What is the possibility of you having someone who looks just like you? Would it be a good thing? And if you did have one, would you want to meet them? Consider how often your facial features are used to recognize you. Your passport, ID card and driving licence all bare your face. To enter your workplace, you likely need to be recognisable. You may need your face to unlock your smartphone and possibly even need it to exclude you from being present at a crime scene.
The word “doppelganger” refers to a person who looks almost the same as you, basically sharing your features—those that you thought were unique to you and your identity (身份). Not an identical twin, as a doppelganger has no relation to you. The idea came from German folklore. A doppelganger was said to be a spirit-double that copied every human and beast on earth exactly.
So, let’s get real. What are the chances of you having one in the first place? There’s said to be a one in 135 chance of an absolute dead ringer for you existing anywhere in the world, so the chances are pretty low, despite folk wisdom promising you otherwise. And the chances of meeting? The mathematical certainty of finding this person is supposedly less than one in a trillion!
That said, these statistics may be a good thing. Historically, having a double hasn’t always been a positive.
Back in 1999, an innocent (无罪的)American man, undistinguishable from the real criminal, was sent to prison for robbery, where he stayed for 19 years. In the end, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. In a different case, a woman in New York was accused of trying to poison her doppelganger with deadly cheesecake so that she could steal her identity!
And, why are people interested in finding their possible doppelganger anyway? It may be helpful to look to the past when facial likeness showed kinship. Maybe one day you’ll meet your lookalike, but we understand that, after this, you possibly don’t want to!
8. In this passage, which of the following is your doppelganger?
A.facial features used to recognize you. |
B.your face to unlock your smartphone. |
C.a human who shares the similarity with you. |
D.your identical twin. |
9. What does the underlined phrases “these statistics” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A.the low chances of having a doppelganger and the lower chances of meeting her/him. |
B.German folklore and folk wisdom. |
C.the historical data. |
D.your recognizable information. |
10. What did the main characters in the two cases mentioned have in common?
A.They were innocent. |
B.Their doubles brought them pains. |
C.They admired the life of others. |
D.They had difficulty recognizing their own identity . |
11. What’s the author’s attitude towards meeting someone who looks just like you?
A.promising. | B.relaxing. |
C.unwanted. | D.meaningful. |