| Abstract | 第1-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第6-14页 |
| Introduction | 第14-18页 |
| 1. The rationale of the study | 第14-15页 |
| 2. The objectives of the study | 第15-18页 |
| Chapter One Literature Review | 第18-32页 |
| ·Introduction | 第18页 |
| ·The definition of misunderstanding | 第18-24页 |
| ·Definitions by scholars from abroad | 第18-21页 |
| ·Definitions by scholars at home | 第21-24页 |
| ·The classification of misunderstanding | 第24-26页 |
| ·Wang Xijie's classification | 第24-25页 |
| ·Thomas's classification | 第25-26页 |
| ·Misunderstanding of verbal irony | 第26-29页 |
| ·Definition of verbal irony | 第26-27页 |
| ·Features of verbal irony | 第27页 |
| ·Why do people use irony? | 第27-28页 |
| ·Misunderstanding of verbal irony | 第28-29页 |
| ·Previous researches | 第29-30页 |
| ·Studies on irony | 第29-30页 |
| ·Studies on misunderstanding | 第30页 |
| ·Summary | 第30-32页 |
| Chapter Two Theoretical Framework of the Study | 第32-45页 |
| ·Introduction | 第32页 |
| ·Principles of utterance understanding | 第32-39页 |
| ·The Cooperative Principles | 第32-34页 |
| ·Relevance Theory | 第34-36页 |
| ·Adaptation Theory | 第36-39页 |
| ·The theoretical framework of the present study | 第39-43页 |
| ·Verbal irony as a violation of the Cooperative Principle and a relevance-adaptation | 第40-41页 |
| ·Misunderstanding verbal irony as a possible result under certain context | 第41-43页 |
| ·Misunderstanding as one of the results of violating maxims | 第41页 |
| ·Misunderstanding as a type of relevance | 第41-42页 |
| ·Misunderstanding as a possible product o fadaptation | 第42-43页 |
| ·Summary | 第43-45页 |
| Chapter Three Research Methodology and Data Collection | 第45-52页 |
| ·Introduction | 第45页 |
| ·The methodology in the present study | 第45-46页 |
| ·Description of data | 第46-51页 |
| ·The introduction of Jane Austen's works | 第46-50页 |
| ·The brief introduction of Jane Austen's stories | 第46-48页 |
| ·The main feature of Austen's writing style—irony | 第48-50页 |
| ·Reasons for choosing Jane Austen's series | 第50-51页 |
| ·Summary | 第51-52页 |
| Chapter Four Data Analysis | 第52-79页 |
| ·Introduction | 第52页 |
| ·The misunderstanding of irony in Austen's works | 第52-75页 |
| ·The identification of misunderstandings | 第52-56页 |
| ·Misunderstanding different functions of verbal irony | 第56-63页 |
| ·Misunderstanding speaker's negative attitude | 第57-60页 |
| ·Misunderstanding the irony of maintaining politeness | 第60-63页 |
| ·Misunderstanding caused by different factors | 第63-75页 |
| ·Misunderstanding caused by different personalities | 第63-69页 |
| ·Misunderstanding caused by one's emotions | 第69-71页 |
| ·Misunderstanding caused by different beliefs | 第71-72页 |
| ·Misunderstanding caused by one's wishes | 第72-74页 |
| ·Misunderstanding caused by different social status | 第74-75页 |
| ·The appreciation of Austen's writing | 第75-78页 |
| ·Summary | 第78-79页 |
| Conclusion | 第79-83页 |
| 1. Summary of the findings | 第79-81页 |
| 2. Limitation of the present study | 第81页 |
| 3. Suggestions for further study | 第81-83页 |
| Works Cited | 第83-87页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第87页 |
