Paul the oracle¹ octopus² was given a replica³ of the World Cup on Monday as a reward for his perfect eight-for-eight record in picking matches as bettors worldwide collected their winnings based on his selections.

神算章鱼“保罗”于本周一获颁一个“山寨版”大力神杯，以奖励它在世界杯赛事预测中八猜全中的完美战绩。而全世界的一些赌球者们则因按照它的预测下注小赚了一笔。

trophy⁴="" mock="" front="" swims="" octopus="" oracle="" so-called="" sea="" life="" aquarium⁵="" german="" oberhausen="" world="" cup="" july="" src="/upimg/100717/4_032706_1.jpg" />
Germany's so-called oracle octopus Paul, swims in front of a mock soccer World Cup trophy in his tank at the Sea Life Aquarium in the western German city of Oberhausen July 12, 2010.

The two-year-old octopus（章鱼） with possible psychic⁶（精神的，灵魂的） powers turned into a worldwide celebrity⁷ for accurately⁸ predicting the winner of Germany's five World Cup wins as well as their two defeats. Paul also tipped Spain to beat Netherlands in Sunday's final.

"We've had a lot of offers for Paul but he will definitely be staying with us and returning to his old job -- making children smile," Sea Life spokeswoman Tanja Munzig in Oberhausen said after presenting Paul with the World Cup replica（复制品） .

"There's no rational（合理的，理性的） reason why he always got it right."

Bettors around the world made small fortunes based on Paul's uncanny（神秘的，离奇的） picks, said Graham Sharpe, media relations director at William Hill in London, one of Britain's largest bookmakers.

"I've seen a lot of things in my lifetime but this is the first time I've ever seen people making their picks based on what an octopus tells them," Sharpe said.

"We had people coming in saying they didn't know how to place a bet but heard about this German octopus and wanted to bet with him. It's ludicrous. But he kept getting it right," said Sharpe. "It's one of the finest tipping feats⁹ ever."

Sharpe said that anyone who had placed a 10-pound accumulator bet on Paul's picks from the start of the World Cup would have won 3,000 pounds ($4,500) by the end of the tournament.

Paul's home at Sea Life aquarium（水族馆） in Oberhausen has been inundated¹⁰ with（淹没，充满） visitors and media from across Europe. Many networks broadcast his picks live. Hundreds were on hand to watch the World Cup replica lowered into his tank on Monday.