Attempted Assassination

Instructions:

Listen to the video carefully and answer the following questions. Choose the best answer for each question. Click “Submit Answers” when you’re done to see your results.

Attempted Assassination of Ronald Reagan – Listening Comprehension Exercise

Attempted Assassination of Ronald Reagan – Listening Comprehension Exercise

Instructions:

Listen carefully and choose the best answer for each question.

1. Where was President Reagan giving his speech?
  • The White House
  • The Hilton Hotel
  • The Capitol Building
  • The Pentagon
2. Who was Reagan speaking to that day?
  • School children
  • Members of the building and construction union
  • Congress
  • Foreign diplomats
3. What time did Reagan finish his speech?
  • Around 1:00 p.m.
  • Around 2:25 p.m.
  • Around 3:00 p.m.
  • Around noon
4. Which news network was Sam Donaldson reporting for?
  • NBC
  • ABC
  • CBS
  • CNN
5. Why were Donaldson and Brown waiting near the hotel exit?
  • To photograph the limousine
  • To ask the president a question as he walked out
  • To meet with security staff
  • To record a separate news segment
6. Who began screaming "Mr. President" just before the shots?
  • A reporter
  • A woman in the crowd
  • A security agent
  • James Brady
7. How many shots did John Hinckley fire?
  • Four
  • Six
  • Eight
  • Three
8. Who was hit by the first shot?
  • President Reagan
  • James Brady
  • Thomas Delahanti
  • Tim McCarthy
9. Where was police officer Thomas Delahanti struck?
  • In the arm
  • In the back of the neck
  • In the chest
  • In the leg
10. Which Secret Service agent was hit in the chest?
  • Hank Brown
  • Tim McCarthy
  • Charlie Wilson
  • Sam Donaldson
11. Why did some of those present not wear bulletproof vests that day?
  • They had all been damaged
  • It was considered a routine visit
  • They forgot to bring them
  • The weather was too hot
12. What sound did some people first mistake the gunshots for?
  • A car backfiring
  • Firecrackers
  • Applause
  • A microphone popping

Your Results

You and your forebears built our nation.
Now, please help us rebuild it.
It was supposed to be a completely
ordinary day. The president had come to
the Hilton Hotel to deliver a routine
speech to members of the building and
construction union.
Reagan arrived at precisely 1:50 in the
afternoon. His speech ended to polite
applause around 2:25.
White House correspondent Sam Donaldson
was covering for ABC News.
Well, I think most of us when we covered
a president decided that if he was ever
in public, we were going to be there,
even though that speech didn’t amount to
a lot.
Donaldson was accompanied by cameraman
Hank Brown, seen here with cameramen
from CBS and NBC in the unofficial press
area near the hotel’s VIP entrance.
When the speech ended, Donaldson and
Brown positioned themselves in the press
line, hoping the president might answer
a few questions as he walked to his
limousine.
I would start rolling on the president
coming out and that’s when Sam started
to ask the president a question. At the
same time, this lady was screaming out,
“Mr. Reagan, Mr. President,
Mr. President,
Mr.
and his hand goes up. He looks his way.
Brady was coming across and then pow pow
pow pow pow
[Applause]
to my right about five feet away John
Hinckley shot six times and we all
watched the president at least I did and
I didn’t think he’d been hit with all
eyes straining to see if the president
had been shot the cameras were left to
see everything else
Brady went down more or less in front of
me that’s something that you know you’ll
never forget get. You don’t actually see
him getting ahead, but you see the blood
go across the lens.
Charlie Wilson was covering for CBS.
I hear a couple people cheering and then
what sounds like somebody had set off
firecrackers. My initial thought, “Oh,
that’s a very funny joke.” And then as I
see people dropping off, uh, I realize
this is no joke.
Shelley Fileman was NBC’s cameraman.
When Hinckley went down and started
shooting, I would say that uh I was
probably around a foot and a half to 2
feet away from him and his gun.
The exact sequence of shots is difficult
to determine, but according to a
government report, the first shot hits
James Brady in the forehead.
[Music]
The second takes down Washington DC
police officer Thomas Delahanti as he
turns to locate the president.
Deahanti is hit in the back of the neck.
The third shot strikes Agent Tim
McCarthy in the chest.
Three bullets, three wounded, at least
one of them because no one was wearing
the customary bulletproof vest.
I didn’t wear it. The president didn’t
wear it. McCarthy didn’t wear it. I
figured it was such a routine visit that
it wasn’t necessary to wear it that day.