| 摘要 | 第1-6页 |
| Abstract | 第6-8页 |
| Contents | 第8-11页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第11-14页 |
| ·Orientation of the Present Study | 第11页 |
| ·Rationale and Data Collection | 第11-13页 |
| ·Organization of the Thesis | 第13-14页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第14-26页 |
| ·Previous Studies on Understatement | 第14-22页 |
| ·Terminological Issue | 第14-17页 |
| ·Definitions of Understatement | 第14-16页 |
| ·Classification of Understatement | 第16-17页 |
| ·Different Studies on Understatement | 第17-22页 |
| ·Rhetorical Studies on Understatement | 第17-18页 |
| ·Pragmatic Studies on Understatement | 第18-20页 |
| ·Studies from Other Perspectives | 第20-21页 |
| ·Summary | 第21-22页 |
| ·Previous Studies on Adaptation Theory | 第22-24页 |
| ·Commentary on Adaptation Theory | 第23页 |
| ·Application of Adaptation Theory | 第23-24页 |
| ·Summary | 第24-26页 |
| Chapter Three Theoretical Foundation of the Present Framework—Adaptation Theory | 第26-32页 |
| ·Linguistic Choice-Making | 第26页 |
| ·Variability, Negotiability and Adaptability | 第26-28页 |
| ·Four Angles of Investigation | 第28-30页 |
| ·Adaptation Theory Applied in the Present Study | 第30-32页 |
| Chapter Four Understatement as the Realization of Adaptation | 第32-78页 |
| ·Extra-Linguistic Adaptability of Understatement | 第32-60页 |
| ·Understatement as Adaptation to the Mental World | 第33-44页 |
| ·Adaptation to the Emotion | 第33-36页 |
| ·Adaptation to the Personality | 第36-38页 |
| ·Adaptation to the Motivation/Intention | 第38-42页 |
| ·Adaptation to the Desire/Wish | 第42-43页 |
| ·Summary | 第43-44页 |
| ·Understatement as Adaptation to the Social World | 第44-54页 |
| ·Adaptation to Social Settings | 第44-46页 |
| ·Adaptation to Cultural Values | 第46-52页 |
| ·Adaptation to Communicative Conventions | 第52-54页 |
| ·Summary | 第54页 |
| ·Understatement as Adaptation to the Physical World | 第54-59页 |
| ·Adaptation to Nonverbal Factors | 第55-57页 |
| ·Adaptation to the Material Conditions of Speech | 第57-59页 |
| ·Summary | 第59-60页 |
| ·Linguistic Adaptability of Understatement | 第60-68页 |
| ·Code Switching | 第60-61页 |
| ·Understatement as Adaptation to Utterance-Building Ingredients | 第61-68页 |
| ·Adaptation at the Lexical Level | 第62-65页 |
| ·Adaptation at the Sentence Level | 第65-67页 |
| ·Summary | 第67-68页 |
| ·Dynamic Generation of Understatement | 第68-71页 |
| ·Salience of Understating Process | 第71-76页 |
| ·Salience | 第71-72页 |
| ·Metapragmatic Awareness of Understatement | 第72-76页 |
| ·Summary | 第76-78页 |
| Chapter Five Cultivation of Understating Ability | 第78-84页 |
| ·Cultivation of Empathy | 第78-79页 |
| ·Different Ways of Understatement | 第79-83页 |
| ·Summary | 第83-84页 |
| Conclusion | 第84-87页 |
| Bibliography | 第87-91页 |
| 攻读硕士学位期间取得的学术成果 | 第91-92页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第92页 |
