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Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Today we explain a very old saying that has had a big influence on rock-and-roll music. That saying is a rolling stone gathers no moss.?It has several meanings. One meaning is that a person who never settles down in one place will not be successful. Another is that someone who is always moving, with no roots in one place, avoids responsibilities.

This proverb was said to be first used in the fifteen hundreds. But in the nineteen sixties, the expression rolling stone became famous in the world of rock-and-roll music. It became the name of a rock group, a song and a magazine.

Experts say it all started with a song by the American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. He was one of the country’s top blues musicians until his death in nineteen eighty-three. His music influenced singers like Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. In nineteen-fifty, Muddy Waters recorded a song called "Rollin’ Stone."

A British rock group is said to have taken its name from Muddy Waters’ song. The Rolling Stones performed for the first time in nineteen sixty-two. The group’s members called themselves "the world’s greatest rock and roll band."

In nineteen sixty-five, Bob Dylan released his song "Like a Rolling Stone." It is one of his best known and most influential works.

It is an angry song about a woman who was once rich and successful. But now she is on her own, "with no direction home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone."

In nineteen sixty-seven, a young man named Jann Wenner started a magazine he named "Rolling Stone." The magazine reported on rock music and the popular culture that the music created. By nineteen seventy-one, "Rolling Stone" had become the leading rock music and counterculture publication. It is still popular today.

This VOA Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. I’m Faith Lapidus. You can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at our website, learningenglish.voanews.com.

文本来自51voa，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载

词汇解释

1.moss n.藓类植物，苔藓

Moss affects the northern slopes.
朝北的山坡易生苔mO&v&MqCgqa。

2.rock-and-roll n. 摇滚乐, 摇滚舞

I'm going to a rock and roll concert tonight.
我今晚正要去参加摇滚音乐会JF3(787ltv@qMAR。

3.counterculture n.反文化(60和70年代在美国青少年中盛行的一种思潮)

A young person, especially a member of a rebellious counterculture group.
叛逆的年轻人，尤指加入反叛性的反文化组织的年轻人.*r1rNZ%EfzN。

内容解析

1.One meaning is that a person who never settles down in one place will not be successful.

settle down 定居；安定下来；专心于

One day I'll want to settle down and have a family.
总有一天我会想安顿下来，成个家Fobu-m9N];Fv。

It'd be fun, after the situation in Europe settles down, to take a trip to France.
欧洲局势平定下来之后，去法国旅行将会很好玩MNADOz;+nf,mkGi。

参考译文

这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故#.t0TTSi5wceXnu5;q。

今天，我们讲解一个很古老的说法，它对摇滚音乐有着深远的影响TeL48XQM!hbzDDY。这个说法是a rolling stone gathers no moss，意思是滚动的石头不会生苔藓，它包含几种意思，其中一个是说，不安定下来的人是不会成功的，另一个意思是说那些居无定所、无根无家逃避责任的人CKHIm=gLTq;y3qL。

据说这个谚语最早用在16世纪，但在20世纪60年代，rolling stone这个短语在摇滚音乐节变得知名起来，成了一个摇滚乐团、一首歌和一本杂志的名字FgnJO6szER%]9g;B。

专家说，这都起于美国歌手兼吉他手马迪·沃特斯的一首歌zKJYh2MC(D4。在沃特斯1963年去世之前，他一直是美国最有名的布鲁斯歌手TFLVXWjKxsW。他的音乐影响了诸如艾尔维斯·普莱斯利和鲍勃·迪伦等歌手@h&mo&a4*lP。1950年，沃特斯录了一首名为Rollin' Stone的歌Zv&)Nlc+Xn。

据说，英国一个摇滚乐队就是依据马迪·沃特斯的这首歌取名的n-Mh@CSFP=K)。滚石乐队第一次演出是在1962年，该乐队队员称自己是“全世界最优秀的摇滚乐队%FerNK8F0()D,o。”

1965年，鲍勃·迪伦发布歌曲Like a Rolling Stone，这是他最知名最有影响力的作品之一T%9lKbb4)Q。

这是关于一位一度富有成功的女人的冤曲&lPN1XyihzM,V4。但她现在孤身一人，“没有回家的方向，像个无名之辈，像块滚石6cgL9BB|hb0(aRk。”

1967年，一位名叫简·温纳的年轻人创办了一本名为Rolling Stone的杂志，杂志报道摇滚音乐和音乐创造的流行文化SMJENTdBiX9]JND)O3g0。到1971年为止，这本杂志就成了摇滚音乐和反传统文化的重要出版物Hd%(r^Y*y8bNLpuuV。直到今天仍受欢迎]!bqY^twTe~-FS!。

这次的美国之音慢速英语作者谢莉·高卢斯，我是费斯·拉皮德斯，登陆learningenglish.voanews.com获得更多词汇典故报道Vri^Mb9tIwIPhk。