Ex.2 Make the summary of the text. Boys will be boys

Like them or not, they are half the population of the planet. But there are boys and boys. Mabel Romeos asked the boys and girls at London secondary school what they thought of the boys.

Nicola, 13

'I wish boys didn’t try to be funny all the time. They can’t take anything seriously. It really is one of the most irritating things about them. People say it’s because girls are more mature than boys and I agree – they’re always behaving like little kids. They make jokes to try and be amusing but they’re often not funny at all. And another thing, they’re much noisier than girls. They’re always shouting. Boys also boast a lot and they think they know everything. If you get something wrong in class, they go on about it for ages and they tease you. Girls are much more supportive than boys.'

George, 14

'I think boys can take criticism much more easily than girls can. I also think they’re more confident than girls. Girls don’t always listen to other people’s opinions and they won’t accept that they sometimes get things wrong, but I think boys have no problem in admitting they’re not perfect. In my opinion, we’re more skilful than they are – we can do more things. OK, I admit we are more competitive than girls. That’s why we’re better at sports than girls. It’s more important for us to succeed as well. We’re better leaders too, I think.'

Debbie, 16

'What irritates me about boys is the way they change as soon as there are other boys around. They’re OK when their mates aren’t there. You can chat to them like normal human beings – but then their mates turn up and everything changes. They like to pretend that they’re tougher than they really are. They don’t treat you as an equal any more. It’s almost as if they feel there has to be a war between boys and girls…'

Lewis, 15

'Most of the boys in my class are easy to get on with. They’re more fun to be with than girls. We can have a laugh together, but girls take everything so seriously. We can talk about football and that’s great. Girls don’t know anything about football or basketball. There’s nothing you can talk about with them. That’s really boring. Most of my best friends are boys! I get on all right with my sister, except when she does something wrong and then she blames it on me. She’s always doing that.'

Notes

to irritate	раздражать, сердить
mature	зрелый
to boast	хвастать, хвастаться, гордиться
to go on	много говорить
to tease	дразнить, поддразнивать
supportive	поддерживающий
to admit	признавать, допускать
skilful	искусный; умелый; ловкий; опытный
competitive	соперничающий, соревнующийся, конкурирующий
to succeed in	преуспевать, процветать, иметь успех, достигнуть цели
to turn up	внезапно появляться, приходить
to pretend	притворяться, делать вид
tougher	грубый, крутой, крепкий
to get on with	ладить, уживаться