small world是英语中常用的口语化短语，核心语义为表达对意外发现的人际关联（如偶遇熟人、存在共同朋友、在陌生场景遇到有交集的人等）的惊讶，强调看似广阔的世界因巧合或潜在联系而显得“世界真小” 。其使用场景多为当人们在非预期的时间、地点发现彼此存在关联时，用以抒发“世界真小”的感慨。
例句:
When the new cabinet member met the opposition leader, they found they had attended the same university—it's a small world.
当新任内阁成员与反对党领袖见面时，他们发现两人曾就读于同一所大学——真是世界真小。
In the global tech industry, even CEOs of competing companies often share acquaintances—you realize it's a small world.
在全球科技行业，即便是竞争对手公司的CEO，也常常有共同认识的人——你会意识到真是世界真小。
At the international summit, the Chinese diplomat and the European Union representative discovered they had worked with the same UN advisor—what a small world!
在国际峰会上，中国外交官与欧盟代表发现两人曾与同一位联合国顾问共事——多么小的世界啊！
解析：用于外交场合，因跨国工作经历产生的意外交集，凸显外交圈人际关联的“短路径”特性。
The film festival gathered directors from Japan, Brazil and Nigeria, and two of them found they had studied under the same mentor—it's such a small world.
电影节汇聚了来自日本、巴西和尼日利亚的导演，其中两位发现他们曾师从同一位导师——真是个小世界。
When the exchange student from Canada arrived at the Chinese high school, she found her deskmate's aunt had taught her English in Vancouver—small world!
当加拿大交换生来到中国高中时，她发现同桌的姑姑曾在温哥华教过她英语——世界真小！
During the joint military exercise, the U.S. colonel and the South Korean captain realized they had served in the same peacekeeping mission in Somalia—it's a small world.
在联合军事演习中，美国上校与韩国上尉发现两人曾在索马里执行过同一项维和任务——真是世界真小。
Lily met Mark at a coffee shop in Paris, and after chatting for 10 minutes, they found they both knew her brother in London—small world, and they soon fell in love.
莉莉在巴黎的一家咖啡馆遇见了马克，聊了10分钟后，他们发现两人都认识她在伦敦的哥哥——世界真小，随后他们很快坠入了爱河。
When Tom traveled to Australia for a holiday, he ran into Sophie, a girl he had met once at a concert in his hometown—it's a small world, and their casual encounter turned into a long-distance relationship.
汤姆去澳大利亚度假时，偶遇了索菲——那个他曾在家乡一场音乐会上见过一面的女孩——真是世界真小，这次偶然相遇最终变成了一段异地恋。
Emma and Jack matched on a dating app, and when they met for the first date, they found they had been to the same university (but different majors)—what a small world! Their relationship became more natural after that.
艾玛和杰克在交友软件上配对成功，第一次约会时，他们发现两人曾就读于同一所大学（但不同专业）——多么小的世界啊！那之后他们的关系变得更自然了。
At their 10th wedding anniversary party, the couple met a guest who turned out to be the doctor who had delivered both of their first-borns—it's a small world, and they invited the doctor to share the anniversary cake.
在结婚10周年派对上，这对夫妇遇到一位宾客，原来对方正是给他们两个长子接生的医生——真是世界真小，他们邀请这位医生一起分享周年蛋糕。
When Mike joined the hiking club, he found his new teammate was the person who had helped him fix his broken bike on the street last month—small world, and they soon became good friends.
迈克加入徒步俱乐部时，发现他的新队友正是上个月在街上帮他修坏自行车的人——世界真小，他们很快成了好朋友。
2021年全国高考英语乙卷（完形填空）题目：
I was walking through a mall in Beijing when I saw a familiar face. It was Li Ming, my primary school classmate who had moved to Canada 10 years ago. I walked up and said hello, and he recognized me immediately. “I can't believe we meet here!” he said. “______.”
A. It's a big world
B. It's a small world
C. That's a coincidence
D. That's a surprise
- 答案：B
- 解析：题目场景为“在北京商场偶遇10年前移居加拿大的小学同学”，符合“意外发现人际关联”的情境，“It's a small world”是最贴合语境的感慨表达。A选项与场景矛盾；C、D虽表“巧合/惊讶”，但未体现“世界因关联而小”的核心语义，故B为最佳答案。
2023年新高考英语I卷（语法填空）题目：
My sister and I went to a concert last weekend. After the show, we met a singer we admired. We chatted for a while and found out that she had been a student of our mother's music class 15 years ago. “______ (it) a small world!” my sister said excitedly.
- 答案：It's
- 解析：场景为“姐妹俩在音乐会偶遇偶像，发现对方是母亲15年前的学生”，符合短语使用情境。短语固定表达为“It's a small world”，句首首字母大写，故填“It's”。
2024年广东省中考英语试卷（书面表达）题目：
假设你是李华，请根据提示写一篇短文，描述一次“意外相遇”的经历，要求用到短语“it's a small world”。提示：① 时间：上周六；② 地点：市图书馆；③ 人物：你与小学时的外教Mr. Smith；④ 意外关联：Mr. Smith现在是你表哥的大学老师。
- 参考范文：
Last Saturday, I went to the city library to borrow some books. When I was looking for books in the English section, someone called my name. I turned around and was surprised to see Mr. Smith, my primary school foreign teacher who had returned to his country 3 years ago. We talked happily and he told me he had come back to China to teach at a university. “Guess what?” he said, “I'm now a teacher of your cousin's class!” I couldn't help saying, “It's a small world!” What a wonderful day it was!
- 解析：范文以“图书馆偶遇小学外教，发现对方是表哥的大学老师”为核心，符合“意外关联”场景，短语“it's a small world”用于抒发相遇后的惊讶，贴合语境，满足题目要求。
2025年全国高考英语甲卷（阅读理解七选五）题目：
以下是一段关于“人际网络”的短文，空白处需填入合适的句子。
In modern society, people often have unexpected connections. For example, you might meet a stranger on a train and find out he is your colleague's brother. Or you might run into an old friend in a foreign country and learn she is your neighbor's sister. ______. This is what we call “the small-world phenomenon”.
A. It's easy to make friends with strangers
B. It's a small world after all
C. People should value their relationships
D. Foreign countries are not far away
- 答案：B
- 解析：短文核心为“人际网络中的意外关联”，空白处需引出“小世界现象”。A、C、D与“意外关联”无关；B选项“It's a small world after all”（终究是个小世界）既概括了前文例子，又呼应后文“small-world phenomenon”，故为正确答案。
综上，这个考点已经热得不能再热了。
