Unit 8

Part Two: Listening 1

Although twins have always been a source of curiosity, they are not so uncommon statistically, since they occur in every 86 births.

About one third of all twins are identical, or single-egg twins. Identical twins have the same genes and, hence, the same sex, hair, eye, blood type, and bone and tooth structure. Some identical twins are mirror images of each other. For example, one may be left-handed, the other right-handed. As young children, some identical twins may develop their own private language. Identical twins have an especially keen intuition, and they seem to think and dress alike even when away from each other. In fact, even when they are separated at birth and raised apart, identical twins develop surprisingly similarities. They may pursue the same careers, have the same interests, or die within days of each other.

In contrast to identical twins, fraternal twins inherit a separate set of genes and are not necessarily of the same sex.

 

Listening II

When Robert Jones, 19, went to college this fall, he was surprised that so many of his classmates called him “Edward”. They told him he looked just like a former student, Edward Gallant, and a friend of Gallant’s discovered they had the same birth date. Both Robert and Edward were adopted. When they talked with each other, they discovered that they were identical twins separated shortly after birth. In fact, they were wrong: they were triplets. After newspapers published their pictures, Edward’s mother got a call from David Kellman. “You’re not going to believe this,” he said, “but I believe I’m the third.”

As “Baby A”, “Baby B” and “Baby C”, Robert, Edward and David had been born to the same other on July 12, 1976. They were adopted by three different couples, none of whom was told their new son had brothers. The reunion of the three boys after 19 years was a big surprise for everyone in all the families.

Relatives say their resemblance extends well beyond their looks. All three like active sports and have similar tastes in rock music and girlfriends. All three are extroverts who have similar gestures. They talk in the same way, they have the same laugh, they hold their cigarettes in the same way, and all three smoke the same brand of cigarette.

 

Part Three: Practice One

Michael Phelps stands six feet four inches (193 centimeters) and weights 195 pounds (88.5 kilograms), with the broad shoulders and slim waist common the elite swimmer.

But consider his body measurements a little closer and it becomes clearer why Phelps is dominating these Olympic Games.

He has an extended trunk and relatively short legs, a distinct advantage in the water. The inseam of his pants is reportedly 32 inches (81 centimeters), shorter than that of Hicham EI Cuerrouj, the great Moroccan runner, who is five feet nine inches (175 centimeters) but all legs.

Phelps had double-jointed elbows, knees and ankles, which allows him to bend himself like few swimmers can. His size-14 (European Size-48.5) feet are like giant fins.

Add to that the extraordinary work rate of his lungs and heart, and Phelps appears almost superhuman—a different species from the rest of us.

Of course, he trains extraordinarily hard. But so do others. To be an Olympic champion, a person’s genes must first be preset for maximal athletic performance. After all, great athletes are born, then made better.

“The best athletes in the world are a result of good genes and optimal training,” said Philips B. Sparling, who is a professor of applied physiology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. “A person who has great dedication, motivation, and excellent training will not rise to the world-class level unless he or she has inherited a supercharged physiological system for the sport.”

Practice Two

(Summerhill is a famous experimental boarding school that was founded in 1921. Here the founder, A.S. Neil talks about his ideas about the founding and running of the school.)

Our aims of the school:

When my wife and I began the school, we had one main idea: to make the school fit the children—instead of making the child fit the school.

I had taught in ordinary schools for many years. I knew the other way well. I knew it was wrong. It was because it was based on an adult conception of what a child would be and of how he should learn. The other way dated from the days when psychology was still an unknown science.

Our view on education:

Well, we set out to make the school in which we should allow children the freedom to be themselves. In order to do this, we had to renounce all discipline, all direction, all suggestion, all moral training, and all religious instruction. We have been called brave, but it did not require courage. All it required was what we had—a complete belief in the child as a good, not an evil, being. For over forty years, this belief in the goodness of the child has never changed; it rather ahs become a final faith.

My view is that a child is born wise and realistic. If left to himself without adult suggestion of any kind, he will develop as far as he is capable of developing. Logically, Summerhill is a place in which people who have the inborn ability and wish to be scholars will be scholars while those who are only fit to sweep the street will sweep the street. But we have not produced a street cleaner so far.

Practice Three

Chang and Eng were the original Siamese twins, born in Siam in 1811. The king of Siam ordered them to be killed but their mother managed to keep them alive and bring them up as normal as possible.

They were not very tall and were connected by a band of tissue 4.5 inches long, but they were very intelligent. They emigrated to America, became famous as a circus act and by the time they were thirty had made a lot of money. Then they got married. They married sisters and between them had twenty-two children. Chang and Eng now have more than 1,000 descendants. For some years they all lived in the twin’s original house; but when the families grew they built in separate homes. Chang and Eng spending three days in one and the next three in the other.

In their later years, Chang’s health deteriorated because he drank to much. Eng become so worried that he tried to get separated, but no doctor would do the operation. The end of their lives was painful. On January 12, 1874, Chang took to his bed with bronchitis in his own house. On the Thursday it was time to the move, according to the arrangement, to Eng’s house. Eng did not want Chang to go, but Chang insisted. His health grew steadily worse until he died on January 17. When Eng realized his twin brother had died he said, “Then I’m going to die too.” He did, two hours later.

Practice Four

The importance of nature over nurture in behavior has been shown in an experiment with monkeys.

A University of Chicago researcher has shown for the first time that young monkeys reared by foster mothers are more likely to show aggressive or friendly behavior of their birth mothers instead of the behavior of their foster mothers.

The discovery of inheritance of social behavior among non-human primates is important in understanding human behavior. It supports another research that suggests that behavior such as sociability and aggressiveness in human may have a genetic basis.

Rhesus monkeys offer an important research population because they organize in strong matrilineal structures, and the female offspring often exhibit the same social behaviors as their mothers. The experiment showed that some aspects of behavior were inherited or learned by the female offspring. Also it showed that inherited behavior was probably more important than nurture in female offspring.

For the study, rhesus female babies were exchanged between mothers who had recently given birth.

To understand the origins of behavior, the researchers looked at social contact and aggression among the offspring. The researchers showed, for example, how many times the infants had bodily contact and how many time they expressed aggression, such as threats, slaps, bites and chases with other group members.

Looking at the behavior of the monkey and their mothers over a period of three years, the researchers found that the offspring’s behavior resembled the behavior of their biological mothers. There was practically no behavioral similarity between the offspring and their foster mothers. For instance, offspring who often used threats and slaps to get their way usually had biological mothers who also showed the same behavior.

 

Part Four

Section I

All children have gifts and some of them are highly gifted. They may have a talent for music and art. They may be very good at sports or dancing, or be scientifically or technically creative. Very often, gifted children have outstanding intellectual potential.

Parents often ask about the “signs” of giftedness. Please bear in mind that the following are only examples; not every child will display all these characteristics. Gifted children often: walk and talk early; have great physical and mental energy; seem to need less sleep than children of the same age; show great curiosity about the world around them; are particularly interested in cause and effect, and in fundamental questions such as the meaning of life and death; ask lots of questions, have a superior vocabulary; talk fluently; and learn to read early.

Children of high intelligence often seek the company of older children, as well as that of adults. They often prefer games and hobbies which are usually associated with older children.

Whatever form of exceptional ability a child may show, the best preparation for growing up is to have lived fully as a child. There are times when a child, however clever, will want to play and act like other children, and he or she should be allowed and encouraged to do so.

 

Section II

(Two students, Barbara and John, have just met and are talking about their families at a college in the Midwest.)

B: Did I hear you say that you have an identical twin brother named James?

J: Yes, I do. He is attending California Institute of Technology and studying mechanical engineering.

B: But I thought identical twins should have the same interests and abilities, and want to go to college together.

J: Not always. Genes give identical twins the potential for developing the same interests and abilities. Dad and Mom encourage us to develop our own interests individually, and we did.

B: Did you and James dress alike and have the same teachers in elementary school?

J: No, my parents encouraged us to dress differently, and we were in different classrooms at school.

B: But if you looked alike and spent time together, didn’t you have many of the same idea?

J: Sure, some of the time, but that’s also true of any brothers who grow up together in the same family.

B: Does James like music too?

J: Yes, but only for relaxation. He’s never been interested in studying music and he didn’t learn to play any musical instruments when we were younger. I did well in math courses, but I wanted to spend most of my time learning to play the piano and violin.

B: I thought that identical twins would have about the same interests and abilities. You’ve convinced me that this isn’t always so. Hearing about you and your brother gives me some new ideas of how personal differences can develop, even in identical twins.

J: Well, I think that my parents had a big influence on how James and I developed differences in our interests. We still keep in close contact with email and phone calls, and we really enjoy one another when we can be together.

B: Sound good to me!

Section III

Children cannot distinguish between right and wrong until they reach age six or seven. But beginning in infancy, children learn important moral lessons by observing their parents’ actions. It is through behavior, rather than words, that parents shape their children’s understanding of moral issues.

During his first year, a baby becomes familiar with his parents’ facial expressions, especially his mother’s. Perhaps one day he hits her with a toy, suddenly he notices that she frowns instead of smiling. He perceives that her mood has changed, and the memory of her displeasure stays with him. At some point during his second year, he has stored enough memories involving himself and his mother, as well as other key people in his environment, to help him form the notion that there are rules that govern the way people treat one another. When people are treated right, good feeling results; when treated wrongly, bad feeling results. This is his first moral lesson.

What children absorb from their environment at age two can have great influence on the moral decisions they will make later on. Because children see parents as representatives of what is right, parents’ behavior plays a critical role in children’s earliest understanding of moral issues. By observing the way their parents interact with their children and each other, preschool children learn what kinds of behaviors are appropriate. They notice whether parents use physical force when they argue or whether they are kind and respectful toward each other and family members. By their parents’ example, children learn about such things as lying, stealing, and breaking the law. One absolute truth about children’s moral development is that parents’ deeds speak a great deal louder than their words.

By the time children are six years old, they are able to understand that some things are right and others aren’t. They know that hitting is not done because it’s wrong to hurt people. Meanwhile their parents’ attitude continues to play a huge part in shaping their developing moral sense. So mothers and fathers should think about not only their personal behavior but also their position on social issues that have moral implcations.