名篇背诵：Birds Singing in Duet 鸟儿二重唱

Birds Singing in Duet 鸟儿二重唱

纳撒尼尔·韦斯特(Nathanael West)

A mockingbird was singing near by. Its song was like pebbles being dropped one by one from a height into a pool of water. Then a quail began to call, using two soft guttural notes. Another quail answered and the birds talked back and forth. Their call was not like the cheerful whistle of the Eastern bobwhite . It was full of melancholy and weariness, yet marvelously sweet. Still another quail joined the duet. This one called from near the center of the field. It was a trapped bird, but the sound it made had no anxiety in it, only sadness, impersonal and without hope.

- duet [djuːˈet] n. 二重唱，二重奏

- quail [kweɪl] n. 鹌鹑

- guttural [ˈɡʌtərəl] a. 颚音的，喉音的

- bobwhite [ˈbɒbwaɪt] n. 鹑

一只嘲鸫鸟在附近歌唱，歌声听起来像小石子从高处一个个投进水池。接着一只鹌鹑开始啼鸣，使用两种不同的喉音；另一只鹌鹑回复，于是两只鸟便一唱一和交谈起来。它们的鸣叫不像东部的山鹑欢快的哨声。鹌鹑的鸣叫富有多愁善感、疲惫不堪的味道，然而仍然十分圆润悦耳。又一只鹌鹑加入了二重唱，它是在靠近一块地的中央歌唱。这是一只落入罗网的鸟，可是叫声中没有焦虑，只有痛苦、冷淡和绝望。

纳撒尼尔·韦斯特(1903—1940)，美国小说家，出身于纽约一个犹太移民家庭，37岁时死于车祸。出版过四部小说：《巴尔索·斯内尔的梦中生活》(The Dream Life of Balso Snell ，1931)，《寂寞芳心》(Miss Lonelyhearts ，1933)，《整整一百万》(A Cool Million ，1934)和《蝗虫的日子》(The Day of the Locust ，1939)。

尽管韦斯特的作品在当时并未受到广泛认可，他的文学价值在他去世后得到了高度赞赏。他的作品被誉为对美国社会和人类存在的深刻洞察力，风格独特而令人难忘。

其超现实主义的作品对第二次世界大战后“黑色幽默”文学流派的发展有一定的影响。