| Abstract (English) | 第1-9页 |
| Abstract (Chinese) | 第9-13页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第13-19页 |
| ·Introductory Remarks | 第13-14页 |
| ·Objectives of the Present Study | 第14-15页 |
| ·Methodology of the Study and Target Data | 第15-16页 |
| ·Some Key Terms | 第16-17页 |
| ·Organization of the Paper | 第17-19页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第19-29页 |
| ·Introduction | 第19-20页 |
| ·Studies of Rhetorical Questions in English | 第20-24页 |
| ·Studies of Rhetorical Questions in Chinese | 第24-27页 |
| ·Summary | 第27-29页 |
| Chapter 3 Features of Rhetorical Questions | 第29-43页 |
| ·Introduction | 第29-30页 |
| ·Syntactic Features of Rhetorical Questions | 第30-31页 |
| ·Semantic Features of Rhetorical Questions | 第31-36页 |
| ·Pragmatic Features of Rhetorical Questions | 第36-41页 |
| ·RQs Used to Perform Various Assertives | 第36-39页 |
| ·To Accuse | 第36-37页 |
| ·To Rebut | 第37-38页 |
| ·To Complain | 第38-39页 |
| ·To Blame | 第39页 |
| ·RQs Used to Perform Various Directives | 第39-41页 |
| ·To Advise | 第39-40页 |
| ·To Order | 第40页 |
| ·To Request | 第40-41页 |
| ·Summary | 第41-43页 |
| Chapter 4 Speech Act Metonymy in Rhetorical Questions | 第43-56页 |
| ·Introduction | 第43页 |
| ·Rhetorical Questions Performing Indirect Speech Acts | 第43-44页 |
| ·The Characteristics of Speech Act Metonymy in RQs | 第44-55页 |
| ·Nature of Metonymy | 第44-45页 |
| ·Speech Act Metonymy as a Kind of Metonymy | 第45-46页 |
| ·The Establishment of Speech Act Scenario in RQs | 第46-50页 |
| ·The Metonymic Realization of the Components in the RQ Scenario | 第50-55页 |
| ·Summary | 第55-56页 |
| Chapter 5 Interpretation of the Metonymic Function in RQs | 第56-67页 |
| ·Introduction | 第56-57页 |
| ·Identification of Rhetorical Questions from Genuine Ones | 第57-58页 |
| ·Inference of the Meanings of Rhetorical Questions | 第58-64页 |
| ·Pragmatic Inference of the Meanings of Rhetorical Questions | 第58-61页 |
| ·Nature of the Pragmatic Inference | 第61-64页 |
| ·Some Cases of Conventional Metonymy in Rhetorical Questions | 第64-66页 |
| ·Summary | 第66-67页 |
| Chapter 6 Conclusion | 第67-70页 |
| ·Introduction | 第67页 |
| ·Summary of the Findings of the Present Study | 第67-68页 |
| ·Some Implications | 第68-69页 |
| ·Limitations of the Current Study | 第69-70页 |
| Appendix | 第70-71页 |
| Bibliography | 第71-73页 |
