Ifyourin-boxiscurrentlyreportingunreadmessagesinthehun...

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If your in-box is currently reporting unread messages in the hundreds or thousands, you might have a hard time believing the news: e-mail is on the decline.

At first blush, that might seem to be the case. The incoming generation, after all, doesn't do e-mail. Oh, they might have an account. They use it only as we would a fax machine: as a means to communicate with old-school folks like their parents or to fulfill the sign-up requirements of Web sites. They rarely check it, though.

Today's instant electronic memos—such as texting and Facebook and Twitter messages—are more direct, more concentrated, more efficient. They go without the salutation(称呼语) and the signoff; we already know the “to” and “from.” Many corporations are moving to messaging networks for exactly that reason: more signal, less noise and less time. This trend is further evidence that store-and-forward systems such as e-mail and voicemail are outdated. Instead of my leaving you a lengthy message that you pick up later, I can now send you an unobtrusive, easily -consumed message that you can read—and respond to—on the go.

The decline of e-mail corresponds neatly to the dawn of the mobile era. Instantaneous(及时) written messages are different. These are neatly tailored to fit in just about any time: before a movie, in a taxi, waiting for lunch. And because these notes are invariably brief, they're a natural for smartphone typing. With these formats, you also have control over who can correspond with you, which you usually don't in e-mail. And especially on Facebook, instant messaging can take on the character of a chat room, where several people can talk at once.

Does this mean e-mail is on its way to the dustbin of digital history? Not necessarily. E-mail still has certain advantages. Whereas tweets and texts feel ephemeral—you read them, then they're gone, into an endless string, e-mail still feels like something you have and that you can file, search and return to later. It's easy to imagine that it will continue to feel more appropriate for formal communications: agreements, important news, longer explanations.

So, e-mail won't go away completely. Remember, we've been through a transition like this not so long ago: when e-mail was on the rise, people said that postal mail was dead. That's not how it works. Postal mail found its smaller niche, and so will e-mail. Technology rarely replaces an institution completely; it just adds new avenues.

E-mail down, messaging up. Now go clean out your in-box.

62. What would the incoming generation like to do with their e-mail accounts?

A. Contact close friends B. Send long messages

C. Fill in some forms D. Communicate with their colleagues

63. Paragraphs 3-4 are important to the passage in that they _________.

A. illustrate the preferences of the young generation

B. explain the possible reasons behind the decline of e-mail

C. reveal the rapid development of e-communication channels

D. offer evidence about the uncertain future of easily-consumed messages

64. What does the underlined word “ephemeral” in paragraph 5 mean?

A. Conveniently-sent B. Randomly-written

C. Hardly readable D. Short-lived