Cambridge 15 (General Training) | Test 4 | Section 3

Animals can tell right from wrong

Wolves live in tight-knit social groups that are regulated bystrict rules. Wolves also demonstrate fairness. During play, dominant wolves will appear to exchange roles with lower-ranking wolves. They pretend to be submissive and go so far as to allow biting by the lower-ranking wolves, provided it is not too hard. Prof Bekoff argues that without a moral code governing their actions, this kind of behavior would not be possible. Astonishingly, if an animal becomes aggressive, it will perform a “play bow” to ask forgiveness before play resumes.

tight-knit (adjective)

/ˌtaɪt ˈnɪt/

a tight-knit group of people are closely connected with each other

e.g., The company is controlled by a tightly-knit group of investors.

pretend (verb) [intransitive, transitive]

/prɪˈtend/

to behave as if something is true when you know that it is not,especially in order to deceive people or as a game

e.g., The children pretended (that) they were dinosaurs.

bite (verb) [intransitive, transitive]

/baɪt/

to use your teeth to cut into something or someone

e.g., Does your dog bite?