Instruções:
Essas aulas de inglês são para alunos intermediários e avançados de inglês como segunda língua. Eles incluem “Ler”, “Ouvir” e “Escrever”. Basta seguir a lição respondendo às perguntas à medida que as encontra.
Todas as vagas em negrito devem ser traduzidas para seu próprio idioma para ajudar na compreensão do novo vocabulário.
SECTION ONE
The day following Thanksgiving—commonly referred to as Black Friday—has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States. National chain stores traditionally offer limited money-saving specials on a wide variety of goods in an effort to lure shoppers into stores while offering similar deals online.
1). Question: Write a simple sentence using the term ‘money-saving-specials’.
SECTION TWO
It is believed by many that the term Black Friday derives from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally allow them to turn a profit, or put them “in the black.” However, this is untrue.
2). Question: Write a definition of the term ‘financial loss’ and include the words ‘in the red’ and ‘in the black’ in your definition. Start your sentence with: The definition of ‘financial loss is: bla bla bla.
LISTENING SECTION
Watch the short video and then answer the questions below.
Questions
- What is the name of the city where ‘The House Of Fraser’ department store in the UK only had one customer on Black Friday?
- What’s the difference between British Black Friday shoppers and American Black Friday shoppers?
- The excited American shopper guy being interviewed wasn’t very good at what academic subject?
***Now go back to section one and two and answer the two short writing questions***.
SECTION THREE
A more accurate explanation of the term dates back to the early 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia began using the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the chaos that resulted when large numbers of suburban tourists came into the city to begin their holiday shopping and, in some years, attend Saturday’s annual Army-Navy football game. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer shifts than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues.
3). Question: Do a little Google research and explain the difference between ‘a trafic jam’ and ‘a pot of jam’
SECTION FOUR
Within a few years, the term Black Friday had taken root in Philadelphia. City merchants attempted to put a prettier face on the day by calling it “Big Friday.” 
The phrase “Black Friday” to signify a positive boost in retail sales didn’t grow nationwide until the late 1980s, when merchants started to spread the red-to-black profit narrative. Black Friday was described as the day stores began to turn a profit for the year and as the biggest shopping day in the United States. In truth, most stores saw their largest sales on the Saturday before Christmas.
4). Question: What does it mean ‘to put a prettier face on a situation’
Two Similar Expressions: To put a happy face on a situation. To put a prettier face on a situation. What is the difference?
SECTION FIVE
In recent years, Black Friday has been joined by other shopping holidays, including Small Business Saturday, which encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, and Cyber Monday, which promotes shopping online.
Historically, Black Friday has yet another connotation, one unrelated to shopping. In 1869 Wall Street financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk attempted to corner the nation’s gold market at the New York Gold Exchange by buying as much of the precious metal as they could, with the intent of sending prices skyrocketing. On Friday, September 24, intervention by President Ulysses S. Grant caused their plan to fall apart. The stock market instantly plummeted, sending thousands of Americans into bankruptcy.
5). Question: What dates are the shopping days Black Friday and Cyber Monday ok?
WRITING EXERCISE:
Write 150 words about your experience of shopping on Black Friday. If you have never bought a sale item on Black Friday you can simply imaging a situation.
GRAMMAR TO USE:
When writing try to include two examples of DIRECT SPEECH. Below is a pdf worksheet to help you with the grammar.
Video Question Answers:
- What is the name of the city where ‘The House Of Fraser’ department store in the UK only had one customer on Black Friday? (Norwich)
- What’s the difference between British Black Friday shoppers and American Black Friday shoppers? (Americans are crazy)
- The excited American shopper guy being interviewed wasn’t very good at what academic subject? (Mathematics)
[rafflepress id=”1″]