数学学院 黄瑞转

Diana felt dazed the moment she stepped onto the land of America, the so-called melting pot that burned her eyes at first glance. Different skin-colors. Hair-colors. Eye-colors. First the colors.  Then the people. That’s how she, as a student who has never, in her nineteen years of Chinese “small town swot” life, being met with so many people from different ethnic backgrounds at the same time, identify people.

Shifting uncomfortably, she tried to take her eyes away from the shuffling crowd. This is only the beginning of summer session, but she couldn’t help feeling uneasy. Her English proficiency seemed to have dropped the moment she encountered the African-American girl next-door. She wore normal jeans and T-shirts. Her black hair was tied into dreadlocks dangling cheerfully.

“Hi...?” She began, a dry smile across her face. “My name is Diana.” The latter swirled around and replied, white teeth shining as she beamed, “Hey yo! I’m Natalie.”

Their conversation ended shortly - Diana was beginning to have a vague idea that she was not good at ice-breaking. She did not know any potential topics that may interest them both, nor can she interpret her accent well - her fear of misunderstandings took over.

Diana strolled out to find her partner Rosa Wang, her old schoolmate who signed up for the same summer session abroad with her and told Rosa her experience.

“Wow, everyone living next to me seem to be Asians,” Rosa began, “You’re lucky to embrace diversity so early.” She dived her fork into the salad-bowl, mixing vivid colors together.

“They say that when studying abroad Asians gather with Asians. You don’t want to be finishing summer session without making new friends, do you?”

Diana bit her lip. Rosa was apparently an extrovert - why didn’t extroverts have chances of living next to unfamiliar people while she had to be the one to get out of her social comfort zone? But, Rosa had a point.

The following couple of days went smoothly. Diana began to adjust to the open and lively atmosphere when discussing with others in class which was so much different from her previous classroom experiences. She answered Natalie’s warm greetings whenever they met. Out of curiosity, she signed up for baseball as extra-curriculum activity. Uneasiness swept over her again as she found she was among the few Asians who signed up for it.

Thankfully, the coach was friendly. After a brief introduction, he divided the class into groups and let everyone practice freely. Diana swung her bat three times but missed, feeling uncomfortably awkward as she saw other players in the distance seemingly scoring a run.

“Hey...Do you mind if I help you out?” A tall girl wearing gloves approached her. She had curly blonde hair and shimmering sea-green eyes. Diana accepted and handed over her the bat.

“Having a good swing depends on your hip movement.” The girl noted, demonstrating the process. “Eyes on the ball, not the pitcher. Turn your shoulders like this -” She swung with all her might. Diana imitated her movements. The girl stepped aside and the pitcher threw the ball once again. Diana swung, and with an unclear sound, edged the ball. The ball flew to a slightly different direction.

“Wowie, ya got some talent, Diana!” It was the voice of Natalie. She was walking towards their direction and happened to see Diana strike the ball. Blushing, Diana began speaking incoherently how it was all the tall girl’s effort to help her out. The blonde girl held out her hand. “I’m Francesca. I grew up here.” Both girls shook hands with Francesca. “Join us for a game of UNO after training if you like...”

The atmosphere seemed to ease even more the more Diana tried swinging the bat or tried to catch the ball with her gloves. As Diana felt newfound determination surge, time melted away. She laughed, cheered and celebrated every run with her teammates, with Francesca helping both she and Natalie get hold of this new game.

Running in a blur, she saw colors again. The green grass. White ball. Blonde, blue, white, black and yellow. The colors and shades found their way together, blending into each other, mixing, painting the sky colorful. Sports connected them together, right on the spot.

A rainbow across the continents.

“Hey, three people can’t form a cross-continent team. It’s just for practice.” Francesca patted Diana. They were on their way to their game of UNO. “Ohhh... and would you be surprised if I tell you my mother was French?”

Francesca waited, smiling as Diana and Natalie gaped at her. “It makes the three of us form four continents!”

Diana felt relieved to see both girls talkative and not letting the conversation stop. After a while Natalie began to speak of her father’s home country, Nigeria, on a continent where others had often linked with poverty and relentless chaos, wild animals and people who dance and sang around bonfires all day. “It was not exactly like that - ” She told them about her trips back to her homeland, about what her parents have encountered as immigrants to the US - there seemed to be much more to explore, more colorful and comprehensive stories with round characters rather than flat ones - Diana was amazed and found herself gazing at her companion’s dangling dreadlocks again. The more they chat, the more she felt the invisible bond forming again, like the colors inside Rosa’s salad bowl, like the rainbow connecting them together. Not a single color nor a single story could depict the culture behind every single person.

The three of them walked to a small club that hosted parties and games for students. Night had fallen. Diana couldn’t wait to open the door. She’d have lots to show off in front of Rosa when she gets back - they say sports break barriers and celebrates diversity. She had never thought she would buy into this saying up till today.

教师点评

点评教师：王晓彤，副教授，外国语学院大学英语教学部教师，写作大赛评委

该文讲述了中国女孩Diana初到美国，从对全新环境的忐忑不安和对自己英语的不自信，到慢慢采用包容和开放的态度，积极参与课堂讨论，参加棒球运动，与教练和其他来自不同大洲的同学用运动的纽带架起沟通不同文化和文明的桥梁的故事。本文紧扣本次写作大赛“推动全球文明交流与互鉴”的主题，巧妙地使用了体育运动这个载体，并将此体育运动比作为一座连接文化和文明的彩虹桥。该文主题凸显，用颜色贯穿全文：作者开头提到Diana初到美国看到了头发、皮肤等不同的颜色，意欲各国文化和文明的不同；作者文中提到Diana在运动场地看到了由七色光组成的彩虹，意欲不同文化和文明的融合和和平共处；作者文末再次提出“Not a single color nor a single story could depict the culture behind every single person.”，体现了“一花独放不是春，百花齐放春满园”，不同文化和文明需要包容共存，交流互鉴，共建人类命运共同体。本文语言流畅，心理细节描述生动、到位。