B u s i n e s s & E c o n o m i c s 1
Adventure Tours for Charity
5 10 15 20 25I
n almost any magazine or newspaper in England, you can findadvertisements for adventure tours to exotic places. These exciting tours can be bicycling, hiking, or even motorcycle trips across deserts, over mountains, and around live volcanoes! Many of these tours are for charity, which makes them more interesting to some people.
One advertisement offers people a “Bike Ride to Hell and Back,” a 400-kilometer bicycle tour across the lava fields of Iceland. The advertisement says that the tour is like a ride across the face of the moon. The organization that sets up this tour is advertising for people who can give time and effort to raising money for a good cause. For their hard work, these people will also be able to take the holiday of a lifetime.
The first thing that people have to do is sign up for the tour. The number of people who can go on each tour is limited, and many tours fill up fast. Those who sign up then have to pay a deposit in order to hold their space on the tour. People cannot get their deposit back later if they change their mind, so they had better be sure they really want to go. The deposit is usually between £150-250 (US $200-375).
Next, each person must raise a minimum amount of money for the charity. This money could be anywhere between £1,500-2,500 (US$2,000-3,500). In order to raise this much money, some people send letters to friends and relatives asking for help. Other people have big parties where all of the guests must pay to come to the party. One farmer even divided up his field into one meter squares
2 exotic --- unusual
8 lava --- rock, either hot and fluid or solidified, which comes from a volcano 12 raise --- to collect
18 deposit --- money paid to reserve a place 26 divide up --- to separate
30
35
40
45
50
to raise money. People could buy one square of the field for £1 each. Then the farmer let his cow walk across the field. Whoever
bought the square where the cow dropped its first “cow patty” won a prize. Surprisingly, the majority of people who go on the adventure tours end up collecting more than the minimum money that the charity asks for.
Some people see a problem with this system of raising money for charities. They think that it is wrong for part of the money that people collect to be used to pay for someone’s holiday. However,
charities try to keep the overall cost of the tours low so that at least 60 or 70 percent of the money which is raised goes to the charity. One charity said, “We expect to make an average profit of £50,000 per trip.” This charity typically runs between ten to fifteen tours each year.
Do people really want to spend their holiday doing something like bicycling for 400 kilometers when they could be resting on a beach? These tours are not
for everybody. But the people who sign up for them all agree that it is a great
experience.
After hiking across the Namib Desert, a young construction worker from London cried as he hugged all of the other people who had been on the tour with him. Everyone cried. Most of them never thought that they could take part in an adventure like that. They had not only finished a difficult hike, but they had done it for someone else, for the charity.
Reading Time_______ minutes _______ seconds 554 words
30 cow patty --- a pile of cow dung 38 overall --- general; including everything 40 typically --- commonly; usually
43 not for everybody --- not suitable or appealing for all people 46 Namib Desert --- a very dry area in Southwest Africa
R eading Comprehension
A
Mark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.1. ____ The adventure tours appeal to everyone.
2. ____ Less than half of the money that people raise for the charity is used to
pay for expenses on the trip.
3. ____ The farmer described in the reading sold his cow to raise money for the
charity.
4. ____ The charities set no limit on the number of people who can go on each
tour, so some tours get very crowded.
B
Choose the best answer.1. What is the main idea of the reading?
a. Comparing tours arranged by two charities b. Describing a dangerous tour set up by a charity c. Explaining how charities raise money through tours d. Giving information about interesting places to visit
2. What makes the tours described in the reading interesting for people?
a. They are exciting.
b. They are a great experience. c. They raise money for charities. d. All of the above
3. What would probably NOT be an adventure tour for charity?
a. Climbing Mt. Everest
b. Staying on a beach in Thailand c. Crossing the Sahara desert d. Sailing across the Pacific Ocean
C
For the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and write them on the lines provided.1. Why should a person be careful when they pay a deposit for a charity adventure
tour?
______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
2. Why do some people disagree with this method of raising money for charities?
______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
S ummary
V ocabulary Extension
Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading. Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only once.
risk challenge journey telethon worthy volunteer
1. A long and adventurous trip is sometimes called a(n) __________.
2. The biggest __________ in this trip will be to cross the Sahara Desert during
the day.
3. There’s a(n) __________ of falling when bungee jumping, but some people
think that makes it more exciting.
4. If you have some extra time, you should __________. Although you won’t get
paid, you will feel rewarded in other ways.
5. “What are you watching on TV?” “I’m watching the __________ for the flood
victims. I think that I’ll phone in and donate some money.”
6. “Do you know of any good charities I could donate something to?” “How about Fill in the blanks in the table with the phrases below according to the category they belong to. Use each phrase only once.
1. Asking guests for donations to buy a plot of farm land for a “cow patty” 2. Raising the minimum donation after putting down a deposit for the tour 3. Taking part in a bike tour across the lava fields of Iceland
4. Writing letters to friends and relatives to ask for money 5. Hiking across the Namib Desert
6. Taking a motorcycle trip over a mountain
Adventure Tours for Charity
5 10 15 20
S upplemental Reading
0 5 0T
here are lots of people in the United States who give donations to charities just because they believe strongly in what the charity is doing. However, what some of these people don’t realize is that all of the donations they make to these charities can help them save money on their taxes each year, too! The average American pays about 33 percent of her or his yearly income in taxes, so any way to save money on the taxes a person has to pay each year is a welcomed benefit. And these donations to charities are not limited to cash only. If a person donates an old stereo or clothes, the estimated value of these items can help lower a person’s taxes as long as they get a receipt from the charity.Other than the usual small items that people usually give to charities, big things can help charities make money, too. For example, if you have a really old car that you want to get rid of, a car dealer might only offer you a few hundred dollars for it. A charity might be able to match what the car dealer would give you, and then the charity can fix up the car and sell it at an auction. The charity gets needed funds from selling the car, and you get a break on your taxes for the value of the car when
the charity took it! Other things that people don’t often think of as possible donations to charities include computers, stocks, and even land.