| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第4-5页 |
| 摘要 | 第5-8页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第8-10页 |
| Chapter One INTRODUCTION | 第20-26页 |
| 1.1 Background of the Research | 第20-21页 |
| 1.2 Significance of the Research | 第21-23页 |
| 1.3 Organization of the Research | 第23-26页 |
| Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW | 第26-60页 |
| 2.1 A Brief Introduction of Time | 第26-35页 |
| 2.1.1 Definitions of time | 第26-29页 |
| 2.1.2 Classifications of time | 第29-33页 |
| 2.1.3 The properties of time | 第33-35页 |
| 2.2 Studies on the Conceptualization of Time Abroad | 第35-47页 |
| 2.2.1 Time as space metaphor | 第35-39页 |
| 2.2.2 Time as motion metaphor | 第39-45页 |
| 2.2.3 The metonymic studies on time abroad | 第45-47页 |
| 2.3 Studies on the Conceptualization of Time at Home | 第47-54页 |
| 2.3.1 The metaphorical independent studies on time | 第47-50页 |
| 2.3.2 The metaphorical contrastive studies on time | 第50-53页 |
| 2.3.3 The metonymic studies on time at home | 第53-54页 |
| 2.4 Studies on the English Prepositions | 第54-58页 |
| 2.4.1 Traditional studies on the semantics of English prepositions | 第54-56页 |
| 2.4.2 Cognitive studies on the semantics of English prepositions | 第56-58页 |
| 2.5 The Grey Areas to Be Studied | 第58-60页 |
| Chapter Three THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK | 第60-78页 |
| 3.1 Metaphor and Metonymy | 第60-67页 |
| 3.1.1 An overview of conceptual metaphor theory | 第60-63页 |
| 3.1.2 An overview of conceptual metonymy | 第63-66页 |
| 3.1.3 An overview of metaphor-metonymy interaction | 第66-67页 |
| 3.2 The Encyclopaedic View of Meaning | 第67-74页 |
| 3.2.1 The Encyclopaedic Semantics | 第67-69页 |
| 3.2.2 Image Schema | 第69-71页 |
| 3.2.3 Polysemy | 第71-72页 |
| 3.2.4 Construal | 第72-74页 |
| 3.3 An Integrated Framework | 第74-78页 |
| Chapter Four RESEARCH METHODOLOGY | 第78-88页 |
| 4.1 Research Questions | 第78-79页 |
| 4.2 Data and Data Collection | 第79-85页 |
| 4.2.1 Corpus of Contemporary American English(COCA) | 第79-80页 |
| 4.2.2 Data collection | 第80-85页 |
| 4.3 Data Analysis | 第85-88页 |
| 4.3.1 The analytical tool | 第85-86页 |
| 4.3.2 The data analysis procedures | 第86-88页 |
| Chapter Five RESULTS AND DISCUSSION | 第88-138页 |
| 5.1 A General Illustration of the Target Prepositions | 第88-94页 |
| 5.1.1 The orientation of the frequency in temporal usages | 第88-89页 |
| 5.1.2 The orientation of the types in prepositions | 第89-91页 |
| 5.1.3 The general demonstration on temporal usages in target prepositions | 第91-93页 |
| 5.1.4 Summary | 第93-94页 |
| 5.2 Similarities in the Ways to Construe the Conceptualization of Time withPrepositions | 第94-108页 |
| 5.2.1 The similarities in terms of the tense system | 第94-97页 |
| 5.2.2 The similarities in terms of quantity in time | 第97-103页 |
| 5.2.3 The similarities in terms of temporal words | 第103-106页 |
| 5.2.4 Summary | 第106-108页 |
| 5.3 Differences in the Process of Time-construing with Prepositions | 第108-121页 |
| 5.3.1 Differences in the metaphorical interaction | 第108-114页 |
| 5.3.2 Differences in the metonymic interaction | 第114-117页 |
| 5.3.3 Differences in the metaphor-metonymy interaction | 第117-120页 |
| 5.3.4 Summary | 第120-121页 |
| 5.4 The Motivations for Differences in the Cognition of Time | 第121-136页 |
| 5.4.1 A cognitive analysis of the participants | 第121-128页 |
| 5.4.2 A cognitive analysis on the polysemy of prepositions | 第128-132页 |
| 5.4.3 A cognitive analysis of the characteristics of time | 第132-135页 |
| 5.4.4 Summary | 第135-136页 |
| 5.5 Summary | 第136-138页 |
| Chapter Six CONCLUSION | 第138-144页 |
| 6.1 Major Findings of the Research | 第138-140页 |
| 6.2 Implications of the Research | 第140-141页 |
| 6.3 Limitations of the Research and Suggestions for Further Research | 第141-144页 |
| REFERENCES | 第144-156页 |
| 附录： 作者在攻读硕士学位期间发表的论文 | 第156页 |
