| Acknowledgements | 第1-5页 |
| Abstract | 第5-7页 |
| 摘要 | 第7-9页 |
| Contents | 第9-12页 |
| List of Figures | 第12-13页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第13-17页 |
| ·Rationale of the study | 第13-14页 |
| ·Purposes of the study | 第14-15页 |
| ·Data collection and methodology | 第15页 |
| ·Organization of the thesis | 第15-17页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第17-29页 |
| ·The study of complex sentences abroad | 第17-20页 |
| ·The study of complex sentences at home | 第20-29页 |
| Chapter Three The Figure-ground Theory | 第29-37页 |
| ·Cognitive science | 第29页 |
| ·Figure-ground theory | 第29-34页 |
| ·Figure-ground theory in cognitive science | 第29-31页 |
| ·Figure/ground organization in cognitive activities | 第31-33页 |
| ·Figure-ground concepts in language | 第33-34页 |
| ·The application of figure-ground theory in cognitive linguistics | 第34-37页 |
| ·Cognitive linguistics | 第34-35页 |
| ·The application of figure-ground theory in cognitive linguistics | 第35-37页 |
| Chapter Four The Analysis of Complex Sentences from Figure-ground Perspective | 第37-60页 |
| ·Complex sentences in English | 第37页 |
| ·The analyses of the main clause and the temporal clause from figure-ground perspective | 第37-42页 |
| ·The time of the event in the subordinate clause before or after the time of the event in the main clause | 第38-39页 |
| ·The short event in the main clause, and the long event in the temporal clause | 第39-40页 |
| ·The long event in the main clause, and the short event in the temporal clause | 第40页 |
| ·The time of the subordinate clause event as the starting point or end point of the main clause event | 第40-42页 |
| ·The simultaneity of the event in the main clause and the event in the subordinate clause | 第42页 |
| ·The analysis of the main clause and the reason clause from figure-ground perspective | 第42-48页 |
| ·Reason clauses and the classification | 第42-43页 |
| ·The direct reason clause and the indirect reason clause | 第43-45页 |
| ·The direct reason clause and the main clause | 第43-44页 |
| ·The indirect reason clause and the main clause | 第44-45页 |
| ·Subjective reason clause and objective reason clause | 第45-46页 |
| ·Subjective reason clause and the main clause | 第45-46页 |
| ·Objective reason clause and the main clause | 第46页 |
| ·Known information in the reason clause and unknown information in the reason clause | 第46-48页 |
| ·Known information in the reason clause and the main clause | 第46-47页 |
| ·Unknown information in the reason clause and the main clause | 第47-48页 |
| ·The analysis of the main clause and conditional clause from figure-ground perspective | 第48-54页 |
| ·Conditional clauses and the classification | 第48-49页 |
| ·Real conditional clause and the main clause | 第49-53页 |
| ·The Classification of real conditional clauses | 第49页 |
| ·Genuine conditional clause and the main clause | 第49-50页 |
| ·Non-genuine conditional clause and the main clause | 第50-53页 |
| ·Unreal conditional clause and the main clause | 第53-54页 |
| ·The analysis of the main clause and the concessive clause from figure-ground perspective | 第54-60页 |
| ·The concessive clauses and the classification | 第54-55页 |
| ·The analysis of the main clause and the concessive clause | 第55-60页 |
| ·The analysis of the main clause and the uni-concessive clause | 第55-57页 |
| ·The concessive clause expressing the contrary meaning with the main clause | 第55-56页 |
| ·The concessive clause expressing the different meaning with the main clause | 第56页 |
| ·The main clause partially conforming to the expectation of the concessive clause meaning | 第56-57页 |
| ·Alternative conditional-concessive clause and the main clause | 第57-58页 |
| ·Universal conditional-concessive clause and the main clause | 第58-60页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusion | 第60-62页 |
| ·Summary of the thesis | 第60页 |
| ·Major findings of the study | 第60-61页 |
| ·Limitations of the study and suggestions for the further research | 第61-62页 |
| References | 第62-65页 |
| Publications | 第65页 |
