| Abstract | 第1-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第6-7页 |
| Table of Contents | 第7-9页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第9-14页 |
| ·Research background and research questions | 第9-11页 |
| ·Research significance | 第11-12页 |
| ·Thesis organization | 第12-14页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第14-28页 |
| ·Speech Act Theories | 第14-16页 |
| ·Austin’s speech act theory | 第14-15页 |
| ·Searle’s speech act theory | 第15-16页 |
| ·Conceptualizations of comforting speech act | 第16-19页 |
| ·Definition of comforting as a speech act | 第16-17页 |
| ·Pragmatic features of comforting | 第17-18页 |
| ·Types of speech acts to which comforting belongs | 第18-19页 |
| ·Relevant studies about comforting abroad | 第19-22页 |
| ·The process and outcome of comforting | 第20-21页 |
| ·Variables affecting comforting | 第21-22页 |
| ·Relevant studies about comforting in China | 第22-23页 |
| ·Criticism on previous studies about comforting speech act | 第23-28页 |
| Chapter Three Research Methodology | 第28-34页 |
| ·Data collection | 第28-31页 |
| ·Subjects | 第28-29页 |
| ·Discourse completion test | 第29页 |
| ·Questionnaire design | 第29-30页 |
| ·Distribution and callback of questionnaires | 第30-31页 |
| ·Data analysis procedure | 第31-34页 |
| ·Data transcription | 第31-32页 |
| ·Generalization of comforting strategies | 第32-33页 |
| ·Calculation of frequencies of comforting strategies | 第33-34页 |
| Chapter Four Results and Discussion | 第34-56页 |
| ·Strategies of comforting speech act in Chinese | 第34-49页 |
| ·Low person-centered strategies | 第36-42页 |
| ·Moderately person-centered strategies | 第42-44页 |
| ·Highly person-centered strategies | 第44-47页 |
| ·Frequencies of strategies of comforting speech act in Chinese | 第47-49页 |
| ·Social variables affecting the performance of comforting in Chinese | 第49-56页 |
| ·Power distance | 第50-53页 |
| ·Gender | 第53-56页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusion | 第56-58页 |
| ·Summary of the major findings | 第56-57页 |
| ·Limitations of this study and suggestions for future research | 第57-58页 |
| References | 第58-62页 |
| Appendix I Questionnaire | 第62-63页 |
| Appendix II Abbreviations | 第63-64页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第64页 |
