It’s a small world

冯振源

Good afternoon, dear teachers and students!

I’m honored to join with you today in the discussion ‘it’s a small world’.

To be honest, until last year, my understanding of the phrase had been limited to its conventional meaning: the world is getting smaller thanks to the many technologies like television and the internet, which are bringing countries and peoples closer together. But last May 19, the National Day of Mourning, something changed my view about the small world. I can well remember that flag raising ceremony in the memory of those earthquake victims. When the teacher announced the start of the mourning, we all closed our eyes in reverence. The world grew quiet, and I began to hear whispers in the wind. Coming from far and wide, there were sincere prayers, uttered in different accents and languages. It was as if in an instant, I walked into a universal cathedral and joined billions of mourning people in their heartfelt condolences. “Be strong Sichuan, be strong China.” At this point, despite the grief I felt for the heavy loss of life, a warm thought came into my head. That is, it’s a small world, just like a family.

Yes, it’s a small world, because we people across the globe share the same experience. Together, we pray for the dead, we care for the living. Hand in hand, we work and study, we sing songs that touch deep into our souls, we hold onto the same belief that love can conquer any obstacles. In this sense, it’s a small world, even without the advanced technologies, because our destiny is tied up in one. All of us, everywhere in the world, are companions in our life's journey, and it is this companionship and this shared journey that make the world much smaller. 

Picture a lonesome traveler who gets lost in the bustling streets of a city and has nowhere to go. What if right then, someone comes up to help and gives him a smile? No longer will the traveler feel lonely or lost, because the smile makes him feel close to the city, and at home. This is how a smile makes the world small.

Think about the book you read last night. Did you feel entirely involved in the hero’s story? Are you strongly attached to the author because you share his feelings? A book may miraculously make it possible for people across the globe, throughout the history to join hands with each other in their spiritual walks. Obviously, this is how a shared experience makes the world small.

Imagine a union between Plato and Confucius, in whose symbolic shadows we still stand today. The global village might have been founded long ago. Our brilliant ancestors would have studied abroad and challenged Plato in the discussion entitled “it’s a small world”. See, this is how the pursuit of truth and beauty makes the world small.

Sometimes we may question this small-world belief, for our vision is so constantly clouded with the business of everyday life that this belief in common humanity becomes overshadowed and forgotten. Is the world limited only to what I know and want to achieve? The voice of my wisdom answers:

“Wrong! You are wrong because you and everyone on this earth lives in the world of a common humanity. The world wears a mask. It pretends to be old, by giving birth to thousands of generations, with each generation trying to fulfill their destiny in various ways. You become a doctor who saves people’s lives. I become a teacher who educates the younger generation. We’re all contributing to make the world a better place. Given that, we share the same destiny. Similarly, the world pretends to be big by dividing itself into 224 countries and numerous types of civilization, giving rise to cultural collisions, wars and blood shed. But in fact, all of us, black and white, rich and the poor, are united to achieve the same goal: humanity. Given that, we’re all together. So Mr. Tagore has expressed his feelings in his poems: the world takes off its mask of vastness, it becomes small as one song, one kiss of the eternal.

This is the small world, so small that it is not beyond our power to change it. As long as we remember that we are part of the brotherhood of man, stick to that belief and combine our efforts, we, together, can change the world, and make it a better place. After all, it’s just a small world.

It’s a small world

潘韵

Honorable judges and my dear fellow friends, I was wondering if you have heard of this famous theory. It goes like that: you can contact to any person on this earth through no more than six people’s connections. What a small world! But now things could get easier. Just type in his name and google him. Then serveral minutes later you might be speaking to him with web cameras!

So, what I’m going to talk about today has nothing to do with mathematical propobility, but how we make use of this small world which is being created by ordinary people like you and me who benefit from billions of miles of undersea cables.

As early as three years ago, the TIME magazine selected a computer monitor and a keyboard, together with a big word ‘YOU’ as its 2006 cover. The TIME people of that year were all the contributors and users of what was on the Internet.

‘The society is trasiting from institutions to individuals who are becoming citizens of New Digital Age Democratic Society’. The TIME magazine explained.

Three years has passed, we have been witnessing the blossom of BBS, forums, QQ, blogs, podcasts and xiaonei. We are receiving a strong call: Be a speaker, even with your mouse and keyboard!

Then, why not take action?

It's a small world, so speak to share your habbit. By using search engines, you have ways of finding people who have common interests, without knowing who they are. With the help of facebook or xiaonei, it’s easy to interact online with like-minded people. Free-chatting, discussing, organizing events became quite easy.

It’s a small world, so speak to support. The social power from united individuals in this small world is hard to neglect. Clicks on the articles could make a person rise to fame overnight, even though the clickers are total strangers. Look at the sudden rise of SuperGirls in 2005. For the first time we realized that we could be the power that pushed a young girl to the peak of success. Now chance has come to you. Speak to go from litter to glitter.

It’s a small world, so speak to contribute information. Let me take hflswiki.cn as an example. When I finished the speech, 201 alumini had contributed 285 entries, covering teachers , facilities and school culture. You can add or edit an entry as you like, then every viewer will see your contribution. As for its predecessor wikipedia which was established in 2001, things are more successful. It now boasts 10 million articles written in 260 languages by 75,000 unpaid contributors.

It’s a small world, so speak to express your opinion. You don’t have to be a reporter or an expert to make your voice heard. Not only the so-called media has the right to speak. Now microphones are in everyone’s hand, with audience all over the world. Various online sharing platforms enables you to upload articles, pictures, audioes and videos to better deliver your idea. Many forums, such as Tianya and 19floor, have become venues for ‘citizen journalism’, a way to learn what’s happening sometimes even before news organizations themselves could find out. Many netizens now prefer reading editorials in blogs than those in newspaper, for online reporters offer more diversified opinions. 

It’s a small world, so speak to reveal the truth. Everyone have to behave himself now. Or he will immediately encounter the cyber manhunt. Information about him, including his name, photo, address will be found out and put on the Internet. Nowhere for him to hide. Remember the May 7th incident? Minutes after it happened, articles blaming the irresponsible driver and revealing his identification flooded on the internet, causing a heated disscussion. I’m not prasing such action. After all it violates others’ privacy. But I do believe it’s quite effective to those who are too arrogant. The small world gives us a chance to make things more transparent, more fair. Under e-supervision, the work of government is sure to be improved.

As a reponsible and competent citizen in this small world, have you heard the call? Be a speaker to make your voice heard. You will find applause for you somewhere in this small world!

It’s a small world

林炜譞

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon!

The rapid development of information technology has enabled us to see what is going on in the entire world anytime we like to. Through the internet, we watched the inauguration of the US president, we heard the voice of the diplomats debating in international conferences, we read stories about different cultures of the world, and we share our thoughts and feelings with the whole universe.

However, today countries are still divided by the lines on the world map, the size of the five continents of the world is always fixed, and the internet is convenient only in the richest countries of the world, but love connects everyone regardless of everything. It breaks down the walls that separate us for all time, joins our hearts and souls, and pulls us close as brothers and sisters forever.

Today, we live in a world that is smaller than ever, because we share the same feelings and destiny. When people in New Orleans suffered from the hurricane Katrina, we prayed for them; when people in Southeast Asia found their homes in remains after the terrible tsunami, we offered our hands to them; when people in Rwanda were killed in the horrible genocide, we mourned for them. Because we live in the same world, we suffer and rejoice at the same time, and our feelings and destiny are all connected by our love. Although our bodies are still separated by the walls guarded by different troops, mountains that are formed much earlier than the birth of mankind and the oceans that have drown many explorers travelling in the world, our souls have stayed together forever, just like brothers and sisters. Although the distance between countries and cities has never changed, our love for all mankind has pulled all men’s hearts closer than ever.

One thing that keeps me convinced of the power of love is the story of the foreign rescue teams during the terrible earthquake last year. As soon as the earthquake took place, rescue teams arrived from all over the world to rescue the survivors. Many rescue workers, who had been working for days, only had fast food at meals in order to rescue the survivors in time. When the rocks on the mountains collapsed and blocked the roads, they insisted on taking helicopters to parachute to where the survivors were instead of waiting for the rocks to be removed, because they were eager to get to the spot earlier. Though they were unable to speak our language and convey their thoughts to us, love still joined their souls to ours. Though the disaster has hurt us physically forever, people’s love for all mankind has made our hearts stronger than ever.

In July that year, when I visited the Great Britain as an exchange student, I was greatly moved by my host family’s concern about the earthquake. During my stay there, they asked me several times how severe the catastrophe was, how everything was going there and how the people there got over the difficulties. Though it was just a few simple questions, I am greatly sure that they did this out of their love and care for all mankind, and that they really take all people in the world as brothers and sisters.

And the world is the smallest world in history, because all people in the world are now connected by the greatest love like brothers and sisters. As we share the same love, we will face all the difficulties together. When our brothers and sisters in Africa suffer from poverty and hunger, we save them with love; when a disaster strikes our fellows, we heal their physical wounds and broken hearts with love; when a difficult challenge arises right in front of us, we join our hands and beat it with the same love. The difficulties we face today are much greater than yesterday, but we can still beat them because we are connected more tightly with love.

That is how we build up such a small world. The world is not connected by the internet, but in fact by our love for all mankind; the world is not connected by the wires joining the computers, but in fact by our hearts and souls. We join our hands, connect our souls and share our greatest love. And this is a small world!

Thank you!

It’s A Small World

陈序

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Daniel. When I was a kid, I liked to use my bicycle to measure the world. Fifteen minutes ride every day from home to school was all know about this world. After I grew a little more, Cars and buses took me to explore this world. Four hours drive from my hometown to Hangzhou expanded my vision. However, when I found that my trip of nearly 300 kilometers only came to a short line of 2 centimeters on the map of China, I discovered how boundless this world is, quite similar to the feeling of the pianist in the movie “the Legend of 1900”, who said that in all that sprawling city there was everything except an end. Nevertheless, the world shrank in my view little by little, not because the surface has dwindled or the distance has been shortened, but because through the years, I came to be aware that we are all closely connected in someway, for diversity of cultures, tolerance of our differences and affection between people draw us to each other like gravity. It’s a small world after all.

In the year of 2007, as the first prize winner of an English speaking contest, I was awarded a trip to Australia. This journey across the equator was my first experience of going abroad. After eleven hours’ flight, I landed on a totally different nation, a country that has its distinct landscape, history and culture, and was so far away from home that I couldn’t find anything familiar to me. But gradually, I found it an exceedingly multicultural state. I met people with a diversity of birthplaces, languages and cultural backgrounds, like Japanese, German, Korean and Frenchmen. The most special group of them was the Australian aborigines. Distant and different as it is, I was deeply impressed by their exquisite masterpieces of art and dedicated presentation of their unique culture. I might not be able to understand the implied meaning of their dot paintings, but a single smile with affection and appreciation on our faces made this world no longer so boundless, even though this special minority group had never come into my sight before. On the farewell party, we sang the song “Hand in Hand”, and when I shook hand with the President of the sate of Western Australia and looked into his smiling eyes, I discovered that we are never so far away from each other as I had assumed.

I’m not here to deny the massive continents and oceans that form the enormous earth we live on, nor am I doubting the long distance between nations and cultures. All I’m saying is that the world is so small, because we, human beings, are so closely related to each other. There is a strong tie that tolerates differences, welcomes diversity, and draws all of us together.

It is such a small world that the destructive earthquake in Sichuan on May 12^th last year even touched my homestay family in the UK, who carefully asked me about the casualty and the rescue work. It is such a small world that the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games gathered a great number of athletes and audiences in hundreds of countries all over the world. It is such a small world that through Xiaonei.com, all the graduates of HFLS, no matter in the US, UK, Beijing or Shanghai can share their thought frankly as one. It is such a small world that I am going to be a freshman in the University of California, Berkeley in USA, a nation that is about a hemisphere away and now is so close to me, just in front of my eyes.

The strong but invisible tie breaks down all the walls that come between us, and thus makes the seemingly big world a small family, everyone involved, no one isolated. No matter where you were born, what language you speak, what religion you believe in and what kind of education you have received, you are one part of this small world. We might live thousands of miles away from one another, or there might be a Pacific Ocean separating us, but we are still neighbors, all living in this colorful small world. It is not a world of white, yellow and black, nor is it a world of boundaries and exclusion. It is not a world of America, Europe and Asia, nor is it a world of gaps and discrimination. It’s a small world of multiplicity, tolerance and affection. Don’t hesitate to embrace this world, and you may find it even smaller than you expect.

It’s A Small World

陈荟汀

When I was only six, my mom taught me a song “It’s a small world”. “It's a small world after all. There is just one moon and one golden sun and a smile means friendship to everyone. Though the mountains divide and the oceans are wide. It's a small world after all. ” Child as I was, I didn’t agree with the lyrics. In my eyes, it’s a big, big world, full of unknown things. I’ve always been dreaming about learning various languages and traveling around to explore the big world.

One day, I got the chance and I changed my idea. It was three years ago, in the summer vacation, I went on a trip to Maldives, a place I’d never known. One evening after dinner, I decided to walk around myself. I was walking along the beach when a piece of music came to my ears. Walking through the woods, I found a crowd of native people singing and dancing in a circle. They looked so happy that I was deeply attracted How I wish I could understand their language and sing with them! Just at that moment, a girl found me standing behind the trees and walked straight to me, smiling. She gently took my hand and led me to the happy crowd. I was so surprised that I didn’t even know how I learnt the dance. To be frank, I didn’t know what the dance exactly means and I couldn’t understand even a word of their language. But, at that moment, I could feel their happiness, and I could understand what they wanted to express.

Not until then did I understand the true meaning of the song I learned at the age of 6. “It’s a small world after all. A smile means friendship to everyone.” There is something that can cut through the barriers of language and cultural diversity. Music, smile, love…

Two thousand years ago, Zi Xia, a student of Confucius, said, “Within four seas, all men are brothers.” But two thousand years passed, humans are still involved in conflicts and wars, starvations and other disasters. When I look at today’s world, the armed conflicts are still going on in Middle East, Afghanistan, and Darfur. At the time I was delivering the speech, one trillion people in this world are struggling below the poverty line, while the world’s richest are leading an extravagant life. It seems that it is ourselves, who widen the gap between rich and poor, and make the small world so big. It is ourselves, who build the Babel, and make it hard to understand each other. “We are the world. We are the children. We are all a part of God's great big family.” Why do we fight?

When the astronaut looks at the earth from space, he sighs with emotion, “What a small world!” Yes, in the vast universe, our earth is so small a place. The continents that used to be far away are now close. The faces that used to be strange are now familiar to us. The astronaut is alone, but not lonely, because millions of hearts on earth are beating with him. We are connected.

It’s a small world, if we start to think from other’s point of view;

It’s a small world, if we place trust in each other;

It’s a small world, if we smile at everyone we meet;

It’s a small world, with understanding and love in everyone’s heart.

It’s A Small World

毛为

Good afternoon dear teachers and my fellow students,

My topic is “it is a small world”.

First, I would like to ask you some questions.

When you are in a bustling city, has the thought that it is THEIR city, NOT MY HOME ever occurred to you?

Do you ever believe in the saying about not being able to go home again? We can go back. But there is so much that has changed. We find ourselves to be exiles from our own land.

Nowadays thanks to the convenience of modern communication and transportation, the world is small. However, we have conquered the outer space, but not our inner space. We modern people are often labeled as the ones who lack the sense of security and belonging. There is a yearning for home inside our hearts, aching all the time. And I used to believe that this is a small world physically, but a big one mentally until I read a story.

The OX_cart man written by Donald Hall.

In the story, a New England farmer goes to Portsmouth to sell his goods. As an early settler, he has to move around all the time to make a living. Surprisingly enough, he feels the world is a small one in spite of the distance he travels. By bringing the daily necessities with him, he thinks he gets his home packed on his back. So moving around is just regarded as the eternal cycle of seasons.

The story really touched my chord. It taught me to rethink “home” not so much as physical place, but rather as a mental state. Home is where is heart is. When we regain the sense of security and belonging, the “small person vs. big world” pattern can be changed into a “big person vs. small world” one, not physically, but mentally.

So just like the farmer, as long as we carry a piece of home with us, this is a small world not only physically, but also mentally. We may accumulate things in an effort to make ourselves feel as though we have a home. We may gather the loved books; buy appliances resemble those at home. These objects will give us something to hold onto, if temporarily.

As long as we carry a piece of home with us, we will feel deep inside our hearts that this is a small world. Though far away from the place we are born and brought up, we will always have the core values specific to that place instilled in our bodies and minds. Just like 6 years living in HFLS, we have come to loving it as our home. Though we senior threes are going separate ways to all corners of the world, we will always possess the extinctive qualities of a HFLSer. It is easy for people to distinguish us from other groups of people. It is such values that make the persons who we are, equipped us to make the right decisions, and navigate us through the turbulent years.

As long as we carry a piece of home with us, it is a small world physically as well as mentally. Home is where we see the existence of the best of human emotions. As it is a small world with so many things in common. Deep in all people’s hearts, root the fundamental human feelings. As William Sloane Coffin once put it, the world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love. If we are willing to learning, to understand and to accept, lessons and surprises are all around us. This state of mind will enable us to see through the superficial attributes and forget about the bigotry and preconceived ideas. Little by little, we will create a sense of home in our minds.

So whatever life may take us physically,

By carrying a piece of home with us, the world is too small for us to feel homeless and helpless;

By carrying a piece of home with us, we will live contentedly anytime anywhere in this small world like it is heaven on earth;

By carrying a piece of home with us, we are never, ever alone.

It’s A Small World

王琳琳

Honorable teachers, my fellow schoolmates:

Good afternoon!

I’m Lily from Class Two Senior Three. As a true senior three student, I really treasure this chance to stand on this stage and deliver my speech.

Have you ever felt panic about the newly breaking out Influenza A (H1N1)? With five cases in China Mainland confirmed, have you ever felt threatened? When all countries around the world are making every effort to combat the infectious plague, have you at least paid more attention to your personal hygiene than ever before? You may wonder why epidemics spread across the world easily nowadays. Some says it is because viruses are more contagious while some others state that more frequent cross-border activities increase the possibility to spread them. Here, I give my answer to this question; it is because that the world is exactly a small world right now.

The Great Geographical Discovery linked divided continents together, the Renaissance freed people from the gloomy Middle Ages, the Enlightenment drew the blueprint of Modern Democracy, the Industrial Revolution started the time of mass production, the progress of Urbanization and Globalization, the development of the Information Era… With all of those above, the world is stepping, slowly but determined, towards a global village, in which us human beings have another name, Global Citizen.

It’s a small world, and it is a friendly world. Three years ago in Australia, every time I took a walk after dinner, I receive kind greetings from strangers I met with in the street. Now, on the Internet, my facebook gets comments in different languages from people of different beliefs. I have discovered friends who live just a few miles away from me, and friends from far away places. Though highways, mountains and oceans separate us, we are united in our passion for freezing moments of our lives and of our world. And we unflinchingly share them because we know that no unkind word will be thrown at us.

It’s a small world, and it is a convenient world. Thanks to mass media and modern transportation, things work more efficiently. A tenth of a second, Google will give out millions of answers for you to choose from. Ten seconds, you can get trough to an old friend on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Ten minutes, you can book a ticket to your favorite opera on the theater’s website. Ten hours, the flight takes off at Beijing lands safely at Heathrow. Ten days, foreign medical teams arrived in Sichuan quake zone for rescue work.

It’s a small world, and it is a corporative world. Since the World Wars, countries hold negotiations more often instead of fighting. General Agreement on Tariff and Tax, which then turned into World Trade Organization, has largely promoted bilateral and multilateral business. Moreover, countries have begun to cooperate for the world’s sustainable development, not only for individual benefits. Kyoto Protocol and Rout Map of Bali Island put out practical proposals for cutting off the emission of Green House Gases. More recently, the Group 20 expressed in London their determination in tiding over the economic crisis.

It’s a small world, though the mountains divide, the oceans are wide, there are so much that we share. We face the same situations, fight against the same viruses. Though certain negative effects a smaller world may have on us, I still believe it is a beautiful world for peace and development.

It’s a small world where everyone can make a difference to heal the world, make it a better place. It’s a small world where we have learned to take the responsibility not only for the sake of ourselves, but for all human beings and later generations as well. It’s a small world where we work together to eradicate extreme poverty & hunger, to achieve universal primary education, to combat diseases and so on.

It’s a small world, and it is our world. So, let us, Global Citizens, be united not only materially, but also in everyone’s internal spirit.

Thank you!