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The 1980's

The President Is Shot

The President Is Shot
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.56

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    determined, assassinate, motorcade, verdict, surgical, kennedy, attendance, executive, federal, mere, wealthy, impressed, guilty, injury, saying, successful
     content words:    Many Americans, President Ronald Reagan, Secret Service, President John F., John Hinckley, United States, Jodie Foster, Miss Foster, White House Press Secretary James Brady, Timothy McCarthy

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The President Is Shot
By Jane Runyon 		  
1     On the afternoon of March 30, 1981, many Americans experienced a feeling of déjà vu. Déjà vu is the name given to the feeling that a person has that he or she has seen or experienced an event before. Many Americans couldn't help having that feeling on this day.
 
2     The news hit TVs and radios immediately. President Ronald Reagan had been shot. He was leaving a Washington, D.C., hotel, turned to wave at some of the people gathered to see him, and fell toward the ground. Before he could hit the ground, his Secret Service agents whisked him into his car and headed to the hospital. This same story had been heard before.
 
3     On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was riding in a motorcade through Dallas, Texas. He smiled and waved to the crowd that had gathered to see him. Shots rang out from a nearby building. The president collapsed into the backseat of the car and was immediately taken to the nearest hospital. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Now, just seventeen years later, the news sounded eerily the same.

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