular, visited Europe and the United States in hopes of discovering principles useful for the organization of their societies.” We can deduce from these lines that by the mid-century of the 1900s, Sun Yat-sen Fukuzawa Yukichi traveled to Europe and US, to study the principles for the reorganization of their societies. Hence, the answer is principles.

36 Answer: wealthy

Question type: Table Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 8, line 5

Answer explanation: The 5th line of the 8th paragraph states that the most distinctive of them was mass tourism, which emerged as a major form of consumption for individuals living in the world’s wealthy societies. These lines indicate that by the 20th century, people from wealthy countries traveled mass tourism for entertainment and pleasure. Thus, the answer is wealth.

37 Answer: D

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 2

Answer explanation: The 2nd line of 2nd paragraph states that after the formation of large, imperial states in the classical world, travel accounts emerged as a prominent literary genre in many lands, and they held especially strong appeal for rulers desiring useful knowledge about their realms. We can understand from these lines that post the formation of huge imperial states in the classical period, the imperial rulers were especially interested in the travel stories as they desired knowledge of their kingdoms (realm). Hence, the answer is D.

38 Answer: B

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph 3, lines 5 & 15

Answer explanation: In the 5th line of the 3rd paragraph, it is mentioned that while merchants set out in search of trade and profit, devout Muslims traveled as pilgrims to Mecca to make their hajj and visit the holy sites of Islam. The 15th line states that written accounts recorded the experiences of many pilgrims. It is a well-known fact that during the post-classical era (about 500 to 1500 CE), Muslims traveled from East Africa to Indonesia and Mecca for trading and pilgrimage. Therefore, it is evident that Muslim pilgrims were the largest group to record their spiritual trips during the post-classical era. Thus, the answer is B.

39 Answer: A

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 3

Answer explanation: Paragraph 5 states the fact that the Muslim and Chinese dominated travel and travel writing in post-classical times. The 3rd line states that by no means did Muslim and Chinese travel come to a halt in early modern times. But European peoples ventured to the distant corners of the globe, and European printing presses churned out thousands of travel accounts that described foreign lands and peoples for a reading public with an insatiable appetite for news about the larger world. The volume of travel literature was so great that several editors, including Giambattista Ramusio, Richard Hakluyt, Theodore de Biy, and Samuel Purchas, assembled numerous travel accounts and made them available in enormous published collections. These lines demonstrate that Europeans ventured to distant places churning out thousands of travel accounts that describe foreign and public interest in reading those books. Therefore, it is clear that during the early modern era, a large number of travel books were published to meet the public’s interests. Thus, the answer is A.

40 Answer: D

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph 1 – 8

Answer explanation: The 8th line of the first paragraph states that there are many reasons why individuals have traveled beyond their societies. Some travelers may have simply desired to satisfy curiosity about the larger world. We can understand from these lines that the main theme of the passage is the development of travel books. Thus, the answer is D.

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