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Famous People
Ronald Reagan
Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions
1. Do you know when Ronald Reagan was president of the
United States?
2. What do you think he did before he became president?
3. Do you think he was a popular president?
4. Something very serious happened to Reagan while he was
president. Can you guess what happened to him?
COMPREHENSION !
A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the
statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.
1. Ronald Reagan was the fourteenth president of the United
States.
2. He was first elected in 1989.
3. He was elected for the second time in 1994.
4. Reagan was a popular president.
5. Reagan spent a lot of money on the U.S. army.
Ronald Reagan became the fortieth president of the United States in
1980. He was elected president twice and was president from 1980
to 1989.
Before he was interested in politics, Reagan was a sportscaster and
then a famous Hollywood actor. One of his best-known movies is
Dark Victory, which was made in 1939. He also appeared in
television shows in the early 1960s.
In 1964, he became actively involved in politics, as a member of the
Republican Party. He was elected governor of California in 1966
and was governor for almost 10 years. After being governor, he
decided he wanted to be the president of the United States. It took
him until 1980 to achieve his goal. His first term as president was a
success. When he was re-elected in 1984, he scored a huge victory
over his opponent.
About a year after first becoming president, Reagan was shot by a
deranged man. He recovered from his wounds, though, and
continued to serve as president.
Some people think that Reagans conservative economic policies
benefited rich people much more than poor people when he was
president. Other people think that his aggressive foreign policies
and the large amount of money he spent on the United States
military helped to bring about the end of communism in the Soviet
Union. A political scandal involving Iran also occurred while he was
president. But, although he had problems during his time as
president, Reagan was always very popular with the American
people. Many Americans thought he was a very likeable man.
Reagan had Alzheimers disease for close to 10 years. He led a very
private life because the disease made it very difficult for him to be
out in public. His wife, Nancy, supported him at home. She
continues to raise money for the Ronald Reagan Library and
Museum, which is located in Simi Valley, California.
A book was written about Reagan in 1999 by a writer named
Edmund Morris. The book is called Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald
Reagan. Reagan died on June 5th, 2004.
Ronald Reagan
2
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
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Famous People
Ronald Reagan
B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.
1. How many times was Ronald Reagan elected president?
2. What did he do before he became president? (name three things)
3. Which political party did he belong to?
4. How long did Reagan serve as governor of California?
5. What happened to Reagan in 1981?
6. According to the story, who did he help more, rich people or poor people?
7. Why did he lead a very private life after leaving office?
8. What does his wife, Nancy, do now?
VOCABULARY REVIEW !
A. Odd One Out - Underline the word that has a different meaning than the other words on the line.
1. victory win failure success
2. support think help benefit
3. achieve reach get boss
4. huge big happy great
5. elect lecture choose vote
6. policy governor rule principle
DISCUSS
1. Do you know any other famous
actors who became politicians?
2. What qualities do you think are
necessary to become a leader of a
country?
3. Do you think the president should be
able to serve more than one term in
office?
4. Do you know any other famous
politicians who were shot while in
office?
5. Can you explain the difference
between right wing and left wing
political views?
B. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.
_____ 1. private a. aim, objective
_____ 2. disease b. injury, cut
_____ 3. recover c. traditional, doesnt like great change
_____ 4. deranged d. forceful
_____ 5. opponent e. not public
_____ 6. military f. mentally ill, insane
_____ 7. aggressive g. sickness
_____ 8. popular h. army, soldiers
_____ 9. conservative i. from another country
_____ 10. wound j. well-liked
_____ 11. foreign k. get better
_____ 12. goal l. person who is against someone in a fight or contest.

C. Explain the underlined words in the following sentences.
1. His first term as president was a success. ______________________________________________________
2. A political scandal occurred when he was in office. ______________________________________________
3. Mrs. Reagan raises money for the Ronald Reagan Museum. _______________________________________
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Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.
ANSWER KEY
Please note:
The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1-5 individual answer
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
A. True or False
1. F 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T
B. Written Answers
1. Ronald Reagan was elected president twice.
2. Before he became president, Reagan was a sportscaster and then a famous Hollywood actor.
3. Reagan belonged to the Republican Party.
4. Reagan served as governor of California for almost 10 years.
5. In 1981, Reagan was shot by a deranged man.
6. According to the story, some people believe that Reagans economic policies helped rich people more than poor people.
7. Reagan led a very private life after leaving office because he had Alzheimers which made it difficult for him to make
public appearances.
VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Odd One Out
1. failure 2. think 3. boss 4. happy 5. lecture
6. governor
B. Match the words
1. e 2. g 3. k 4. f 5. l 6. h 7. d 8. j
9. c 10. b 11. i 12. a
C. Explain the underlined words
1. Term - a term is a limited period of time.
2. Scandal - a scandal involves widely publicized allegations of wrong-doing, disgrace or moral outrage. A scandal may
be based on reality, or the product of false allegations.
3. Raises - raising money means collecting money from people for a specific purpose such as charity, a school trip, or a
political campaign.
Famous People
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan became the fortieth president of the United States in 1980. He was elected president twice and was
president from 1980 to 1989.
Before he was interested in politics, Reagan was a sportscaster and then a famous Hollywood actor. One of his
best-known movies is Dark Victory, which was made in 1939. He also appeared in television shows in the early
1960s.
In 1964, he became actively involved in politics, as a member of the Republican Party. He was elected governor of
California in 1966 and was governor for almost 10 years. After being governor, he decided he wanted to be the
president of the United States. It took him until 1980 to achieve his goal. His first term as president was a success.
When he was re-elected in 1984, he scored a huge victory over his opponent.
About a year after first becoming president, Reagan was shot by a deranged man. He recovered from his wounds,
though, and continued to serve as president.
Some people think that Reagans conservative economic policies benefited rich people much more than poor
people when he was president. Other people think that his aggressive foreign policies and the large amount of
money he spent on the United States military helped to bring about the end of communism in the Soviet Union. A
political scandal involving Iran also occurred while he was president. But, although he had problems during his
time as president, Reagan was always very popular with the American people. Many Americans thought he was a
very likeable man.
Reagan had Alzheimers disease for close to 10 years. He led a very private life because the disease made it very
difficult for him to be out in public. His wife, Nancy, supported him at home. She continues to raise money for the
Ronald Reagan Library and Museum, which is located in Simi Valley, California.
A book was written about Reagan in 1999 by a writer named Edmund Morris. The book is called Dutch: A Memoir
of Ronald Reagan. Reagan died on June 5th, 2004.
4
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.
Famous People
Ronald Reagan