在北京的經(jīng)歷讓我覺(jué)得“世界真小”！

I couldn't believe it when I asked their addresses.
當(dāng)我得知他們住址的時(shí)候簡(jiǎn)直驚呆了。
Turns out, they lived just down the street from me in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
他們?cè)诿苄莸募译x我很近。
But I'd met them in Beijing.
但我在北京才見(jiàn)到他們。
I'd arrived in China in 2005 to intern for China Daily. 
我在2005年來(lái)中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)做實(shí)習(xí)記者。
I was assigned to cover an interpretive dance performance created to honor American missionary Minnie Vautrin (1886-1941), who risked her life to save ten thousand Chinese women during the Nanjing Massacre.
當(dāng)時(shí)我的任務(wù)是報(bào)道一場(chǎng)舞蹈表演，為了紀(jì)念在南京大屠殺期間，冒著生命危險(xiǎn)保護(hù)了上萬(wàn)中國(guó)女性的美國(guó)傳教士明妮·魏特琳女士。
The show's organizers had invited some of her living relatives to attend the rehearsal.
演出方邀請(qǐng)了她的一些親屬參加彩排。
I ended my interview with them by confirming their cities of residence. They not only lived a few houses down from me in Mount Pleasant but also worked as administrators at the university I was attending.
在采訪結(jié)束時(shí)，我詢問(wèn)了他們的地址，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)他們不僅住得離我很近，而且還在我上過(guò)的大學(xué)工作。
We were astounded by the coincidence. We agreed to meet up in Michigan but never got around to it. 
我們都對(duì)這種巧合震驚了，還約好在密歇根州見(jiàn)面，但我迄今尚未赴約。
I'd never heard of Vautrin before arriving in China. But I immediately came to understand why she's hailed as a hero in China.
來(lái)中國(guó)之前，我從未聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)魏特琳女士。但那天我立刻了解到她為何成為中國(guó)的英雄。
The missionary and educator, who's known in China as the "Goddess of Mercy", first arrived in China in 1912 and later became dean of the Nanking Jinling Women's College. She repelled Japanese invaders from the school in 1937, during the six-week siege in which 300,000 unarmed Chinese were killed and over 20,000 women were raped.
這位傳教士和教育者被中國(guó)人稱為“觀音菩薩”。她于1912年來(lái)到中國(guó)，之后成為金陵女子大學(xué)的校長(zhǎng)。在1937年的南京大屠殺期間，她屏退了日軍入侵學(xué)校。
Vautrin personally patrolled the school to fend off any attempts to attack the women inside.

她在學(xué)校巡邏，排除一切攻擊女性避難者的可能。
She declared: "Whoever wants to go through this gate will have to do so over my dead body." And she meant it.
她表示：“想進(jìn)學(xué)校大門(mén)就必須從我的尸體上踩過(guò)去?！?br />However, largely because of the horror she experienced during that time, she committed suicide soon after returning to the United States following a nervous breakdown.
然而，經(jīng)歷了戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)創(chuàng)傷的她在返回美國(guó)后精神失常，最終選擇結(jié)束自己的生命。
Turns out, she was also buried in the same county in which I lived and attended university. I also planned to visit her grave but, again, never got around to it.
她的墓地就在我曾經(jīng)居住和上大學(xué)的地方。我曾想去祭拜她，但至今未能成行。
These incredible coincidences indeed seemed to point to the truth of the old adage, "It's a small world after all."
這些難以置信的巧合似乎印證了“這個(gè)世界真小”。
That said, I was again absolutely shocked by another unlikely encounter about two weeks after I returned to Beijing in 2006.
還有一次讓我特別震驚的偶遇也發(fā)生在北京。那是2006年，我剛回到北京后兩周。
I was sitting outside a bar on the main street of the capital's Sanlitun when I heard a conspicuously surprised voice say, "Erik?"
當(dāng)時(shí)我坐在北京三里屯酒吧街的一家酒吧外，突然聽(tīng)到有人驚訝地叫我：“艾瑞克？”
I turned around and was astonished to see a fellow member of my high school newspaper's editorial board.
我回頭一下就驚呆了：對(duì)方居然是我高中時(shí)期校報(bào)的編委會(huì)同僚。
I hadn't seen Brady in about half a decade, since I'd moved away from Midland, Michigan, which borders Mount Pleasant. 
自從我搬家后，我們大約有五年沒(méi)見(jiàn)了，
And I had to study his face for some time to make sure I really was looking at who I thought I was looking at. I was.
我盯著他的臉半天，才確認(rèn)他真是Brady.
It happened that Brady was doing a short study-abroad program at the university across from my workplace.
Brady參加了短期海外研究項(xiàng)目，就在中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)對(duì)面的大學(xué)里。
I didn't have Facebook back then. But we've since connected on the platform.
當(dāng)時(shí)我還沒(méi)有Facebook賬號(hào)，不過(guò)后來(lái)我倆就在Facebook上聯(lián)系了。
Indeed, it's not only a small world after all, but it's also getting smaller, especially as such connecting technologies as social media advance.
隨著社交媒體的發(fā)展，這個(gè)世界變得越來(lái)越小了。
Through Facebook, I came to learn I have distant relatives from Sweden who live in Shanghai. I've considered contacting them but haven't yet.
通過(guò)Facebook，我了解到有瑞典的遠(yuǎn)房親戚住在上海，但至今我還沒(méi)聯(lián)系他們。
We've all heard of the theory of "six degrees of separation", also known as "six handshakes", which suggests every human is linked by six or fewer social connections. That is, friends of friends of friends …
我們都聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)“六度空間理論”，就是你和任何一個(gè)陌生人之間所間隔的人不會(huì)超過(guò)六個(gè)。
However, this concept, which began in academia and later leaked into popular culture, is largely regarded as an urban legend. 
然后這個(gè)由學(xué)術(shù)界興起又進(jìn)入流行文化的理論也就是個(gè)都市傳奇。
Empirical studies supporting the idea have been conducted but also criticized for their methodologies.
經(jīng)驗(yàn)主義支持這個(gè)理論但又被質(zhì)疑其方法論。
Either way, as the world shrinks and China's prominence continues to rise, I expect to encounter more unlikely encounters, especially in Beijing.
但無(wú)論如何，隨著地球村變小，中國(guó)快速發(fā)展，我期待再發(fā)生一些偶遇，特別是在北京。