Parrots

Difficulty:Level 6

If you live in a country where parrots live in the wild, you may not pay much attention to them. However, for people like me living in cooler countries, parrots can be fascinating.

Not only do they often look exciting with their brightly colored feathers, the ability of some to mimic sounds and even talk can make them hugely entertaining.

Years ago we adopted a small South American parrot called Larry. He was so loud he could give me a headache and he didn't talk. However, he would still often interrupt our conversations by squawking loudly so we couldn't hear each other.

squawk

skwɔːk

Meanings

verb

• (of a bird) make a loud, harsh noise.
  E.g. the geese flew upriver, squawking

noun

• a loud, harsh, or discordant noise made by a bird or a person.
  E.g. with a startled squawk the rook flew off

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She has an American accent and expects you to use American spelling.

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How to use the Ringo Lingo Multi-Player

The Ringo Lingo Multi-Player has been sepecially designed to make it as easy as possible for you to listen to and complete dictation exercises. It's a bit more complex than a standard audio player, so we've covered its special features and tools below.

• Fresher mode

  

  We know that trying to follow a dictation with new words can be a difficult and frustrating experience, which is why we created Fresher mode. On the Standard player, when activated, the complete text of the dictation is displayed below the player, so you can see the words as you listen. On the Multi-Player, only the words for the current clip are displayed.
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• Multi-Player Tips

  

  You can turn the tips switch on and off at any time to show or hide tips on the controls of the Multi-Player. Click the Learn more link to go to a page with further information about the tool or feature.
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• Keyboard shortcuts

  

  There are a few keyboard shortcuts that you can use while typing your dictation answers. These are also shown when you hover on the keyboard icon in the player. You can press the down arrow key to pause the player. In normal mode, press the back arrow key to return to the start of the audio clip that is playing. Double-tap the back arrow keyto skip back to the start of the previous clip. In Loop mode, tap the forward arrow key to skip forward to the next clip.
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• Volume and speed

  

  1. The volume control will look familiar and the slider functions like any other basic volume control.
  2. The audio in the Multi-Player is slowed down by default. You can use the speed buttons to make it play faster or slower still.
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• Play and pause

  

  The play and pause button performs like any other audio player. Just click to start playing and again to pause, with the icon changes depending on whether audio is playing or not.
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• Progress bar

  

  As wih most audio players, as well showing progress through the audio, you can click the bar to jump to that in the audio. One difference you should notice is that the bar is split by vertical lines. The audio in the Multi-Player is divided into clips. Each vertical indicates the start point of a clip.
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• Skip back

  

  In normal mode, the skip button has a back icon, indicating that clicking it will skip the audio back to the start of the currently playing clip. You can double-click the button to skip back to the previous clip.
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• Loop mode

  

  1. If you find you have difficulty keeping up with a dictation, you may want to try Loop mode. When this switch is toggled on, the Multi-Player will repeatedly play the current clip in a loop.
  2. The skip button will now display a forward icon. When you have completed typing the text of the current clip, click the skip button to move forward to the next clip. If you need to go back at any time, you can click the progress bar.
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• Lexicon

  

  Some dictations may be at a level that is higher than you're currently at. In case you want to try a harder dictation, each exercise includes a lexicon. This is a collection of words that are used in a dictation. To turn this on, click the Lexicon switch. You will 7 buttons labelled from Starter to Expert. If you click a button, the Lexicon will display all the words that are classed as above the selected level. For example, when Expert is selected, you will see words that do not appear in the core list of English words. If you click starter, any words that do not appear in the top 100 core words will be displayed.
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  This means you can listen to dictations that use words you don't know yet. If you can identify these words by the way they are spelt, you can just click on a word to add it to your text. After you submit your text, you will see the correct and you can then use the dictionary feature to learn about any new words.
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• Word counter

  

  As you type, the number of words you've written is displayed below the text box. When you've written the correct number of words, the word counter will turn green. If you write too many words, it will turn red.
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• Hints

  

  Typing the correct number of words doesn\t necessarily mean that your dictation is correct. Before submitting you answer, you want to click and hold the "Give me a hint" button. The location of any errors in your answer will be highlighted. If you click the open padlock icon, it will lock the hints in position. You can now click on a hint and the player will skip to and play the audio clip that the error is within.
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• Answer

  

  When you're happy with your answer, click the "Check my answer" button and the correct answer will slide into view. Any errors will be highlighted, with yellow indicating words you missed, red indicating words you added that weren't in the dictation and blue indicating spelling errors. A brief explanation of each error will be displayed automatically. You can also hover over an error to show the explanation again.
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• Dictionary

  

  If the dictation contains any words that you don't fully understand, you can click the "Dictionary" toggle switch. The answer box will change color and if you hover over the text, each word will highlight individually. Click a word to show a definition of that word.
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  The definition pop up will contain information about the word. The exact types of information may vary depending on the word. You can click the sound icon to play an audio clip of the word. Some words may include synonyms and antonyms. If one of these words is a link, clicking it will open a new page showing a definition of that word.
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