15 put the items in the right order. a)struggling with the shirt and the trousers. b)the relatives' reaction. c)choosing the school to go to. d)puffing on the waistcoat and the jacket. e)the mother's wise words. f)buying clothes for the school. текст when i was twelve, my mother said to me, "i've entered you for marlborough and repton. whichwould you like to go to? " both were famous public schools, but that was all i knew about them. "repton," i said. "i'll go to repton." it was an easier word to say than marlborough. "very well," my mother said. "you shall go to repton." we were living in kent then. repton was up in the midlands, near derby, and some 140 miles away to the north. on the day of mydeparture, i had to get dressed for the part. i had been to london with my mother the week before to buy the school clothes, and i remember how shocked i was when i saw the outfit i wasexpected to wear. "i can't possibly go about in those! " i cried. "nobody wears things like that! " "are you sure you haven't made a mistake? " my mother said to the shop assistant. "if he's going to repton, madam, he must wear these clothes," the assistant said firmly. and now this amazing fancy-dress was all laid out on my bed waiting to be put on. "put it on," mymother said." hurry up or you'll miss the train." "i'll look like a complete idiot," i said. my mother went out of the room and left me to it. with immensereluctance, i began to dress. first there was a white shirt with a detachable white collar. to attach the butterfly collar to the shirt you needed a back stud and a front stud. it took me ages to get yhe studs through the slits of the collar starched stiff. i tried for all i was worth but they just wouldn't go. finally i put both the front slits of the collar into my mouth and chewed them until they were soft and at last i was able to get the studs through the collar-slits. around the collar i tied a black tie, using an ordinary knot. then came the trousers and the braces. the trousers wer black with thin grey lines running down them. i buttoned the braces on to the trousers, six buttons in all, then i put on the trousers and fixed the braces to the correct length. i put on a brand new pair of black shoes and laced them up. now for the waistcoat. this was also black and it had twelve buttons down the front and two little waistcoat pockets on either side, one above the other. i put it on and did up the buttons, starting at the top and working down. i was glad i didn't have to chew each of those button-holes to get the buttons through them. all this was bad enough for a boy who had never before worn anything better than a pair of shorts and a blazer. but the jacket put the lid on it. it wasn't actually a jacket, it was a sort of tailcoat,and it was without a doubt the most ridiculous garment i had ever seen. like the waistcoat, it was jet black and made of a heavy material. in the front the two sides of it met only at one point.here there was a single button and this had to be done up. from the button downwards, the lines of the coat separated and came together again at the backs of the knees, forming a pair of "tails". when you walked, these tails flapped against your legs. i put the thing on and did up the front button. feeling like an undertaker's apprentice in a funeral parlour, i crept dowstairs. my sisters shrieked with laughter when i appeared. "he can't go out in those! " they cried. "he'll be arrested by the police! " "put your hat on," my mother said, handing me a stiff wide-brimmed straw-hat with a blue and black band around it. i put it on and did my best to look dignified. the sisters fell all over the room laughing. my mother got me out of the house before i lost my nerve completelyandtogetherwewalkedthrough the village to the station. "nobody's taking the slightest notice of you," my mother said as we walked through high street. and curiously enough nobody was. "i have learnt one thing about england," my mother went on. "it is a country where men love to wear uniforms and eccentric clothes. two hundred years ago their clothes were even more eccentric then they are today. think how lucky you are. you don't have to wear a wig on your head and ruffles on your sleeves! " "i still feel an ass," i said

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