S e c o n d e d I t I o n 1 Reading for the Real World 1

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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
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not for everybody --- not suitable or appealing for all people
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Namib Desert --- a very dry area in Southwest Africa

R 
eading Comprehension
140

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