Do we really feel European?

Although it seems the only way to get ahead is to hold on tightly to a united Europe, I still believe that many of us don't really feel as part of this union. Do you?
Bono, the lead singer of the Irish band U2, made a speech on this issue and I thought you may enjoy listening to part of it while practising your skill.
Do the fill-in-the-gap activity below and then, click KEY on the toolbar to check your answers.

For or against?

The need to control people's right to own a gun has been an open debate in the US for years but since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School last December, in which 20 kids and 6 educators were killed, it has been raging.
Barack Obama announced an initiative to reduce gun violence and has been backed up, among many others, by the mother of one of those fatally shot children. 
I've chosen her touching speech to introduce voiced consonants. These consonants are produced with the vibration of our vocal chords. You can feel this vibration by putting your fingers on your throat while producing the words 'zoo' /zuː/ and 'river' /ˈrɪvə/.
If you want to learn which  consonants are voiced and what they sound like, click this link.
Then, watch the video and do the fill-in-the-gap activity. All the missing words contain voiced consonants and you can use the phonetic transcription in the 'Clue' to help you. You can check your answers clicking the KEY.

Lincoln's Acceptance Speech

Yeah I know, he's not Lincoln but his performance was so awesome that he might be the reincarnation of his soul. 
I must admit it, I have a soft spot for Daniel Day-Lewis and I'm always at his feet, no matter what he does! 
I hope you enjoy his acceptance speech once you've completed the gap-fill activity below. This time I've created two versions, an activity for the elementary students and a more difficult one for the intermediate ones.
If you can't understand any word and finally give up, click KEY in the toolbar to get the correct answers.

Elementary Activity

Intermediate Activity

A great liar

Last week we enjoyed a presentation about the benefits and dangers of sport in which Lance Armstrong was pictured as an example of the kind of risky and illegal practices some sportspeople are able to engage in to improve their performance.
I guess you all have heard of the interview Armstrong granted Oprah Winfrey a few days ago and though he didn't sound really truthful or regretful to me, I decided to use part of it to get a listening task ready for you. Watch the video and do the fill-in-the-gap activity below. If you want to get the key, click the link on the toolbar.
You can read the whole transcript of the interview here.