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Hello, this is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
And I'm Beth.
In this episode,
we're talking about twins.
Non-identical,
or fraternal, twins
come from two separate eggs
and share half their genes.
More uncommon are identical twins,
who come from a single fertilised egg
and share 100% of their genes.
As humans, we're fascinated by twins.
When people discover
that someone's a twin,
they start asking all kinds
of questions.
What question
would you ask a twin, Neil?
Oh, probably quite an annoying one.
Maybe... do you share
each other's thoughts?
Ooh! I might ask – if one of you is
hurt, does the other one feel the pain?
Hmm. Interesting.
Well, some common questions
for twins include...
Do you have psychic powers?
Have you ever swapped boyfriends?
And do you have the same dreams?
But according to a Anand Jagatia,
who presented a recent episode
of BBC World Service's CrowdScience
all about twins...
...if you meet a twin and
you ask them one of these questions,
don't be surprised
if they roll their eyes at you.
Ask a twin about psychic powers
and they might roll their eyes – a
way of showing boredom or irritation.
But nevertheless, twins continue
to capture our imagination,
and in this episode
we'll be finding out why,
using some useful new words
and phrases.
And remember, you'll find
all the vocabulary for this episode,
along with a quiz and a worksheet,
on our website,
bbclearningenglish.com.
First, I have a question
for you, Beth.
These days, twins are more common
than you might think.
In fact, one
in every 42 babies is born a twin.
But do you know which famous
Hollywood star is a twin?
Is it: a) Jennifer Lawrence,
b) Angelina Jolie,
or c) Scarlett Johansson?
Oh, I don't know.
I'm going to guess
Scarlett Johansson.
Well, we'll find out the answer
at the end of the programme.
Professor Karen Dillon is the author
of a book on twins
in American literature
and a twin herself.
Here, she discusses the good and bad
sides of twinship with Anand Jagatia,
for BBC World Service programme
CrowdScience.
Being a twin isn't always
plain sailing.
Yeah, it is nice –
there's never that fear,
because you're going
through school together,
you're sometimes
in the same class together,
you're making friends together.
So, all of those milestones
of childhood,
in some ways,
are made easier for twins.
But then the older you get,
the more you realise
how much people really think of you
as a twin rather than as an individual.
Twins go through
many childhood milestones together.
A milestone is an important stage
of development,
so a childhood milestone could be
something like your first day at school.
But being a twin isn't always
plain sailing –
an idiom meaning easy
and problem-free.
Many twins find it hard
to establish their own identity
as a separate and unique individual.
Our fascination
with twins also comes from
the age-old nature-versus-nurture
debate – how much
of our lives is determined by nature,
the genetics we're born with,
and how much by nurture,
the environment we grow up in?
Because twins are
so genetically similar,
differences
between them tell scientists a lot.
Here's presenter of BBC World Service
programme CrowdScience, Anand Jagatia,
discussing this with Helena de Bres,
a philosopher
at Wellesley College, Massachusetts,
and – that's right – another twin.
Yeah, you hear about twins
that were separated at birth,
grew up in different parts
of the world
and they kind of have
these eerily similar life courses.
And you think, gosh!
How much choice have I had
over the way that
my life's turned out?
Absolutely, yeah.
There's that really famous case
of the Jim Twins,
who were reunited at age 39
after being separated at birth,
and they just had
so many similarities – it was crazy!
They both married
someone called Linda
and then divorced her
for someone called Betty.
They both named their dog Toy.
It was, like, ridiculous!
The twins, Jim Lewis and Jim
Springer, were separated at birth.
The phrase, separated at birth,
can be used to describe two people
with strong similarities.
Although, in this case
the twins were literally separated
and adopted by
different parents at birth.
When the Jims were reunited
in the 1970s,
everyone was amazed
at how similar their lives were.
Anand used the adjective eerie,
meaning strange in a frightening,
mysterious way.
And Helena says it was crazy – using
crazy to mean strange and fantastic.
Yes, I think strange,
mysterious and fantastic
describe being a twin quite well.
OK. Neil, it's time to reveal
the answer to your question.
I asked which
Hollywood star is a twin,
and you said c) Scarlett Johansson...
I did.
...which was the right answer.
Yay!
Let's recap the vocabulary we've
learned, starting with roll your eyes –
to move your eyes upwards
to show you are bored or annoyed.
A milestone is a significant stage
in the development of something.
The idiom, it's not plain sailing,
describes difficult
and problematic situations.
The phrase, separated at birth,
can describe
two people who are unusually similar.
It also refers to siblings who were
adopted by different parents at birth.
And the adjective eerie means strange
in a frightening and mysterious way.
And finally,
if someone says, it was crazy,
they mean it was strange
and fantastic.
Once again, our six minutes are up,
but remember – you can find worksheets,
quizzes and loads more resources
to improve your English on
our website bbclearningenglish.com.
See you there soon,
but for now – goodbye!
Goodbye!
Vocabulary
Word 1 of 15fraternal
word
0:16
"describing non-identical twins, who come from two separate eggs."
More Listening Practice
About this lesson
Discover the unique experiences of twins and what science tells us about nature vs nurture in this 6 Minute English episode.