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when they were a few days old, and both were named Jim by their new families. This was just the first in an almost unbelievable number of similarities in their lives, (see below).

Of course, some of this must be coincidence. But Professor Bouchard has come to a remarkable conclusion. Identical twins brought up separately are more similar than nonidentical twins brought up together. “I am not saying that upbringing doesn't matter – it's very important of course – but this research shows that our genes influence almost every part of our lives: they influence our IQ, our hobbies, our personalities, our political attitudes, our health, even the clothes and food we like.”

THE REMARKABLE “JIM TWINS”.

*Both grew up with an adopted brother called Larry. As children they both had dogs called Toy.

*Both men were divorced and remarried. Both first wives were called Linda, and both second wives were called Betty. Both had a first son called James Alan.

*Both were 184 cm tall and weighed 83 kg. Both loved motor racing and hated baseball.

*Both had the same handwriting and the same facial expressions.

*Both took their holidays at the same beach in Florida every year.

*Even their homes and gardens were very similar.

*In 2002, both men died of the same illness, on the same day.

Comprehension / Interpretation

Exercise 1. Read the text once again. Find three sentences showing what the author thinks about twins.

a)______________________________________________________________

b)______________________________________________________________

c)______________________________________________________________

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Exercise 2. Tick the statements that you believed to be true. Explain your point. Use the following expressions: I think …; I find it …; Personally, I feel …; It can be … .

1. Twins are closer than most brothers and sisters.

2. Many twins have the same IQ, the same health problems, the same hobbies and interests, the same attitudes and even the same tastes.

3. Identical twins brought up separately are more similar than non-identical twins brought up together.

4. The research shows that our genes influence almost every part of our lives: they influence our IQ, our hobbies; our personalities, our political attitudes, our health, even the clothes and food we like.

Exercise 3. This extract was translated by a computer. Read the translation and correct the mistakes.

It is well known that twins are closer than most brothers and sisters - after all, they spend more time in each other's company. Occasionally, this closeness becomes extreme: for example, Grace and Virginia Kennedy who as children invented their own language; or Greta and Freda Chapman who can speak the same words at the same time in the same voice, as if linked by telepathy. But what happens if, like Terry and Margaret, identical twins are separated at birth and brought up in different families? Will their backgrounds make them completely different, or will their shared genes still mean that they have a lot in common? Professor Tom Bouchard from the University of Minnesota, set out to find the answer to this question. He traced more than a hundred pairs of twins who were adopted by different parents at birth, sixty-four of whom were identical twins.

Хорошо известно, что близнецы находятся ближе, чем большинство братьев и сестер - в конце концов, они проводят больше времени в компании друг друга. Иногда эта близость становится крайности: например, Грейс и Вирджиния Кеннеди, который, как дети придумали свой собственный язык, или Грета и Фреда Чепмен, которые могут говорить те же слова в то же время в тот же голос, как будто связаны телепатии. Но что произойдет, если, как Терри и Маргарет, идентичные близнецы разделены при рождении и воспитывались в разных семьях? Будет ли их происхождения делает их совершенно разные, или их общие гены по-прежнему означает, что у них много общего? Профессор Том Бушара из Университета Миннесоты, отправился на поиски ответа на этот вопрос. Он проследил более ста пар близнецов, которые были приняты разные родители при рождении, шестьдесят четыре из которых были идентичными близнецами.

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