In this course ,we have tried to prepare you to understand and discuss important topics that are often in the news.

Sometimes the new is goodnews , but all too often we learn of problems and crises.

Once in a while, an event is extraordinary and will change the world.

In this lesson , we focus onan event that changed the history forever.

This historic event was theassassination of the Roman leader , Julius Caesar.

We will never know how history might have been different had these events not taken place.

But we can speculate what caused it and how it might have been prevented .

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One of the most famous assassinations in history was the assassination of Julius Caesar .

At the time of his death in44 B.C., he was the leader of the Roman Empire.

His title was “Dictator forLife”which meant he had absolute authority for as long as he lived.

He had gained this power though his successes as a military commander.

In fact , some historians consider him to be one of the greatest military commanders in history.

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Once gaining power , he fought against corruption and began to restructure the government .

For example , he increased the number of senators and changed how they were chosen .

Instead of being elected ,they could be appointed ,even if they were not from Rome .

These actions reduced the power of individual senators and shifted the power to Caesar himself .

In doing so , he created many enemies , especially among the aristocracy.

However , he also had many admirers who supported his efforts to end corruption .

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Caesar was stabbed to death by a group of Romansenators on March 15 ,44B.C.

He was scheduled to leaveRome 3 days later to fight in another war .

He had appointed members ofhis army to rule the Empire while he was away .

This action angered many inthe Roman senate who didn’t want to take orders from Caesar’s subordinates.

He should have been aware thatmany of the senators hated him , but he dismissed his security force not longbefore the assassination .

If he hadn’t dismissed it ,the assassination attempt might not have succeeded .

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On the day of his assassination,it is reported that Caesar may have been handed a warning note as he entered the senate .

If he did receive such a note, he didn’t read it .

It seems as if he was in a state of denial and refused to recognize the danger that was facing him .

Once he had entered these nate , he was surrounded by senators holding daggers , or knives .

The first blow hit Caesar in his neck and drew blood .

Then the other senatorsjoined in and stabbed him repeatedly until he fell to the floor and died .

In total , he suffered 23knife wounds .

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With his death , powershifted to his adopted son ,Octavian ,who vowed revenge against the assassins .

Eventually , several of theleading assassins were either killed orcommitted suicide .

After a power struggle , Octavianstrengthened his position as leader and ruled the Empire for many years .

In the end , Caesar’sattempts to end corruption failed .

( He may have been overconfident and unaware of the magnitude ofthe danger facing him .)

One of the most historic events of the 20th century was the assassination of US. President John kennedy .

Kennedy was the 35th president of the Unite State , serving as President from January 1961 until November 1963 .

During his time in office the US. entered the space race with the Soviet Union .

Kennedy pledged that the US would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

Unfortunately , he never lived to see this happen .

In October of 1962 ,the USand the Soviet Union came dangerously close to entering a full-scale nuclear war .

This event was known as theCuban Missile Crisis.(古巴导弹危机)

Kennedy’s skillful handing ofthe situation , along with that of his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev（赫鲁晓夫） ,helped save the world from a nuclear catastrophe.

Following this event , hisapproval rating in the Unite States improved from 66% to 77% .

To many , he was consideredto be the type of leader who could build a better world .

(He never lived to see the landing of a man on the moon . )

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On November 22 ,1963 ,Kennedy’spresidency came to a sudden and tragic end .

He was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade in the city of Dallas ,Texas.(达拉斯，德克萨斯州)

Kennedy and his wife weresitting in an open car ,waving to a large crowd of people when he was shot .

They were sitting in an opencar ,with no protection ,because the sky was clear .

It had rained until about 10a.m., but then the sun came out .

If the sky hadn’t cleared,there would have been a bubble top,or clear roof ,on the car .

This would have prevented theassassination .

Kennedy wanted it down sothat he could be closer to the crowds who were there to greet him .

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Another factor thatcontribute to the assassination was the route of the motorcade through the city .

The route was published several days earlier in the local newspapers .

The motorcade was to pass through downtown Dallas and round a sharp corner near the building where the assassin worked .

From that building , therewas a clear view of the president’s car .

If the route had been different ,the assassination probably wouldn’t have taken place .

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The president was stuck by two bullets ,but it was the second one that probably killed him .

That was the fatal shot .

It opened a massive wound inhis head .

Sitting beside him ,his wife’s last words to her husband were:“Jack ,Jack,can you hear me ? I love you Jack.”

The assassin’s quick shots were incredibly accurate .

If the fatal shot had been off by just a little ,Kennedy might have survived .

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So if any of these factors had been different ,history would have changed .

Kennedy’s death disillusioned many Americans who had been inspire by his vision for the future .

With his death ,a whole generation of Americans woke up to a reality where their dreams for a brighter future had been shattered .

(The fatal shot was the onethat killed the president .

It’s highly unlikely that the assassin would have used thatlocation had the view not been clear .)