| Abstract in English | 第1-5页 |
| Abstract in Chinese | 第5-8页 |
| 1 Introduction | 第8-9页 |
| 2 A Review of Previous Research on Discourse | 第9-16页 |
| ·A brief review of previous accounts of coherence | 第9页 |
| ·Cohesion and coherence | 第9-14页 |
| ·the scope of cohesion | 第9-10页 |
| ·Coherence revisited | 第10-11页 |
| ·Redefining relation between cohesion and coherence | 第11-14页 |
| ·Metaphorical coherence | 第14-16页 |
| 3 Theoretical Preliminarie | 第16-23页 |
| ·Introductions | 第16-21页 |
| ·Relevance | 第16-17页 |
| ·Optimal relevance | 第17-18页 |
| ·Ostensive—inferential communication | 第18页 |
| ·Metaphor study in terms of relevance theory | 第18-21页 |
| ·Theoretical framework for the present study | 第21页 |
| ·Conclusion | 第21-23页 |
| 4 Realization of Coherence in Metaphorical | 第23-37页 |
| ·Coherence and relevance | 第23页 |
| ·A relevance based approach to coherence | 第23-24页 |
| ·Coherence and metaphorical understanding | 第24-32页 |
| ·Recognition of metaphor | 第24-26页 |
| ·Metaphor as re-conceptualization of entities | 第25页 |
| ·The referential criteria of metaphoricity identification | 第25-26页 |
| ·Mutual manifest ness: the prerequisite for metaphorical understanding | 第26-28页 |
| ·optimal relevance as the ultimate goal of metaphorical understanding | 第28-29页 |
| ·Inference: contribution made by hearer to coherence | 第29-30页 |
| ·Achievements of coherence in metaphorical discourse | 第30-32页 |
| ·Factors influencing metaphorical understanding and coherence | 第32-34页 |
| ·External factors | 第32-33页 |
| ·Context revisited | 第32-33页 |
| ·The mental representation of context | 第33页 |
| ·Internal factors | 第33-34页 |
| ·Trait | 第33页 |
| ·Rhetorical sensitivity | 第33-34页 |
| ·Communicative style | 第34页 |
| ·Communication and relevance | 第34-35页 |
| ·RT has established a communicative model superior to traditional ones | 第34页 |
| ·Relevance principle is an improvement on Grice’s co-operative principle | 第34-35页 |
| ·Evaluation of relevance theory in realizing coherence in discourse | 第35-37页 |
| 5 Conclusions | 第37-38页 |
| Bibliography | 第38-40页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第40页 |
