Twins reunited
● What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a twin?
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This story appeared in an online newspaper. Why do you think it made the news?
Identical twin sisters, separated at birth and brought up 4000 miles apart, describe the moment they discovered each other on Facebook Anaïs Bordier was brought up as an only child in Paris, while Samantha Futerman grew up as the only adopted child in a New Jersey family. But while Anaïs was studying fashion design in London, she was shown a YouTube video of an American actress who looked, sounded and acted just like her. So she sent a Facebook message to Samantha, who was born on the same day in Busan, South Korea. Then they talked on Skype for three hours. One year and one DNA test later, they knew that they were twin sisters that had been separated at birth. Both Anaïs and Samantha speak English, although French is Anaïs’s first language.
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The girls say they both felt that something was missing in their lives but now that they have found each other, they have extra confidence. Anaïs said, ‘I did feel as if I missed something. I had an imaginary friend when I was a kid and she was called Anne. I needed that comfort, I guess.’ Neither the Futermans nor the Bordier family knew that the baby they had adopted was a twin. Mrs Futerman said, ‘We would have taken both of you’. Anaïs and Samantha met for the first time in London and realised just how much they have in common. They look alike, they have similar mannerisms and they share the same interests. Both of them are interested
This story originally appeared with three bullet points below the headline. The bullet points summarised the story. This is a feature of some online news reporting. Read the story and complete the three points.
Anaïs Bordier and Samantha Futerman were born ... and adopted by ... 2 ● Anaïs grew up in ... and Samantha grew up in ... 3 ● They got in touch with one another after ...
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in the arts, they have the same favourite TV programmes, they both hate cooked carrots and neither of them likes getting up early. Has either of them ever pretended to be the other one? They’re not saying ...
Did you know? There are two types of twins: identical and fraternal (non-identical). Identical twins have very similar DNA, whereas fraternal twins each have their own, different, DNA. In fact identical twins aren’t completely identical, although they look very similar. For example, their fingerprints are similar but not identical. Fraternal twins, on the other hand, can look quite different from each other. Look carefully at the photo of Samantha and Anaïs. Can you see any differences?