| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第8-9页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第9页 |
| 摘要 | 第10-14页 |
| CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION | 第14-17页 |
| 1.1 Research Background | 第14-15页 |
| 1.2 Purpose of the Study | 第15页 |
| 1.3 Significance of the Study | 第15-16页 |
| 1.4 Organization of the Thesis | 第16-17页 |
| CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW | 第17-27页 |
| 2.1 Definitions of Hedges | 第17-18页 |
| 2.2 Classifications of Hedges | 第18-21页 |
| 2.3 Studies of Hedges at home and abroad | 第21-24页 |
| 2.4 Studies of Spoken Tests in China | 第24-27页 |
| CHAPTRE III THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK | 第27-31页 |
| 3.1 Cooperative Principle | 第27-29页 |
| 3.2 Politeness Principle and FTA Theory | 第29-31页 |
| CHAPTER IV METHODOLOGY | 第31-33页 |
| 4.1 Research Questions | 第31页 |
| 4.2 Corpus | 第31页 |
| 4.3 Instruments | 第31-32页 |
| 4.4 Procedures | 第32-33页 |
| CHAPTER V RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS | 第33-55页 |
| 5.1 Quantitative Results | 第33-43页 |
| 5.1.1 Distribution of Hedges Used by TEM-4 and TEM-8 Students | 第33-41页 |
| 5.1.2 Similarities and Differences between the Two Groups | 第41-43页 |
| 5.2 Reasons to Account for the Similarities and Differences | 第43-55页 |
| 5.2.1 Similarities in the Use of Adaptors to Modify the Degree of Authenticity | 第44-46页 |
| 5.2.2 Similarities in the use of Rounders to Avoid Wrong Information | 第46-49页 |
| 5.2.3 Similarities in the Use of Attribution Shields to Protect Speaker’s Face | 第49-51页 |
| 5.2.4 Differences in the Use of Plausibility Shields to Mitigate the Tone of Language | 第51-55页 |
| CHATTER Ⅵ CONCLUSION | 第55-60页 |
| 6.1 Major Findings | 第55-56页 |
| 6.2 Pedagogical Implications of this Study | 第56-57页 |
| 6.3 Suggested Activities to Integrate Hedges into Teaching | 第57-58页 |
| 6.4 Limitations and Possible Suggestions for Further Studies | 第58-60页 |
| REFERENCES | 第60-62页 |
| APPENDIX 1 | 第62-64页 |
| APPENDIX 2 | 第64页 |
