PAUL, the oracle octopus who shot to fame in the World Cup this summer for his uncannyability to predict the results of Germany's soccer matches, has died at his home in Oberhausen at the age of 2.

English-born Paul made headlines across the globe after he correctlyforecast how Germany would fare in seven matches, before his psychic powers were tested again for the final.

After Germany's semi-final defeat, Paul tipped Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final, which prompted one news agency to report he had spurred a jump in demand for Spanish government bonds. Paul's prediction duly came to pass: Spain won.

Staff at the Oberhausen Sea Life Center in western Germany said in a statement they were "devastated" to learn of Paul's death when they returned to work yesterday.

"He appears to have passed away peacefully during the night, of natural causes, and we are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life," said the center's manager, Stefan Porwoll.

Before matches, two containers of food were placed in his tank, each bearing the flag of one of the teams about to play. The container Paul chose first was seen as his prediction of the winner.

Following the World Cup, a Spanish zoo made a transfer bid for Paul but his German keepers refused to sell.

Paul will be kept in cold storage until the center decides how to mark the cephalopod's extraordinary life, Porwoll said.

"We may decide to give Paul his own small burial plot within our grounds and erect a modestpermanent shrine," he said.

Paul, who was hatched in Weymouth, England, may yet continue to dazzle the world with predictions from beyond the grave. A Russian newspaper said in July it had got Paul to predict who would be Russia's next president - but that the results would be kept secret until the election year of 2012.

Sea Life said Paul would live on as the object of a host of commercial enterprises, inspired by his fame, in Oberhausen, one of Germany's poorest cities.

Meanwhile, donations in honor of Paul's achievements would help fund a planned permanentrescue center for sea turtles on the Greek island of Zakynthos, Sea Life said.

• ability [ə´biliti] n.(办事)能力；才干 (初中英语单词)
• agency [´eidʒənsi] n.代理商；机构；代理 (初中英语单词)
• western [´westən] a.西的；西方的 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• manager [´mænidʒə] n.经理；管理人；干事 (初中英语单词)
• transfer [træns´fə:] v.&n.迁移；调动；转让 (初中英语单词)
• extraordinary [ik´strɔ:dinəri] a.非常的；额外的 (初中英语单词)
• modest [´mɔdist] a.谦虚的；朴素的 (初中英语单词)
• permanent [´pə:mənənt] a.永久的；不变的 (初中英语单词)
• election [i´lekʃən] n.选举；选择 (初中英语单词)
• commercial [kə´mə:ʃəl] a.商业的 n.广告节目 (初中英语单词)
• meanwhile [´mi:n´wail] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)
• rescue [´reskju:] vt.&n.救援；挽救 (初中英语单词)
• oracle [´ɔrəkl] n.预言(者)；圣理名言 (高中英语单词)
• predict [pri´dikt] v.预言；预告；预示 (高中英语单词)
• correctly [kə´rektli] ad.正确地；恰当地 (高中英语单词)
• bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)
• storage [´stɔ:ridʒ] n.贮存；存储器 (高中英语单词)
• dazzle [´dæz(ə)l] vt.使茫然 n.炫耀 (高中英语单词)
• prediction [pri´dikʃən] n.预告；(气象等)预报 (英语四级单词)
• container [kən´teinə] n.容器；箱，匣 (英语四级单词)
• winner [´winə] n.胜利者，得奖者 (英语四级单词)
• uncanny [ʌn´kæni] a.神秘的；离奇的 (英语六级单词)
• forecast [´fɔ:kɑ:st] vt.&n.预测；预报 (英语六级单词)
• peacefully [´pisfuli] ad.平静地；安宁地 (英语六级单词)