| Acknowledgements | 第1-5页 |
| Abstract(English) | 第5-8页 |
| Abstract(Chinese) | 第8-14页 |
| Chapter One: Introduction | 第14-18页 |
| ·Introduction | 第14-15页 |
| ·The rationale of the present research | 第15页 |
| ·The objectives of the present research | 第15-16页 |
| ·The data and methodology of the present research | 第16页 |
| ·The outline of the present research | 第16-18页 |
| Chapter Two: Literature Review | 第18-32页 |
| ·Introduction | 第18页 |
| ·Definitions of rhetorical question | 第18-20页 |
| ·Approaches to English rhetorical questions | 第20-31页 |
| ·Rhetorical and writing approaches | 第20-22页 |
| ·Grammatical approaches | 第22-26页 |
| ·Interrogative transmutation | 第22-25页 |
| ·Transformational generation | 第25-26页 |
| ·Pragmatic approaches | 第26-31页 |
| ·Speech act | 第27-28页 |
| ·Cooperation and politeness principles | 第28-29页 |
| ·Discourse analysis | 第29-30页 |
| ·Relevance theory | 第30-31页 |
| ·Summary | 第31-32页 |
| Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework | 第32-38页 |
| ·Introduction | 第32页 |
| ·A brief introduction to the Adaptation Theory | 第32-33页 |
| ·The theoretical framework of rhetorical questions adaptation | 第33-36页 |
| ·Rhetorical questions as a realization of choice-making | 第34-35页 |
| ·Rhetorical questions as a realization of adaptation | 第35-36页 |
| ·Summary | 第36-38页 |
| Chapter Four: Production Adaptation | 第38-58页 |
| ·Introduction | 第38页 |
| ·Linguistic adaptation | 第38-42页 |
| ·General questions and rhetorical questions | 第39-40页 |
| ·Special questions and rhetorical questions | 第40-41页 |
| ·Rhetorical general questions and rhetorical special questions | 第41-42页 |
| ·Alternative questions and tag questions and rhetorical questions | 第42页 |
| ·Mental adaptation | 第42-49页 |
| ·Challenging | 第43-44页 |
| ·Negation and emphasis | 第44页 |
| ·Reproach | 第44-45页 |
| ·Suggestion | 第45-46页 |
| ·Wonder | 第46页 |
| ·Creation of Consensus | 第46-47页 |
| ·Beyond | 第47-49页 |
| ·Social-cultural adaptation | 第49-55页 |
| ·Adaptation to politeness factors | 第50-52页 |
| ·Rhetorical questions as complementary to insufficient English social deictic words | 第50-51页 |
| ·Rhetorical questions as indirect to corresponding statements | 第51-52页 |
| ·Adaptation to the producer's social status and profession | 第52-55页 |
| ·Rhetorical questions as an adaptation to the producer's social status | 第52-54页 |
| ·Rhetorical questions as an adaptation to the producer's profession | 第54-55页 |
| ·Habituation and idiomaticity | 第55-56页 |
| ·Summary | 第56-58页 |
| Chapter Five Interpretation and Response Adaptation | 第58-73页 |
| ·Introduction | 第58页 |
| ·Interpretation adaptation | 第58-64页 |
| ·Differences between the producer and the interpreter | 第58-59页 |
| ·Two stages of interpretation | 第59-64页 |
| ·The trigger stage | 第59-62页 |
| ·The inference stage | 第62-64页 |
| ·Response adaptation | 第64-72页 |
| ·Response types | 第65-67页 |
| ·Response adaptation | 第67-72页 |
| ·Consensus | 第67-68页 |
| ·Partial consensus | 第68-69页 |
| ·Disagreement | 第69页 |
| ·Disinterest | 第69-70页 |
| ·Misunderstanding | 第70-72页 |
| ·Summary | 第72-73页 |
| Chapter Six Conclusion | 第73-76页 |
| ·Introduction | 第73页 |
| ·Summary of the findings | 第73-74页 |
| ·Major findings in the production adaptation | 第74页 |
| ·Major findings in the interpretation adaptation | 第74页 |
| ·Major findings in the response adaptation | 第74页 |
| ·Limitations of the research | 第74-75页 |
| ·Recommendations for future research | 第75-76页 |
| Notes | 第76-78页 |
| Bibliography | 第78-84页 |
| Publications | 第84页 |
