| 摘要 | 第5-6页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第6页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第11-15页 |
| 1.1 Research Background | 第11-12页 |
| 1.2 Purpose and Significance of the Study | 第12-13页 |
| 1.3 Research Questions | 第13页 |
| 1.4 Layout of the Thesis | 第13-15页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第15-34页 |
| 2.1 Overview of Hedges | 第15-21页 |
| 2.1.1 Definitions of Hedges | 第15-17页 |
| 2.1.2 Classifications of Hedges | 第17-21页 |
| 2.2 Overview of Adaptation Theory | 第21-25页 |
| 2.2.1 Definition of Adaptation Theory | 第21-22页 |
| 2.2.2 Properties of the Language | 第22-23页 |
| 2.2.3 Three Worlds of Adaptation Theory | 第23-25页 |
| 2.3 Previous Studies | 第25-34页 |
| 2.3.1 Previous Studies on Hedges | 第25-29页 |
| 2.3.2 Previous Studies on Adaptation Theory | 第29-32页 |
| 2.3.3 Previous Studies on Foreign Ministry Spokespersons' Remarks | 第32-34页 |
| Chapter 3 Research Methodology | 第34-40页 |
| 3.1 Corpus-based Approach | 第34-35页 |
| 3.2 Corpora Used in the Study | 第35-36页 |
| 3.2.1 Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokespersons' Remarks Corpus(CFMSRC) | 第35-36页 |
| 3.2.2 US Foreign Ministry Spokespersons' Remarks Corpus (USFMSRC) | 第36页 |
| 3.3 Tools Employed for Data Collection and Processing | 第36-38页 |
| 3.4 Procedures for Data Collection and Processing | 第38-40页 |
| Chapter 4 Results and Discussion | 第40-75页 |
| 4.1 Overall Frequency and Distributions of Hedges in Both Corpora | 第40-47页 |
| 4.1.1 Distributions of Approximators | 第43-45页 |
| 4.1.2 Distributions of Shields | 第45-47页 |
| 4.2 Similarities and Differences between Chinese and US Foreign MinistrySpokesperson's Remarks | 第47-56页 |
| 4.2.1 Similarities of Hedges Applied in CFMSRC and USFMSRC | 第47-49页 |
| 4.2.2 Differences of Hedges Applied in CFMSRC and USFMSRC | 第49-55页 |
| 4.2.3 Possible Reasons for the Differences | 第55-56页 |
| 4.3 Hedges and Adaptation Theory | 第56-74页 |
| 4.3.1 Hedges as Adaptation to the Physical World | 第56-64页 |
| 4.3.1.1 Adaptation to Time | 第56-60页 |
| 4.3.1.2 Adaptation to Space | 第60-64页 |
| 4.3.2 Hedges as Adaptation to the Social World | 第64-70页 |
| 4.3.3 Hedges as Adaptation to the Mental World | 第70-74页 |
| 4.4 Summary | 第74-75页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第75-79页 |
| 5.1 Major Findings | 第75-76页 |
| 5.2 Implications | 第76-77页 |
| 5.3 Limitations and Suggestions | 第77-79页 |
| References | 第79-84页 |
| Appendices | 第84-86页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第86-87页 |
| Resume | 第87页 |
