| Acknowledgements | 第5-6页 |
| 中文摘要 | 第6-7页 |
| Abstract | 第7-8页 |
| Abbreviations | 第11-14页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第14-18页 |
| 1.1 Research Background | 第14-15页 |
| 1.2 Purposes and Significance of the Research | 第15-16页 |
| 1.3 Methods | 第16-17页 |
| 1.4 Organization of the Thesis | 第17-18页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第18-41页 |
| 2.1 Lexical chunks | 第18-30页 |
| 2.1.1 Definitions of Lexical Chunks | 第18-21页 |
| 2.1.2 Classifications of Lexical Chunks | 第21-30页 |
| 2.1.2.1 Structural Classifications | 第21-27页 |
| 2.1.2.2 Functional Classifications | 第27-29页 |
| 2.1.2.3 Characteristics of Lexical Chunks | 第29-30页 |
| 2.2 Empirical Studies on Lexical Chunks | 第30-39页 |
| 2.2.1 A Review of Previous Empirical Studies Abroad | 第30-34页 |
| 2.2.2 A Review of Previous Empirical Studies Domestically | 第34-39页 |
| 2.3 Summary | 第39-41页 |
| Chapter Three Methodology | 第41-50页 |
| 3.1 Research Questions | 第41页 |
| 3.2 Corpus Linguistics Approach | 第41-42页 |
| 3.3 The Operational Definition and Classification of Lexical Chunks | 第42-45页 |
| 3.4 Research Preparation | 第45-47页 |
| 3.4.1 Research Instrument | 第45页 |
| 3.4.2 Data Collection and Self-established Corpora | 第45-47页 |
| 3.5 Research Procedure | 第47-49页 |
| 3.6 Summary | 第49-50页 |
| Chapter Four Discussions and Results | 第50-85页 |
| 4.1 Overall Characteristics of the RWG Corpus and the SUA Corpus | 第50-54页 |
| 4.2 Structural Characteristics of the RWG Corpus and the SUA Corpus | 第54-66页 |
| 4.2.1 Structural Characteristics of Four-word Lexical Phrases in the RWG Corpus | 第55-60页 |
| 4.2.2 Structural Characteristics of Four-word Lexical Phrases in the SUA Corpus | 第60-63页 |
| 4.2.3 Structural Comparison between the Two Corpora in Four-word Lexical Chunks | 第63-66页 |
| 4.3 Functional Characteristics of the RWG Corpus and the SUA Corpus | 第66-81页 |
| 4.3.1 Functional Characteristics of Four-word Lexical Phrases in the RWG Corpus | 第69-74页 |
| 4.3.2 Functional Characteristics of Four-word Lexical Phrases in the SUA Corpus | 第74-79页 |
| 4.3.3 Functional Comparison between the Two Corpora in Four-word Lexical Chunks | 第79-81页 |
| 4.4 The Relationship between the Structural and the Functional Categories | 第81-84页 |
| 4.5 Summary | 第84-85页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusions | 第85-90页 |
| 5.1 Major Findings of the Research | 第85-87页 |
| 5.2 Implications of the Research | 第87-88页 |
| 5.3 Limitations and Suggestions | 第88-90页 |
| Bibliography | 第90-94页 |
| Papers Published During the Study for M. A. Degree | 第94页 |
