Today I want to tell you about the English expression “in disgrace”. The best way to explain is to give you some examples.

　　Example one. A little girl wants to make some new clothes for her doll. She makes the clothes by cutting up one of her mother’s dresses. Her mum is furious. She sends the little girl to her bedroom with no supper. The little girl is “in disgrace”.

　　Example two. A politician makes speeches about the importance of the family and family values in society. Then the newspapers report that he is having an affair with his secretary. Everyone laughs at him and he is forced to resign. He is “in disgrace”.

　　Example three is a true story that was reported in the newspapers over the Easter holiday. The Bell family – Alan and Elaine Bell and their four children – live in a very nice modern house in a very nice estate of houses in the north-east of England. Elaine Bell is houseproud – that means that she likes to keep her house very neat and tidy. During the Easter holiday, Elaine and Alan and their three younger children went away for a holiday. But their eldest daughter Rachael, who is 17 years old, did not want to go. “OK, Rachael,” said her parents. “You can stay at home. But no parties, and definitely no alcohol, while we are away.” So Rachael stayed at home by herself.

　　But she wasn’t alone for long. She decided to have a party for a few friends. Or maybe quite a lot of friends. She wrote about the party on her MySpace page, inviting everyone to come and to bring plenty of alcohol. And everyone did come. About two or three hundred young people arrived at her parents’ house. Some of them were her friends, others were people she had never met before. The party became a riot. The party-goers trashed the house. They broke things; they wrote graffiti on the walls; they urinated on the carpets; and some were sick over the furniture. They got drunk and made a lot of noise. The neighbours called the police. The police arrived in vans with police dogs. Some of the neighbours tried to chase the young people away with golf-clubs. It was a night to remember.

　　When Rachael’s parents arrived home, they found their house in a terrible state. They think that the damage will cost ?20,000 to put right. They are of couse furious with Rachael. Rachael herself has disappeared. She has gone to stay with a friend, perhaps for a long time. She says she is very sorry; but she is definitely “in disgrace”.