Yo-yo

Difficulty:Level 6

A yo-yo is one of those things that you either find effortless or annoying and frustrating because it won't do what it's meant to do. Are you a master of the yo-yo or is it a toy you wish was never invented?

yo-yo

ˈjəʊjəʊ

Meanings

noun

• a toy consisting of a pair of joined discs with a deep groove between them in which string is attached and wound, which can be spun alternately downward and upward by its weight and momentum as the string unwinds and rewinds.
  E.g. with a flick of the wrist, she sent the yo-yo spiraling down and watched it spin there
• a stupid, insane, or unpredictable person.
  E.g. they think they're tangling with some small-town yo-yos, but they're not

verb

• move up and down; fluctuate.
  E.g. popularity polls yo-yo up and down with the flow of events

As well as being the name of the popular toy, yo-yo may also be used as a derogatory term for a person. As you see in the definition above, it can be applied as a way of calling someone stupid.

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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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  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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• 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.
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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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  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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