93 學年度學測英文 第 42 題

A sense of humor is just one of the many things shared by Alfred and Anthony Melillo, 64-year-old twin brothers from East Haven who made history in February 2002. On Christmas Eve, 1992, Anthony had a heart transplant from a 21-year-old donor. Two days before Valentine’s Day in 2002, Alfred received a 19-year-old heart, marking the first time on record that twin adults each received heart transplants.

“I’m 15 minutes older than him, but now I’m younger because of my heart and I’m not going to respect him,” Alfred said with a grin, pointing to his brother while talking to a roomful of reporters, who laughed frequently at their jokes.

While the twins knew that genetics might have played a role in their condition, they recognized that their eating habits might have also contributed to their heart problems. “We’d put half a pound of butter on a steak. I overdid it on all the food that tasted good, so I guess I deserved what I got for not dieting properly.”

The discussion moved to Anthony’s recovery. In the five years since his heart transplant, he had been on an exercise program where he regularly rode a bicycle for five miles, swam each day, and walked a couple of miles. He was still on medication, but not nearly as much as Alfred, who was just in the early stage of his recovery.

“Right now I feel pretty young and I’m doing very well,” Anthony said. “I feel like a new person.” Alfred said his goal, of course, was to feel even better than his brother. But, he added, “I love my brother very much. We’re very close and I’m sure we’ll do just fine.”