Introduction
A rock is something hard Diamonds and ice are often referred to as rocks. Tee huge Rock of Gibralter stands on the Northern side of the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and has long been considered one of the most impregnable fortresses in the world. Rocky Balboa was the name used for the boxer in a series offamous American movies that starred Sylvester Stallone. A rock is a metaphor for toughness， and everyone needs to be a little tough at times. How can a human be a rock？ Is the metaphor too strong？ Yet after too much of life's crazy choices， you may get tired of being a soft and vulnerable mortal.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel know that much of what is initially accepted as a lasting love turns out to be the human animal lusting for sex and temporary intimacy. Soon your sexual attraction diminishes， and hopes of a lasting relationship end. Maybe there is an abortion.
You both go in widely separate directions. Alone again， you try to put the pieces of your life back into some kind of order. You are not much interested in hearing “talk of love…”and may wish you were “a Rock. ”
I Am a Rock
Words and Music by Paul Simon
A winter's day…
In a deep and dark December；
I am alone，
Gazing from my window，
To the streets below，
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock，
I am an Island.
I've built walls，
A fortress deep and mighty，
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship，
Friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving
I disdain.
I am a rock，
I am an Island.
Don't talk of love；
But I've heard the word before；
It's sleeping in my memory.
I won't disturb the slumber of
feelings that have died.
If I never loved I never would
have cried.
I am a rock，
I am an Island.
I have my land.
And my books and my poetry
to protect me；
I am shielded in my armor，
Hiding in my room.
Safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one
touches me.
I am a rock，
I am an Island.
And a rock feels no pain；
And an island never cries…
[参考译文]
我是一块磐石
一个冬日……
一个寒冬腊月黑暗的日子；
我独自一人，
往窗外凝视，
看着下面的大街，
被刚落下来默默无声的白雪覆盖。
我是一块磐石，
我是一个岛屿。
我修建了城墙，
一个任何东西都无法穿透的
巨大而又深深的堡垒。
我不需要友谊，
友谊为痛苦之因。
我藐视双笑，
我藐视爱情。
我是一块磐石，
我是一个岛屿。
不要谈论爱情；
虽然我曾经听说过这词；
它在我的记忆里沉睡。
我决不打扰
已死去了的感情的睡眠
假如我从没爱过，
我就决不会伤心地哭泣。
我是一块磐石，
我是一个岛屿。
我有保护我的
土地，书籍和诗歌，
我的盔甲保护着我，
躲藏在我的房间里，
在我的孕育之处里平安无恙。
我不触摸任何人，
也没人触摸我。
我是一块磐石，
我是一个岛屿。
巨石没有痛苦的感觉；
岛屿从不哭泣……
[语言点解析]
1．On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow. shroud：
1）cloth or sheet （to be） wrapped round a corpse 尸布；寿衣
2）something which covers and hides 覆盖物；遮蔽物
例如：a shroud of mist 一片浓雾
a shroud of darkness 夜幕：黑夜的笼罩
2．It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
loving = love 爱情
It is/ was…that 强调句型
这一结构可以用来强调几乎句中每一个成份。
例如：My mother threw an egg at the Minister of Education yesterday.
1）It was my mother that （who） threw an egg at the Minister of Education yesterday.
2）It was an egg that my mother threw at the Minister of Education yesterday.
3）It was yesterday that my mother threw an egg at the Minister of Education.
4）It was the Minister of Education that my mother threw an egg at yesterday.
（Note： 这一句型不能用来强调动词）。
3．If I never loved I never would have cried.
= If I had never loved I would never have cried.
When we want to talk about things that did not happen in the past （imagining what would have happened if things had been different）， we use the structure
If+past perfect， with the perfect conditional in the other part of the sentence. 如果我们谈论与过去事实相反的事，我们使用以下虚拟语气：
从句：If + had done 主句：would+ have done
例如：If you had worked harder last year， you would probably have passed your exam. 如果你去年学习更努力一点，你也许会考及格的。（事实上你没及格，是因为你学习不太努力）
I would have told you if I had realized you didn't know. 如果我当时意识到你不知道，我就会告诉你的。（与事实相反：我当时没告诉你是因为我没意识到你不知道）
