Test Book by TwinSite Project Students | Page 63

2 The octopus who predicted a World Cup final

For some people , Paul the Octopus proved conclusively , beyond all ( 1 ) …………………., that animals have intelligence too . Spain ’ s victory 0ver Germany in the 2010World Cup came as no ( 2 ) ………………… to those who had been following one of the competition ’ s most successful pundits , because the result had already been ( 3 ) ………………… by Paul . This was a creature that had achieved celebrity status with its incredibly ( 4 ) ……………………. predictions .

Known as the ‘ psychic octopus ’ Paul seemed to demonstrate above-average ( 5 ) ………………….. .

It seemed he could predict all of Germany ’ s World Cup results every time he was asked , including its ultimate 1-0 defeat . He had foreseen Germany ’ s wins against Argentina and England , and even Serbia ’ s win over Germany in an early round . Such was the popularity of this selection that , just before the final , a German news channel broadcast Paul ’ s prediction live on TV .

Paul ’ s handlers , at an aquarium in the city of Ober hausen , turned him into an international superstar . A simple ( 6 ) …………………………… was followed each time . Mussels were placed into the glass boxes . One box carried Germany ’ s flag while the other had the flag of the opposing team . Paul then made his ‘ prediction ’ by swimming towards one of the boxes and eating the tasty mussel inside .

Aquarium staff never claimed that this was a carefully controlled scientific ( 7 ) …………………. .

Even so , there seemed to be a lack of concrete ( 8 ) …………………………. . that Paul was indeed making intelligent choices .

The day before the World Cup final , Paul at first swam towards the Spanish flag , before moving and hovering over the German box . After a few moments , the octopus eventually returned to his first choice . Occurrences like this ( 9 ) ……………………… some doubt over whether Paul really did have ‘ psychic ’ powers .

Not everyone appreciated Paul . When Argentina lost to Germany in the quarter-final , Argentine fans threatened put him in a paella . The newspaper El Dia even printed a recipe for anyone who captured Paul : “ All you need are some potatoes , olive oil and a little salt ”.

The octopus sometimes erred in his predictions , although not often . His most famous mistake was when he wrongly picked Germany over Spain in the 2008 European Championship . Spain won 1-0 . Proof , perhaps , that he was capable of ( 10 ) ………………….. from his mistakes .