What's it like to be a twin?

6 Minute English

BBC

Language Learning, Education

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 August 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Do you know any twins? Or perhaps you are a twin yourself! Many people are fascinated by the lives of twins, but what questions should you avoid asking when you meet a twin? Neil and Beth discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.

Find a full transcript, worksheet and interactive quiz for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2025/ep-250828

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Have you signed up to our Learning English newsletter yet?
0:03.0	Get weekly updates about our latest programmes,
0:06.0	tips for learning and quizzes, all from our BBC Learning English presenters.
0:12.0	Follow the link in the notes for this episode to sign up.
0:16.0	Six Minute English from BBC LearningEnglish.com.
0:23.3	Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
0:27.8	And I'm Beth. In this episode, we're talking about twins.
0:32.1	Non-identical or fraternal twins come from two separate eggs and share half their genes.
0:38.1	More uncommon are identical twins who come from a single fertilised egg and share 100% of their genes.
0:45.8	As humans, we're fascinated by twins.
0:49.2	When people discover that someone's a twin, they start asking all kinds of questions.
0:55.5	What question would you ask a twin, Neil? Oh, probably quite an annoying one. Maybe do you share each other's thoughts?
1:02.2	Ooh, I might ask, if one of you is hurt, does the other one feel the pain?
1:07.7	Interesting. Well, some common questions for twins include,
1:12.4	do you have psychic powers?
1:14.3	Have you ever swapped boyfriends?
1:16.6	And do you have the same dreams?
1:19.0	But according to a Nan Jagatia,
1:21.0	who presented a recent episode of BBC World Services crowd science
1:26.0	all about twins.
1:30.7	If you meet a twin and you ask them one of these questions,
1:33.3	don't be surprised if they roll their eyes at you.
	...

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