你是一个表情符号的热衷者吗?你的短信、qq、msn和email聊天中常常使用各种表情吗?今天我们要讲的词是emoticon。是不是觉得这个词的构成有几分奇怪，几分眼熟?没错啦，其实它是emotion (or emote)和icon组成的混合词。An emoticon is a symbol or combination of symbols to convey emotional content in written or message form. 就是说，我们可以把emotion叫做“表情符号”或者“表情符”，也就是把一些字母和符号放在一起做成的表情效果。

比如我们在电子邮件和短信当中经常用到的微笑表情smiley faces，或者嘴角下弯的沮丧表情，都是用引号、分号和括号这样的符号组成的。

Common Examples:

Icon Meaning Icon Meaning Icon Meaning

:-) smile, happy

:-( sad, depressed

;-) wink

:-D big grin

:-P tongue out, happy, or being silly

:-* kiss

:-O surprised

:-/ uncertain

:-| waiting, indifferent

=] smile, happy

=[ sadness, depressed

=O shocked

:@ angry

:-S or

:-? confused

a: a-hole

接下来，我们看段两个人有关表情符号的对话。

A: You know I always find it difficult to really express my emotions when I'm sending an instant message.

B: Well, why don't you use those emoticons more?

A: I could, yes, but I'm never really sure if they show the right emotion that I want to express.

B: Well, there are quite a lot of emoticons you can use: happy, sad, feeling mad! They express a lot of emotions.

A: Ok then, I'll have a go!

表情符号非常丰富，它们足以表达我们生活中的各种情绪。There's quite a bit of variety and you can express your emotions quite clearly, it's nearly as good as talking to them for real! 多多使用表情符号，让我们的生活充满更多色彩，更多欢乐!