Nelson Mandela: Courage and Dignity

I can't help offering my little tribute to a man who was able to overcome the anger he felt against those people who had tried to do away with him just because he had a great goal in mind: to help his country and his people.
I don't know whether I'd be able to do so but I do admire his courage and cleverness.
This is part of an interview he did in Oprah Winfrey's program in 2000. Watch it and do the fill-in-the-gap activity to practise your listening but above all, enjoy it.

The right to know

Wikileaks and Julian Assange were just the beginning of an issue that's been causing a huge fuss all over the world, with Edward Snowden in the spotlight right now: Our right to know.
How far should we go in requiring our governments to hand over any information, no matter what about?
And how far should governments go to guarantee national security?
It's not that easy to set limits but we are all getting the feeling that everything we do is public whereas we know less and less about what politicians and powerful groups do.
I've chosen part of an interview with Julian Assange, confined in the Equadorian Embassy, to go a little bit further into this matter. Watch the video and do the multiple choice exercise below. You can get the whole interview transcript by clicking 'TRANSCRIPT' on the toolbar of the activity.

Definitely, he's not just handsome!

After hearing George Clooney addressing the Senate over Sudan crisis, I couldn't help feeling relieved to realize that some celebrities  use their popularity not just to get a table at the most exclusive restaurant or a room in the most luxurious hotel for free.
He seems to be aware that, unfortunately, the world will pay more attention to his words than to any activist's, so he's making the most of this fact.
In my view, that turns him into something else than a mere "pretty face".
This is part of an interview he did for the PBS Newshour. Watch it and complete the transcript below by clicking the arrow in each box and choosing the right option to fill in the gap. Then, click "CHECK" at the bottom.

Something is changing around the world

I don't know if the protests that started in Madrid on 15th May will result in a future presence of the protesters in the political arena but, at least, they seem to have awoken the citizens' awareness all around the world. 

To learn something about how these protests have arisen in London, watch this item of news and do the fill-in-the-gap activity. 
You can check your answers clicking the key.

A lesson for life

I'm sure you've heard Steve Jobs, the father of 'Apple' died last Wednesday. I knew he was a visionary who founded the company which has created such wonderful devices as the iPad, the iPhone or the iPod but after listening to his speech at Stanford University, I discovered a man with a philosophy of life that we all should follow.
You can do the listening test below and found out what he advised young people to do. You also have the transcript so that you can read it after you've finished the listening activity.

Earth Hour

You know last Saturday 26th a large number of countries around the world, among them Spain, participated in a big switch-off to call the citizens and governments' attention to the need to save energy and reduce emissions.

Read this article published in the Guardian and do the comprehension exercise below.

Then, watch the video which offers you some tips to save energy. Do you already do any of them? What else do you do to help the Earth? What do you think you could do? Write your comment below.

Earth Hour »

How To Save Energy in the Home on Howcast