now add little pictures to our texts to brighten up someone's mobile screen but we're also using them as a quick way of telling someone how we're feeling.Yes，emojis have become a vital tool for communication.

　　Let's clear one thing up first-there are emojis and emoticons(表情符号). The latter are little images made using normal keys on a keyboard. For example, a colon, two dots, followed by the curved line of a close brackets is a "smiley face"．

　　The emoji was first invented in Japan in the late 1990s and the word "emoji" comes from the Japanese words for "picture" and "character". The number of different images has dramatically increased since then and now we have a picture for every mood or situation.

　　So now we have the option to give this new creation the visual "thumbs­up" but have you thought why we've become so addicted to using emojis? Professor Vyv Evans, has written a book called The Emoji Code--he says, "What we're finding is that digital communication is taking over from certain aspects of face­to­face interaction...One of the reasons emojis are so interesting is that they really do enable us to express our emtional selves much more effectively."

　　Another advantage of emojis is that they are an international language-they don't use words but tell a message in pictorial form so they can be easily interpreted whatever your native language is.

　　Emojis are a good way for showing empathy-they are a virtual hug or a flirtatious tease. But as linguist Neil Cohn says, "To many, emojis are an exciting evolution of the way we communicate; to others, they are linguistic(语言学的) Armageddon." It does show there is a lot more to our communication than words alone but does this mean the decline in traditional writing?

　　语篇导读　本文介绍了表情包的来源以及人们热衷于在交流中使用表情包的原因。

　　5．What is the main idea of the passage?

　　A．The decline in traditional writing.

　　B．The differences between emojis and emoticons.

　　C．The origin of the emoji.

　　D．The rise of the emoji.

　　解析 D　主旨大意题。根据全文内容，尤其是第一段最后一句可知，本文主要介绍了表情包成为重要交流工具的原因，即表情包的兴起，故选D项。

　　6．Why are emojis so appealing according to Professor Vyv Evans?

　　A．Because they are easy to use.

　　B．Because they allow us to express whatever we want.

C．Because we are capable of conveying our feelings better.