今天开篇，先来看一个表情包
你可能不知道他到底是谁，叫什么名字，但你一定用过他的表情包。他在“表情包届”和“斗图圈”里叱咤风云，承包了不少人的表情包收藏列表。中国网友亲切地称他为“假笑男孩”……
当聊天陷入僵局时，他拯救你于尬聊之中……
他的微笑表达了你只可意会，不可言传的心情……
今天，江湖人称“CD表情包小天后”的双语君（微信ID：Chinadaily_Mobile）就带你走近“假笑男孩”，了解表情包红人背后的故事，一起在表情包届，做个文化人！
“假笑男孩”本名叫Gavin Thomas，今年7岁，和妈妈一起住在美国明尼苏达州的明尼阿波里斯市。
中国网友根据他标志性的笑容，给他起了“假笑男孩”这个名字。
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尴尬与礼貌、恐惧和优雅，傲娇而不失做作。他与生俱来的表情能同时表现出这么多情绪，这让中国网友深有同感，给Gavin起了个绰号叫“假笑男孩”。
simper：to smile in a way that is not sincere or natural
假笑：以一种不真诚或不自然的方式微笑
他的走红，还要从2014年说起……
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带入公众视野的。30岁的Nick来自明尼苏达州，是Vine上最早的一批网红，Vine是从2013年到2017年在线的短视频平台。
一段短视频，意外地让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头顶蜥蜴、一脸无害的视频发上网。当时他并不期待着有什么回应，但是这条小视频迅速火了。
Gavin的反应，让网友关注到这个淡定中带着一丝迷茫和尴尬的小孩子。
"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杂志采访时说：“大家开始谈论Gavin的反应，说他实在太可爱了。于是我想，可以在其他搞笑的时刻抓拍他，看看他是不是还能再做这样的表情。”
舅舅Nick发现，这孩子在表情方面简直太有天赋了。
"He just made a whole lot of different faces; it's just something he seems to be good at without even trying."
“他的表情超丰富，这完全是自然而然的流露，他根本毫不费力。”
于是，就拍了超多Gavin的视频，上传到Vine。
Gavin kept appearing on Nick's Vine account over the next two years.
在接下来的两年中，Gavin一直出现在尼克的视频里。
戳视频，看Gavin精彩合集↓↓
https://v.qq.com/iframe/preview.html?vid=m0501vro659&width=500&height=375&auto=0
突然间，Gavin就爆红了（went viral）！
越来越多的“表情包”大V账户发布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月接受采访时说：“也就是去年6月，他突然人气大爆棚，我觉得是因为不少表情包大号都在发他的照片。”
网络病毒式的传播，让这位表情包届的扛把子，红遍全球各地。
Because of the way the online memeeconomy operates, with its reliance on imitation and duplication, once one account had drawn attention to Gavin, suddenly he was everywhere.
网络表情包的经济运行模式就是依靠不断的模仿和复制，只要有一个账号开始注意到他，那马上就会广泛地火起来。
meme：表情包
网友纷纷发挥聪明才智，用Gavin的表情创作出了无数段子……
当他们正在讲故事，你知道那都是胡说八道的时候，你就这样坐着……
“你准备好开学了吗？”
我：……
服务生：你们要不要看看甜点菜单呀？
其他人：不用啦，给我们账单就行了。
我：……
晚上熬夜，然后意识到3小时以后要上课……
“你能不能严肃一秒。”
我：……
你发现朋友在刚刚吐槽过的女孩朋友圈下面评论“我的天！你也太美了！”
看完恐怖电影，正要睡觉，结果听到一阵声音……
Gavin成了“网红”，总会格外引人关注。
妈妈Kate说，希望孩子能过着正常小孩子的生活。
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.
小小年纪就成了表情包红人，也一样有烦恼。妈妈Kate Thomas知道大家都认识她的儿子，但还是希望他过上正常的生活。
面对纷纷求合影的粉丝，妈妈会把决定权交给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.
“如果有人过来找他，他会根据心情决定要不要和对方来个自拍，我们完完全全让他决定。”
不过，Gavin无论是和谁合影，笑容都是那么传神。
Gavin的社交媒体账号都是妈妈在管理，和粉丝们保持着密切的关系。
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.
他妈妈在Gavin社交媒体的成功上扮演了重要的角色。事实上，大部分超火的照片都是从Gavin和他舅舅的推特及Ins上下载的。这些是Gavin仅有的官方号，不过他妈妈也和高仿号及粉丝账号保持了密切的关系。
Gavin妈妈会把控孩子表情包的内容，有不合适的，会联系对方删除。
"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月份的一次采访中，Gavin妈妈说，“我们（指粉丝及高仿号）之间形成一种这样的关系，我可以说哪个帖文令人不太舒服，或者有点太过了，然后他们就会马上删掉。我就是不希望他的照片和某些东西有联系。”
Gavin表情包的魔力在于，总能结合不同的心境和情景，衍生出更多的表达。
His expressions may still be the foundation, but the captions they are attached to can vary enormously.
他的表情仍然是基础，不过人们在上面配的说明，十分丰富。
他教科书般的假笑，可以给人们带来发自内心的快乐。
"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妈妈说：“很多人和我说，他们度过了糟糕的一天，但是Gavin却让他们的脸上爬满笑容。和全世界分享他的照片，是很有趣的事情。”
你喜欢“假笑男孩”Gavin的表情包吗？你喜欢的表情包巨头还有谁？评论区见！
（来源：中国日报双语新闻编辑部）
