St. Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He was born in the fourth century and is famous for bringing Christianity into Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is a very well known Irish national holiday, which is celebrated not only in Ireland but all around the world. It falls on the 17th of March. If you want to know more about the history of the holiday go to  History Channel  and enjoy the videos.

Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab is one of the best websites on the Internet to practise your listening skills. You will find graded listenings according to  level of difficulty and now you can also enjoy the new cultural video snapshots which come  with practice questions and the transcript. I hope you find it useful.

Listen to President Barack Obama delivering his speech and corrrect the  statements below if necessary.

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1.  I thank President Bush for his service to our nation.

2. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.

3. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of many.

4.  Each day brings further evidence that the ways we use our policy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

5. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are clear.

6. We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

7. all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

8.  We understand that greatness is never a given. It must be won.

9. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we could have a better life.

10. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation in the world.

11. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

12. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the challenges of a new period. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

13.The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.

14. This crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control – and that a nation cannot succeed in the long term when it favors only the  prosperous.

15. America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity.

16. Remember that older generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

17.  We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.

18. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the East – know that your people will judge you on what you can create, not what you destroy.

19. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our frontiers

20. We remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.

21. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and humility, bravery and fair play, tolerance and compassion, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old

22. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world.

President Barack Obama’s inauguration speech . Full text