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Middle Ages

The Black Death

The Black Death
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.37

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    alignment, armpit, astrology, bubonic, grisly, pestilence, bloodstream, cargo, medieval, reportedly, gruesome, based, outcast, travelers, rumor, unknown
     content words:    Black Death, Middle Ages

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The Black Death
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     A frightening rumor was spreading across Europe in 1347. It was told in horrifying detail by travelers returning from the East.
 
2     According to the rumor, a mysterious force was killing people. It wasn't like any ordinary disease. A person hardly had time to become sick, and before you knew it, he was gone. And as if that wasn't bad enough, this mysterious killer disposed of its victims in a most grisly manner. There were reports of bodies exploding with the foul sickness. Victims, as soon as they began to feel sick, reportedly gave off such a stench that no one would go near them.
 
3     Were the reports true? What was this mysterious killer? And what made it spread?
 
4     People in medieval Europe soon found out the answer to the first question. The reports were true. An unknown but gruesome sickness was spreading across Europe, and it was taking the lives of its victims. The plague spread gradually, making its way across Europe at the rate of a few miles each day.

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