① Love them or hate them, emojis (表情符号) have become an important part of our twenty-first-century culture. Over 90% of the world's 4.6 billion internet users send them every day. In 2015, Oxford Dictionaries chose Face With Tears of Joy as its Word of the Year.
② However, some language experts are against this form of communication. They consider it a step back into the dark ages of illiteracy. Emojis, they say, are making us lose the ability to speak. People are depending on these "picture characters" rather than words to express their feelings.
③ I want to challenge this opinion. I'm afraid these experts have misunderstood how communication works.
④ Emojis aren't taking the place of language. Instead, they are making our messages more understandable. Here is an example. Without an emoji, what means by the following message would be puzzling (迷惑): "Hey, I fell over and got my head hit on the kitchen cupboard." My friend on the other side of the phone might have difficulty working out my true feelings. Should he laugh ("Ha-ha! You're so silly!" or take pity on me ("Oh. Hope it doesn't hurt too badly")? However, using an emoji (
or 
) will spell out the meaning behind my words. Emojis are to text messages what body language is to spoken communication. They allow us to communicate better.
⑤ So, as long as we don't overuse emojis, these lovely characters are helpful.
B . 
C . 
D . 
