From 中國日報網雙語新聞
微信號：Chinadaily_Mobile
今天開篇，先來看一個表情包
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你可能不知道他到底是誰，叫什麼名字，但你一定用過他的表情包。
他在「表情包屆」和「鬥圖圈」裡叱吒風雲，承包了不少人的表情包收藏列表。
中國網友親切地稱他為「假笑男孩」……
當聊天陷入僵局時，他拯救你於尬聊之中……
他的微笑表達了你只可意會，不可言傳的心情……
今天，江湖人稱「CD表情包小天后」的我就帶你走近「假笑男孩」，了解表情包紅人背後的故事，一起在表情包屆，做個文化人！
「假笑男孩」本名叫Gavin Thomas，今年7歲，和媽媽一起住在美國明尼蘇達州的明尼阿波裡斯市。
中國網友根據他標誌性的笑容，給他起了「假笑男孩」這個名字。
His smiles, in particular, perfectly showcase a mix of awkwardness and politeness, fear and grace, conceit and affectedness. This seemingly innate ability to display a whole range of emotions at once has deeply impressed China's netizens, who have lovingly dubbed Gavin the "simpering boy".
他的笑完美地融合了尷尬與禮貌、恐懼和優雅，傲嬌而不失做作。他與生俱來的表情能同時表現出這麼多情緒，這讓中國網友深有同感，給Gavin起了個綽號叫「假笑男孩」。
simper：to smile in a way that is not sincere or natural
假笑：以一種不真誠或不自然的方式微笑
他的走紅，還要從2014年說起……
Gavin was first brought to the attention of the internet by his uncle, Nick Mastodon. The 30-year-old from Minnesota was one of the earliest stars of Vine — a short-form video hosting service that operated from 2013 to 2017.
Gavin是由舅舅Nick Mastodon帶入公眾視野的。30歲的Nick來自明尼蘇達州，是Vine上最早的一批網紅，Vine是從2013年到2017年在線的短視頻平臺。
一段短視頻，意外地讓Gavin小火了一把。
In the spring of 2014, Mastodon posted an outwardly innocuous video of Gavin with a crested gecko on his forehead. He wasn't expecting much of a response, but it soon became popular.
2014年春天，Nick把Gavin頭頂蜥蜴、一臉無害的視頻發上網。當時他並不期待著有什麼回應，但是這條小視頻迅速火了。
Gavin的反應，讓網友關注到這個淡定中帶著一絲迷茫和尷尬的小孩子。
"People started to comment about his reaction and how great it was," Mastodon told Select All. "And I was like, 'let's find other ways to capture him in funny situations and see if he can make that face some more.' "
Nick接受Select All雜誌採訪時說：「大家開始談論Gavin的反應，說他實在太可愛了。於是我想，可以在其他搞笑的時刻抓拍他，看看他是不是還能再做這樣的表情。」
舅舅Nick發現，這孩子在表情方面簡直太有天賦了。
"He just made a whole lot of different faces; it's just something he seems to be good at without even trying."
「他的表情超豐富，這完全是自然而然的流露，他根本毫不費力。」
於是，就拍了超多Gavin的視頻，上傳到Vine。
Gavin kept appearing on Nick's Vine account over the next two years.
在接下來的兩年中，Gavin一直出現在尼克的視頻裡。
戳視頻，看Gavin精彩合集↓↓
突然間，Gavin就爆紅了（went viral）！
越來越多的「表情包」大V帳戶發布Gavin的照片：
"It wasn't up until, like, this past June that he really blew up, and I think it was because more and more big meme accounts were posting pictures of him." Mastodon said in August 2016.
Nick2016年8月接受採訪時說：「也就是去年6月，他突然人氣大爆棚，我覺得是因為不少表情包大號都在發他的照片。」
網絡病毒式的傳播，讓這位表情包屆的扛把子，紅遍全球各地。
Because of the way the online meme economy operates, with its reliance on imitation and duplication, once one account had drawn attention to Gavin, suddenly he was everywhere.
網絡表情包的經濟運行模式就是依靠不斷的模仿和複製，只要有一個帳號開始注意到他，那馬上就會廣泛地火起來。
meme：表情包
網友紛紛發揮聰明才智，用Gavin的表情創作出了無數段子……
當他們正在講故事，你知道那都是胡說八道的時候，你就這樣坐著……
「你準備好開學了嗎？」
我：……
服務生：你們要不要看看甜點菜單呀？
其他人：不用啦，給我們帳單就行了。
我：……
晚上熬夜，然後意識到3小時以後要上課……
「你能不能嚴肅一秒。」
我：……
你發現朋友在剛剛吐槽過的女孩朋友圈下面評論「我的天！你也太美了！」
看完恐怖電影，正要睡覺，結果聽到一陣聲音……
Gavin成了「網紅」，總會格外引人關注。
媽媽Kate說，希望孩子能過著正常小孩子的生活。
Being meme-famous at such a young age comes with its fair share of downsides, however. Gavin's mom, Kate Thomas, knows people recognize her son, but still wants him to live a normal life.
小小年紀就成了表情包紅人，也一樣有煩惱。媽媽Kate Thomas知道大家都認識她的兒子，但還是希望他過上正常的生活。
面對紛紛求合影的粉絲，媽媽會把決定權交給Gavin。
"If a person comes up to him, he'll decide if he wants to take a selfie depending on what his mood is. We absolutely leave it up to him," said Thomas.
「如果有人過來找他，他會根據心情決定要不要和對方來個自拍，我們完完全全讓他決定。」
不過，Gavin無論是和誰合影，笑容都是那麼傳神。
Gavin的社交媒體帳號都是媽媽在管理，和粉絲們保持著密切的關係。
His mom certainly played a big role in Gavin's social media success. In fact, the majority of photos that have gone viral were taken from either Thomas' or Mastodon's Twitter and Instagram accounts. These are the only official Gavin accounts that exist, but his mom maintains close relationships with his parody and fan accounts.
他媽媽在Gavin社交媒體的成功上扮演了重要的角色。事實上，大部分超火的照片都是從Gavin和他舅舅的推特及Ins上下載的。這些是Gavin僅有的官方號，不過他媽媽也和高仿號及粉絲帳號保持了密切的關係。
Gavin媽媽會把控孩子表情包的內容，有不合適的，會聯繫對方刪除。
"We have the type of relationship where I can say I don't feel comfortable with that post, or this was a little too out there, and they will immediately take it down. There are just some things I do not want his photo attached to," she said in the October 2016 interview.
在2016年10月份的一次採訪中，Gavin媽媽說，「我們（指粉絲及高仿號）之間形成一種這樣的關係，我可以說哪個帖文令人不太舒服，或者有點太過了，然後他們就會馬上刪掉。我就是不希望他的照片和某些東西有聯繫。」
Gavin表情包的魔力在於，總能結合不同的心境和情景，衍生出更多的表達。
His expressions may still be the foundation, but the captions they are attached to can vary enormously.
他的表情仍然是基礎，不過人們在上面配的說明，十分豐富。
他教科書般的假笑，可以給人們帶來發自內心的快樂。
"I've heard so many people say they've had a bad day and Gavin brings a smile to their face. It has been fun to share a little piece of him with the rest of the world," his mom said.
Gavin媽媽說：「很多人和我說，他們度過了糟糕的一天，但是Gavin卻讓他們的臉上爬滿笑容。和全世界分享他的照片，是很有趣的事情。」
你喜歡「假笑男孩」Gavin的表情包嗎？你喜歡的表情包巨頭還有誰？評論區見！
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