BUSINESS SCHOOL

English Reading Comprehension

Assignment-2
Main idea and Supporting Detail

Submitted by:
Moater Imran L1S19BBAM0137
Nabeel Safdar L1S19BBAM0164

Submitted to:
Ms. Tayyaba Rana

University of Central Punjab, Lahore

 Stated main idea
Black Friday

Main Idea
Supporting Detail
Paragraph 1

Black Friday is the day after the American holiday of Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the
fourth Thursday of November. Because it is a holiday in the United States, it has long been a
popular day for consumers to start shopping for Christmas. Over the last 20 years big retailers
have started to offer discounts and bargains on this day, and it has become more and more
popular. Last year, people in the USA spent an estimated $54.7 billion between Black Friday and
Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving, when people often buy more online). The idea
of Black Friday has also spread around the world. For example, in 2017, people in the UK spent
the equivalent of $10.3 billion, in Germany $7.6 billion and in France $6.2 billion Germany $7.6
billion and in France $6.2 billion

Paragraph 2

Many us love to get a bargain, but some feel that events like Black Friday encourage people to
buy things that they don’t really need and can’t afford of. Many people seem to completely lose
control of both their spending and their tempers. It is easy to find video online of customers
physically fighting each other over bargains. It is also argued that Black Friday is bad for small
shopkeepers, who cannot afford to offer the kinds of price cuts that the big companies can.

Paragraph 3

Instead of taking the opportunity to buy as much as possible on Black Friday, you could do the
opposite and buy absolutely nothing. Since 1997, Buy Nothing Day has been held on the same
day as Black Friday. The rules are simple. Just don’t buy anything at all for 24 hours. Many
people are surprised how difficult this actually is. The aim is to make people think more about
their spending and to make better decisions about what they buy and where they buy it from.

Implied Main Idea

New year Celebration

Paragraph 1
There have been celebrations to mark the beginning of a new year for thousands of years.
Sometimes these were simply an opportunity for people to eat, drink and have fun, but in some
places the festivities were connected to the land or astronomical events. For example, in Egypt
the beginning of the year coincided with when the River Nile flooded, and this normally
happened when the star Sirius rose. The Persians and Phoenicians started their new year at the
spring equinox (this is around 20 March when the Sun shines more or less directly on the equator
and the length of the night and the day are almost the same)
Main Idea
In many countries new year is celebrated for many years where many people dance, eat and
enjoy fireworks

Paragraph 2
The city of Babylon in ancient Mesopotamia was where the first New Year's celebrations were
recorded about 4,000 years ago. The Babylonians held their celebrations on the first new moon
after the spring equinox and called this festival Akitu (which comes from the word the
Sumerians used for barley). Barley was cut in Mesopotamia in the spring, and during Akitu there
was a different ritual on each of the 11 days that the celebration lasted. Statues of the gods were
carried through the streets of the city, and in this way the Babylonians believed that their world
had been cleaned to prepare for the new year and a new spring.

Main Idea
The main idea of this paragraph is how people celebrate new year and how’s their excitement in
ancient time.

Paragraph 3
In many cities all over the world, spectacular fireworks display take place as soon as the clock
passes midnight on 31 December. In recent years, Sydney in Australia has been the host to one
of the first of these celebrations as New Year arrives there before most other major international
cities. The display takes place in Sydney Harbour, with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge
making it a stunning setting. Fireworks light up the skies in hundreds of cities as 12 midnight
strikes around the globe.
Main idea
The main idea of this paragraph is How people celebrating new year in present. When the clock
stuck to 12 there is huge fireworks on the sky