Answer:
They knew the Thames led to the center of London. They knew the British were defending the riverbanks
A reader can found the main idea of a passage by analyzing the connotation of the words, summarize the passage and entering details into a graphic organizer. Analyzing the meaning of each word in the text and summarizing is very important in understanding what message it conveys. Also, using a graphic organizer would lead you to finding the main idea of the passage as it highlights the important parts of the text.
I withstood the bitter words, and preceded the conversation with a welcoming tone.