| 中文摘要 | 第4-6页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第6-7页 |
| Chapter One—Introduction | 第10-17页 |
| 1.1 Definition of Debate | 第10-11页 |
| 1.2 Forms of Debate | 第11-13页 |
| 1.3 U.S Presidential Debates and its Purpose | 第13-14页 |
| 1.4 Methodology and Data Collection | 第14-16页 |
| 1.4.1 Data Collection | 第14-15页 |
| 1.4.2 Research Methodology | 第15-16页 |
| 1.5 The Organization of This Thesis | 第16-17页 |
| Chapter Two－Literature Review of Political Debate | 第17-24页 |
| 2.1 Rhetorical Perspective on Political Debate | 第18-19页 |
| 2.2 Communicative Perspective on Political Debate | 第19-20页 |
| 2.3 Pragmatic Perspective on Political Debate | 第20-22页 |
| 2.4 Comments on Previous Studies | 第22-24页 |
| 2.4.1 Contribution | 第22-23页 |
| 2.4.2 Weakness | 第23页 |
| 2.4.3 Summary | 第23-24页 |
| Chapter Three－Theoretical Base: Relevance Theory | 第24-39页 |
| 3.1 The Basis of Communication | 第24-27页 |
| 3.1.1 Cognitive Context | 第24-25页 |
| 3.1.2 Cognitive Environment | 第25-26页 |
| 3.1.3 Mutual Manifestness | 第26-27页 |
| 3.2 Ostensive-Inferential Communication Model | 第27-31页 |
| 3.2.1 Ostension on the Part of the Speaker | 第27-29页 |
| 3.2.1.1 The Informative Intention | 第27-28页 |
| 3.2.1.2 The Communicative Intention | 第28-29页 |
| 3.2.2 Inference on the Part of the Hearer | 第29-31页 |
| 3.2.2.1 Non-demonstrative Inference | 第29-30页 |
| 3.2.2.2 The Deductive Device of the Inference | 第30-31页 |
| 3.3 The Principle of Relevance | 第31-35页 |
| 3.3.1 The definition of relevance | 第32页 |
| 3.3.2 Contextual Effect and Processing Effort | 第32-34页 |
| 3.3.3 Two principles of Relevance | 第34-35页 |
| 3.3.4 The Principle of Optimal Relevance | 第35页 |
| 3.4 Relevance-theoretic Comprehension Procedure | 第35-38页 |
| 3.4.1 Explicature and implicature | 第36-37页 |
| 3.4.2 Sub-tasks of Relevance-theoretic Comprehension Procedure | 第37-38页 |
| 3.5 Summary | 第38-39页 |
| Chapter Four－Pragmatic Analysis of American Presidential Debates | 第39-67页 |
| 4.1 Frequency of Presupposition and Metaphor in American Presidential Debates | 第39-40页 |
| 4.2 The Comprehension Process of Pragmatic Strategies in American Presidential Debate | 第40-43页 |
| 4.2.1 Identification of Explicatures | 第41页 |
| 4.2.2 Construction of Contextual Assumptions | 第41-42页 |
| 4.2.3 Recovery of Implicatures | 第42-43页 |
| 4.3 Presupposition in American Presidential Debates | 第43-57页 |
| 4.3.1 Different Types of Presupposition in American Presidential Debates | 第44-56页 |
| 4.3.2 Characteristics of Presupposition in American Presidential Debates | 第56-57页 |
| 4.4 Metaphor in American Presidential Debates | 第57-65页 |
| 4.4.1 Different Types of Metaphor in American Presidential Debates | 第58-65页 |
| 4.4.2 Characteristics of Metaphor in American Presidential Debates | 第65页 |
| 4.5 Summary | 第65-67页 |
| Chapter Five－Conclusion | 第67-71页 |
| 5.1 Results and Findings of the Thesis | 第67-68页 |
| 5.2 The Significance of the Research | 第68-70页 |
| 5.2.1 Theoretical Significance | 第68-69页 |
| 5.2.2 Practical Significance | 第69页 |
| 5.2.3 Methodological Significance | 第69-70页 |
| 5.3 Implications of the Thesis | 第70页 |
| 5.4 Limitations of the Thesis and Suggestions for Future Research | 第70-71页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第71-72页 |
| Bibliography | 第72-75页 |
| 攻读硕士学位期间所取得的学术成果 | 第75-76页 |
