| Acknowledgements | 第1-4页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第4-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第6-7页 |
| A List of Tables and Figures | 第7-10页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第10-15页 |
| ·Background of the Research | 第10-12页 |
| ·Research Design | 第12-13页 |
| ·Significance of the Study | 第13-14页 |
| ·Structure of the Thesis | 第14-15页 |
| Chapter Two Theoretical Framework and Literature Review | 第15-32页 |
| ·Theoretical Framework | 第15-26页 |
| ·Explanatory Models to Gender Differences | 第15-18页 |
| ·Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Theory | 第18-25页 |
| ·Notion of “Face” | 第19-20页 |
| ·Face-Threatening Acts | 第20-22页 |
| ·Face- Saving Act and Politeness Strategies | 第22-25页 |
| ·Gu Yueguo’s Politeness Principles | 第25-26页 |
| ·Literature Review | 第26-32页 |
| ·Definition of Positive Politeness Strategy | 第26-28页 |
| ·Definition of Gender and Sex | 第28-29页 |
| ·Previous Relevant Studies | 第29-32页 |
| Chapter Three Methodology | 第32-37页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第32页 |
| ·Instrument | 第32-34页 |
| ·Subjects | 第34-35页 |
| ·Data Collection | 第35-36页 |
| ·Data Analysis | 第36-37页 |
| Chapter Four Results | 第37-46页 |
| ·Gender Differences in the Use of Language in relation to Sex of Addressee | 第37-41页 |
| ·Same-sex | 第38-39页 |
| ·Cross-sex | 第39-41页 |
| ·Gender Differences in the Use of Language in relation to Social Distance | 第41-44页 |
| ·Acquaintance | 第41-42页 |
| ·Close Friend | 第42-44页 |
| ·Gender Differences in the Frequency of Using Positive Politeness Strategies | 第44-46页 |
| Chapter Five Discussion | 第46-61页 |
| ·Gender Differences in the Use of Nicknames | 第46-48页 |
| ·Gender Differences in the Use of Abusive Terms | 第48-52页 |
| ·Gender Differences in the Use of Shared Dialect | 第52-54页 |
| ·Gender Differences in the Use of Inclusive Terms | 第54-56页 |
| ·Gender Differences in the Use of Humorous Expressions | 第56-57页 |
| ·Gender Differences in the Frequency of Using Positive Politeness Strategies | 第57-58页 |
| ·Other Gender Differences in the Use of Positive Politeness Strategies | 第58-61页 |
| Chapter Six Conclusion | 第61-66页 |
| ·Major Findings | 第61-63页 |
| ·Limitations | 第63-64页 |
| ·Recommendation for Future Research | 第64-66页 |
| Appendices | 第66-72页 |
| Bibliography | 第72-76页 |
