当他绕过拐角处时，他看到了二十个人裸露在腰上，在小路侧面挖了一个三十码的洞。有一会儿他感到困惑。它似乎没有农业目的。不再有种植或耕作。然后他意识到这是什么。他们正在挖一个大坟墓。他想喊着大约转弯或至少避免眼睛的命令，但是他们几乎在上面，其中一些已经看到了他们的葬礼。歌曲死在他们的嘴唇上，空气被鸟儿收回。
(As he rounded the corner, he saw two dozen men, naked to the waist, digging a hole thirty yards square at the side of the path. For a moment he was baffled. It seemed to have no agricultural purpose; there was no more planting or ploughing to be done. Then he realized what it was. They were digging a mass grave. He thought of shouting an order to about turn or at least to avert their eyes, but they were almost on it, and some of them had already seen their burial place. The songs died on their lips and the air was reclaimed by the birds.)
(As he rounded the corner, he saw two dozen men, naked to the waist, digging a hole thirty yards square at the side of the path. For a moment he was baffled. It seemed to have no agricultural purpose; there was no more planting or ploughing to be done. Then he realized what it was. They were digging a mass grave. He thought of shouting an order to about turn or at least to avert their eyes, but they were almost on it, and some of them had already seen their burial place. The songs died on their lips and the air was reclaimed by the birds.)
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在塞巴斯蒂安·福尔克斯（Sebastian Faulks）的“鸟鸟”（Birdsong）的这段经文中，主角遇到了一个令人不安的场景，一群男人正在挖一个巨大的洞。最初，他对劳动的目的感到困惑，他很快意识到他们正在准备大规模的坟墓。这种启示唤起了一种恐惧和悲伤的感觉，因为他认识到这些男人面临的严峻现实。
当前唱歌的男人突然在面对他们处境的严峻现实时沉默了，气氛急剧转移。他们的歌曲的充满活力的声音被大自然的令人困扰的存在所取代，强调了失去希望和战争的苛刻性。这一刻封装了死亡率和冲突对人类生活的影响的主题。
