| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第1-12页 |
| ·Reasons for Choosing This Topic | 第8页 |
| ·The Author’s Approach to This Topic | 第8-9页 |
| ·Theoretical Foundation | 第9-10页 |
| ·Layout of the Thesis | 第10-12页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第12-22页 |
| ·Conceptual Metaphor Theory | 第12-15页 |
| ·Relevance Theory | 第15-22页 |
| ·Ostensive-inferential Communication | 第15-17页 |
| ·The Notion of Relevance | 第17-19页 |
| ·The Principle of Relevance | 第19-22页 |
| Chapter 3 Research Methodology | 第22-26页 |
| ·Theoretical Framework | 第22-24页 |
| ·Data Collection for Sample Analysis | 第24-26页 |
| Chapter 4 Business Is an Organism | 第26-39页 |
| ·Conceptual Metaphors in Business Discourse | 第26-30页 |
| ·Origins of Organism Metaphor | 第30-31页 |
| ·Entailments of Organism Metaphor | 第31-34页 |
| ·Sub-levels of Organism Metaphor | 第34-39页 |
| ·The Plant Metaphor | 第34-35页 |
| ·The Animal Metaphor | 第35-37页 |
| ·The Human Being Metaphor | 第37-39页 |
| Chapter 5 Understanding Organism Metaphor with Relevance Theory | 第39-63页 |
| ·Brief Introduction to the Understanding Mechanism | 第39-42页 |
| ·Identifying Organism Metaphor: Identifying Ostensive Stimulus | 第39-40页 |
| ·Establishing Relevance of Organism Metaphor: Getting Contextual Effects | 第40-41页 |
| ·Searching for Optimal Relevance: Making Full Use of Cognitive Environments | 第41-42页 |
| ·Sample Analysis | 第42-63页 |
| ·The Plant Metaphor | 第42-48页 |
| ·The Animal Metaphor | 第48-56页 |
| ·The Human Being Metaphor | 第56-63页 |
| Chapter 6 Conclusion | 第63-66页 |
| ·General Summary of the Thesis | 第63-64页 |
| ·Possible Significance of the Thesis | 第64页 |
| ·Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research | 第64-66页 |
| Bibliography | 第66-68页 |
| Appendix: Examples in the Thesis | 第68-69页 |
