[Reading level: B2 – Upper Intermediate]
Meeting for the first time after 39 years, identical twins James Arthur Springer and James Edward Lewis discovered that their lives shared many astonishing coincidences.
Born in 1940 in Ohio, Jim Edward Lewis and Jim Arthur Springer had a 35-year-old unmarried immigrant mother. The two were separated when they were four weeks old.
One was adopted by Ernest Springer, an employee of an electric company, and his wife Sarah. The Springers were willing to adopt both boys. However, for unknown reasons, they were informed that the younger twin had died. The second baby was adopted two weeks later by Jess Lewis, a school employee in Lima, and his wife Lucille.
Lewis grew up in Lima, Ohio, while Springer was raised in Piqua, Ohio, about 65 kilometers apart. From the age of six, Lewis knew he had a twin brother adopted by another family. Springer, on the other hand, only learned as a teenager that he had a twin brother—but believed the boy had died shortly after birth.
Lewis’s adoptive mother always encouraged him to find his brother, and in January 1979, he began his search. With the help of an adoption agency, he located Springer. On February 9, 1979, after 39 years apart, the brothers shook hands stiffly when they first saw each other, then hugged and burst out laughing.
“I looked into his eyes and saw my own reflection,” Springer recalled. “I wanted to scream or cry, but all I could do was laugh.”
They were stunned to find a remarkable number of similarities in their lives. Both had been married twice; their first wives were both named Linda, and their second wives were both named Betty. Their first sons had almost identical names: James Alan and James Allan.
As children, both had dogs named Toy. Each had an adoptive older brother named Larry. Both had received training in law enforcement and had part-time jobs with local police departments. They shared many hobbies, such as technical drawing and carpentry. Their favorite subject was math, and their least favorite was spelling.
They even vacationed at the same long beach near St. Petersburg, Florida, and both drove Chevrolets. Their smoking and drinking habits were almost identical.
“It was truly amazing,” Springer said in a 1979 interview. “Unbelievable. Strange. A little eerie, even.”
“We even use the same slang words,” Lewis added. “Sometimes I start a sentence, and he finishes it!”
Thomas J. Bouchard Jr., director of the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, who studied the case of Springer, Lewis, and other twins separated at birth, was also astonished by the findings.
“The chance of two people randomly having the same name isn’t that rare. But when you start adding up all these coincidences, it becomes hard to believe,” he said. “I was shocked by how many similarities they shared.”
For researchers, identical twins like Springer and Lewis were like a “living laboratory” for studying how genetics and environment influence human medical and behavioral development.
While studying the pair, scientists made a medically significant discovery: mixed-tension headache syndrome, a type of stress-related disorder that can lead to migraines. Previously, the condition was thought to have no genetic basis, but researchers changed their view, concluding that genetics may play a role in muscle-contraction-induced headaches.
“Their headache symptoms were strikingly similar,” said Dr. Leonard Heston, a member of the Minnesota research team. “The syndrome began at age 18 for both; each suffered at the same level and frequency. They even used almost identical words to describe it.”
“The way the body responds to stress may be more biological than experts once believed,” said Dr. Joel R. Saper, director of the Michigan Head Pain and Neurological Institute in Ann Arbor, after learning about the twins’ condition. “We might be looking at biological programming here. That means humans could be born with a genetic code that predisposes them to react in specific ways to external or environmental factors. This pair of twins opened up a fascinating new line of inquiry.”
Further research into the lives of Springer and Lewis led scientists to propose new hypotheses about physical development and aging. Both were 1.83 meters tall, and both had gained about 4.5 kilograms unexpectedly at one point. Each suffered from hemorrhoids, high blood pressure, and rapid heart rate, and they shared similar sleeping postures.
“They both bite their fingernails—right down to the nub,” Heston noted. While this couldn’t prove anything on its own, it made researchers wonder whether “humans might be biologically programmed for major life patterns.”
Bouchard’s team continued their research for 20 years, from 1979 to 1999, studying 137 pairs of twins, including 81 identical pairs and 56 fraternal pairs. Ultimately, the team concluded that genetics play a particularly significant role in shaping who we are—from career choices to habits and health—while being raised together has only a limited influence on human development.
Source: https://vnexpress.net/cuoc-doi-trung-hop-cua-cap-song-sinh-xa-cach-39-nam-4935863.html
WORD BANK:
identical twins /aɪˌden.t̬ə.kəl ˈtwɪnz/ (n): cặp sinh đôi giống hệt nhau (cùng trứng)
fraternal twins /frəˈtɝː.nəl ˈtwɪnz/ (n): cặp sinh đôi khác trứng
astonishing /əˈstɑː.nɪ.ʃɪŋ/ [B2] (adj): kinh ngạc
coincidence /koʊˈɪn.sə.dəns/ [B2] (n): sự trùng hợp
immigrant /ˈɪm.ə.ɡrənt/ [B1] (n): người nhập cư
adopt /əˈdɑːpt/ [B2] (v): nhận nuôi
adoptive mother /əˈdɑːp.tɪv ˈmʌð.ɚ/ (n): mẹ nuôi
adoption agency /əˈdɑːp.ʃən ˈeɪ.dʒən.si/ (n): cơ quan nhận nuôi
locate sb/sth /loʊˈkeɪt/ [B1] (v): tìm thấy, xác định vị trí
stiffly /ˈstɪf.li/ (adv): cứng nhắc, không tự nhiên
burst out /bɝːst aʊt/ (v): bật ra (cười, khóc, nói…)
reflection /rɪˈflek.ʃən/ [B2] (n): hình phản chiếu; sự suy ngẫm
scream /skriːm/ [B1] (v): hét, la
stun sb /stʌn/ [C1] (v): làm choáng váng, làm sững sờ
identical /aɪˈden.t̬ə.kəl/ [B2] (adj): giống hệt
law enforcement /ˈlɑː ˌɪn.fɔːrs.mənt/ (n): lực lượng thực thi pháp luật
carpentry /ˈkɑːr.pən.tri/ (n): nghề mộc
spelling /ˈspel.ɪŋ/ [A2] (n): chính tả
vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ (v): đi nghỉ dưỡng
eerie /ˈɪr.i/ (adj): rùng rợn, kỳ lạ
slang /slæŋ/ (n): tiếng lóng
astonish sb /əˈstɑː.nɪʃ/ [C1] (v): làm ngạc nhiên
laboratory /ˈlæb.rə.tɔːr.i/ [B2] (n): phòng thí nghiệm
genetics /dʒəˈnet̬.ɪks/ (n): di truyền học
mixed-tension headache syndrome /mɪkst ˈten.ʃən ˈhed.eɪk ˌsɪn.droʊm/ (n): hội chứng đau đầu căng thẳng hỗn hợp
stress-related disorder /ˌstres.rɪˈleɪ.t̬ɪd dɪˈsɔːr.dɚ/ (n): rối loạn liên quan đến căng thẳng
migraine /ˈmaɪ.ɡreɪn/ [B2] (n): chứng đau nửa đầu
muscle contraction /ˈmʌs.əl kənˈtræk.ʃən/ (n): sự co cơ
induce sth /ɪnˈduːs/ [C2] (v): gây ra
strikingly /ˈstraɪ.kɪŋ.li/ (adv): nổi bật, đáng chú ý
syndrome /ˈsɪn.droʊm/ (n): hội chứng
frequency /ˈfriː.kwən.si/ [B2] (n): tần suất
neurological /ˌnʊr.əˈlɑː.dʒɪ.kəl/ (adj): thuộc thần kinh
predispose sb to do sth /ˌpriː.dɪˈspoʊz/ (v): khiến ai có xu hướng làm gì
external /ɪkˈstɝː.nəl/ [B2] (adj): bên ngoài
line of inquiry /laɪn əv ɪnˈkwaɪr.i/ (n): hướng điều tra
hypothesis /haɪˈpɑː.θə.sɪs/ [C1] (n): giả thuyết
aging /ˈeɪ.dʒɪŋ/ (n): sự lão hóa
hemorrhoid /ˈhem.ə.rɔɪd/ (n): bệnh trĩ
sleeping posture /ˈsliː.pɪŋ ˈpɑːs.tʃɚ/ (n): tư thế ngủ
nub /nʌb/ (n): mẩu nhỏ, phần cụt
program (v) /ˈproʊ.ɡræm/ (v): lập trình; cài đặt (hành vi, phản ứng)
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