| Acknowledgements | 第1-5页 |
| Abstract(Chinese) | 第5-6页 |
| Abstract(English) | 第6-8页 |
| List of tables and figures | 第8-9页 |
| Contents | 第9-11页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第11-15页 |
| ·Purpose of the study | 第11页 |
| ·Research methodology | 第11-13页 |
| ·Organization of the thesis | 第13-15页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第15-22页 |
| ·Understanding euphemism | 第15-19页 |
| ·Definition of euphemism | 第17页 |
| ·Features of euphemism | 第17-19页 |
| ·Studies of euphemism at home and abroad | 第19-21页 |
| ·Studies of euphemism abroad | 第19-20页 |
| ·Studies of euphemism at home | 第20-21页 |
| ·Deficiencies of traditional studies | 第21-22页 |
| Chapter Three Theories of Conceptual Metonymy | 第22-29页 |
| ·Introduction | 第22-23页 |
| ·Metonymy as a conceptual phenomenon | 第23-24页 |
| ·Metonymy as a cognitive process | 第24页 |
| ·Conceptual metonymy operating within the same ICM | 第24-27页 |
| ·Whole ICM and its parts | 第26页 |
| ·Parts of an ICM | 第26-27页 |
| ·Ontological realms where metonymy occurs | 第27-28页 |
| ·Summary | 第28-29页 |
| Chapter Four A metonymic Approach to the Generating Mechanism of Euphemism | 第29-47页 |
| ·Introduction | 第29-30页 |
| ·An account of euphemism from the perspective of ICM | 第30-35页 |
| ·Whole ICM and its parts and the formation of euphemism | 第30-33页 |
| ·Parts of an ICM and the formation of euphemism | 第33-35页 |
| ·An account of euphemism from the perspective of ontological realms | 第35-37页 |
| ·Metonymic devices for generating euphemism | 第37-46页 |
| ·Phonetic device | 第37-39页 |
| ·Lexical device | 第39-41页 |
| ·Grammatical device | 第41-43页 |
| ·Pragmatic device | 第43-44页 |
| ·Nonverbal device | 第44-45页 |
| ·Interaction between verbal device and nonverbal device | 第45-46页 |
| ·Summary | 第46-47页 |
| Chapter Five Pedagogical Implications of This Study | 第47-50页 |
| ·Introduction | 第47页 |
| ·Implications of this study for TEFL | 第47-48页 |
| ·Implications of this study for the translation of euphemism | 第48-49页 |
| ·Summary | 第49-50页 |
| Chapter Six Conclusion | 第50-52页 |
| ·Summary of the study | 第50页 |
| ·Significance of this study | 第50-51页 |
| ·Limitations of the study and prospects for future research | 第51-52页 |
| Bibliography | 第52-55页 |
| 攻读硕士学位期间发表的学术论文 | 第55页 |
