Nickname Sting for the black and yellow striped sweater he would wear while performing, Gordon Sumner was raised in the bleak industrial town of Newcastle by a hairdresser mother and milkman father.

　　His mother was a classically trained pianist who taught him his scales so well that he was offered an advanced piano scholarship.

　　But jazz and guitar were Sting's real loves, and after stints digging ditches and teaching, he moved to London to play professionally.

striped： 有斑纹的；斯汀是戈尔登·桑奈尔的绰号，因为他在演出时经常穿着黄黑条纹的运动衫，看起来想只蜜蜂，因此得到了“斯汀”这个绰号。
bleak：荒凉的，阴暗的；斯汀成长于荒废的工业城市纽卡斯尔，他的母亲是理发师，父亲是送奶工人。
scholarship：奖学金；在母亲的教导下，斯汀成为了一个钢琴高手，还获得了钢琴奖学金。
stint：紧缩节省；爵士乐和吉他才是斯汀的最爱，因此在经过了一段节衣缩食的挖淤泥和教学生活后，他搬到了伦敦，从事职业演出。

American drummer Stewart Copeland caught his act and convinced him to try rock. Joined by Brit guitarist Andy Summers, the trio formed the Police in 1977.

　　Their rock-reggae sound broke through with "Roxanne," a song written as a plea for a prostitute not to "put on the red light," which was subsequently banned by the BBC, making it an instant hit.

　　In fact, the single proved so successful that A&M rushed to release their first album, Outlandos D'Amour.

trio：三重唱，三人小组；斯汀与美国鼓手科普兰和英国吉他手萨姆斯在1977年共同组成了著名的“警察”乐队。
rock-reggae：雷盖舞，一种西班牙风格的舞曲；警察乐队第一首大红大紫的歌曲“Roxanne”写的是一个妓女的故事，被BBC禁播。
prostitute：妓女。

In quick succession, the band's next albums, Regatta De Blanc, Zenyatta Mondatta, and Ghost in the Machine were released, with at least one hit single emerging from each.

　　The release, in 1983, of Synchronicity and its monster single, "Every Breath You Take," secured their place in pop history.

　　After a triumphant world tour, Sting decided he had achieved all he could with the Police, and the band dissolved at the height of its popularity.

monster： （口语）极好的；1983年的单曲“Every Breath You Take”奠定了警察乐队在流行乐坛的地位。
triumphant：成功的，凯旋的。
dissolve：解散；斯汀认为他在警察乐队已经取得了一切成功，决定离开乐队，警察乐队在事业的高峰解散。

Sting's solo career has proved no less successful. His first album, the jazz-influenced Dream of the Blue Turtles, went platinum.

　　1991's Soul Cages, dealing with the loss of his parents, and 1993's Ten Summoner's Tales, revealed a maturity in his songwriting not previously seen, and both albums won Grammys.

solo： 独唱的；斯汀单飞以后更加成功，他的第一张专辑就获得了白金唱盘的成绩。
maturity：成熟，91年的专辑“Soul Cages”与93年的“Ten Summoner's Tales”显示了前所未有的成熟，两张专辑都获得了格来美奖。

A political activist, Sting has put himself on the line to help save Brazilian rainforests and to support Amnesty International.

　　His film career has run hot and cold, but his performances in such films as Brimstone and Treacle and Quadrophenia have been good.

　　He and longtime companion (and now wife), Trudie Styler, live a relatively quiet life on their estate outside London with their children and dogs.

rainforest： 雨林；斯汀在政治上是一个积极分子，他在保护巴西雨林和国际特赦的运动中站在最前沿。
estate：庄园，住宅；斯汀与妻子斯特莱尔在伦敦郊外过着宁静的生活，孩子们和狗陪伴着他们。