Reading Passage 1

　　ECOTOURISM IN RUR A L MEXICO

　　It’s not hard to advocate ecotourism——loosely defined as a form of travel that protects an area of the natural world while enabling the local people to preserve their culture and meet their daily needs.The hard part is making it work.

　　Mexico，with many natural，still largely unspoiled areas and a land system based on community ownership，seems a likely ecotourism paradise.But its record of tourism development tells a different story.

　　Now，thanks to the efforts of two consultants in Mexico City，the country may have figured out a way to benefit from the ecotourism market that is growing rapidly worldwide.Juan Carlos Ibarra and Antonio Suarez，co-owners of Balam Consultants，have succeeded where many other people have failed，helping local communities develop the ability to operate ecotourism ventures.

　　Ibarra and Suarez began their current line of work in the early 1990s，helping the residents of the community of San Nicolas，outside Mexico City，develop and market recreational facilities that would attract tourists. Ibarra and Suarez spent more than 600 hours teaching people in the community business，marketing，and public relations skills.The result of this project was the San Nicolas Park，which now offers facilities for hiking and mountain biking on 2,304 hectares of land that otherwise would have been lost to illegal logging and urban sprawl.The project’s success is well regarded by professionals

　　from around the world and is the most-visited ecotourism site in Mexico.

　　The product of their efforts “shows what can be done.Its main value is that it enables those who will benefit or suffer most from ecotourism to take the decisions.” says Ron Mader of the website Americas Ecotourism.“The wonder of the work done by Ibarra and Suarez，”Mader says，“is that they make it look very simple.”

　　An advantage for Mexico in the field of ecotourism development is land reforms implemented after the end of the Mexican Revolution in 1917.Property previously owned by the wealthy elite was redistributed to peasant communities in the form of communally owned village lands known as comunidades.

　　Today，more than 23,000 communal groups Own and 1ive on 75 percent of Mexico’s land.Most of the country s splendid snowcapped volcanoes，lush jungles and white sand beaches are also communal property.This means that when tourists come to visit the country’s natural attractions，the local property owners should benefit.

　　But some heavily promoted resorts，such as Cancun and Bahias de Huatulco，have been built On village lands that were taken by the government and sold to corporations.

　　Although some local people are hired to work at these resorts，many do not have the appropriate skills or the knowledge of how these corporations work，said Ibarra. As a result，most of the well-paying jobs are filled by people from urban areas who have a better understanding of business Ibarra and Suarez are trying to stop this trend by working with the comunidades to develop community-based ecotourism projects.The two consultants have been conducting workshops on the subject in communities across the country.

　　“In recent years，as the ecotourism boom reached Mexico，many companies started promoting trips to the wilderness areas of the country,” said Ibarra.“In the beginning，the owners of the lands in which ecotourism was being developed were not involved at all.Now，slowly but surely，rural populations have begun to perceive ecotourism as an economic alternative.”

　　Commercially speaking，however，the residents of rural communities usually have no experience in running and marketing a business.Even if they have developed a well run project，visitors won’t come unless there is also effective marketing.After all，it is a business and they need to bring in customers.

　　Ibarra and Suarez say teaching people in local communities how to run an ecotourism operation is easy.The hard part is helping rural inhabitants overcome a culturally ingrained notion that they are stupid and incapable of running such a business themselves.

　　For every hour devoted to the instruction of business skills，the consultants spend four hours helping local residents build self-esteem and confidence.They are convinced that a project’s success depends on the involvement of the local landowners.

　　Ron Mader views Ibarra and Suarez as pioneers in building successful ecotourism in Mexico.Their work.he says，is“outstanding——not only because they have assisted in development of hiking and biking trails，but because they have demonstrated a profound respect for the communities

　　Questions 1——5

　　Complete the summary below.Choose ONE ORTWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.Write your answers in boxes 1—5 on your answer sheet.

　　It is valuable but difficult to make (1)................work.Despite Mexico’s natural and legal advantages，the country does not have a good hi story of (2)...............However，two consultants，Ibarro and Suarez are now training (3)................in Mexico in the development of environmentally sound projects Their first project resulted in the establishment of a large (4)................near San Nicolas，used for outdoor recreation.The work done by Ibarro and Suarez has been praised because it allows (5)................to be made by the people most affected.

　　Questions 6—14

　　Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1 7

　　In boxes 6—14 on your answer sheet write

　　TRUE if the statement is true according to the passage

　　FALSE if the statement is false according to the passage

　　NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

　　6. Most of Mexico’s beaches and jungles are communally owned.

　　7. The Mexican government has profited from the development of tourist resorts.

　　8. The number of local people working in tourism is decreasing.

　　9. Ibarra and Suarez want to encourage people who already understand business methods to

　　work on ecotourism projects.

　　10. Recently，companies have been offering trips to see wild animals in Mexico.

　　11. People in the Mexican countryside often lack confidence in their own business skills.

　　12. The first thing that the consultants do in a community is to explain the benefits of ecotourism.

　　13 Ibarra and Suarez focus mainly on business skills training.

　　14 Ron Mader admires the attitude of Ibarra and Suarez to the rural 1andowners of Mexico.