People need to vote to decide who will be their president. But humans aren’t the only creatures on Earth who vote. Other animals, from honeybees to baboons (狒狒), make group decisions. They just do it differently, and for different reasons. Instead of voting for a president, animals vote on where to live or when to hunt. Meerkats (猫鼬), like humans, negotiate decisions. They are prudent, trying very hard to avoid doing anything wrong. When searching for food, the animals get together for protection from hunters. But when a meerkat wants to accelerate the search, the animal will make a “move call”. If three or more meerkats make this call, the group will move faster.
African wild dogs also vote in groups. Scientists have found that after socializing, the animals would decide whether to hunt. How do the dogs vote in support of hunting? They sneeze! Whether the dogs will actually go on a hunt is decided by the number of sneezes. The more the dogs sneeze, the more likely it is that they will look for a meal. However, the alpha dog, the dominant dog of the pack, likes other dogs to follow its own decision even when others don’t vote, because it believes it can have better chances of getting big game. However, after the hunt, other dogs in the group have to wait for the alpha dog to finish its meal while they are starving to death. Sometimes, the alpha dog may leave nothing for the rest of the dogs.
Humans make decisions too. If you have a group of people, and one person says, “Let’s have pizza,” and no one agrees, then nothing is going to happen. But once your grandfather says “That’s an excellent idea”, the whole group will probably go out for pizzas. Humans tend to follow the decisions made by the seniors because they want to show respect for them.
Just like humans, animals don’t always agree with one another. But joining in group decisions helps make sure of their survival. It is extremely interesting to see how animals reach an agreement and stick together.
5. What does the underlined word “prudent” in Paragraph 1 means?
A.Hard-working. | B.Friendly. |
C.Greedy. | D.Cautious. |
6. What do the meerkats vote on?
A.The choice of the leader. | B.The selection of food. |
C.The place for living. | D.The speed of hunting. |
7. What do we know about the alpha dog?
A.It likes to hunt game alone. |
B.It sneezes when it finds a meal. |
C.It has the right to eat the meal first. |
D.It likes to share food with other dogs. |
8. Why does the author mention humans eating pizzas?
A.To draw a comparison. | B.To place an emphasis. |
C.To reach a conclusion. | D.To make a suggestion. |