| Acknowledgements | 第1-7页 |
| Abstract | 第7-9页 |
| 摘要 | 第9-12页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第12-16页 |
| ·Background of the Study | 第12-13页 |
| ·Purpose of the Study | 第13-14页 |
| ·Overall Structure of the Thesis | 第14-16页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第16-40页 |
| ·Studies on Humor | 第16-25页 |
| ·The Origin and Definition of Humor | 第16-18页 |
| ·Classification of Humor | 第18-20页 |
| ·The Three Classical Theories of Humor | 第20-24页 |
| ·The Semantic Script Theory and the General Theory of Verbal Humor13 | 第24-25页 |
| ·The Relevance Theory | 第25-37页 |
| ·Definition of Relevance | 第27-29页 |
| ·Ostensive-inferential Communication | 第29-32页 |
| ·Two Principles of Relevance | 第32-33页 |
| ·The Maximal Relevance and the Optimal Relevance | 第33-35页 |
| ·Context and Cognitive Environments | 第35-37页 |
| ·Joe Wong and His Talk Show | 第37-40页 |
| Chapter 3 Methodology | 第40-43页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第40-41页 |
| ·Data Collection | 第41-42页 |
| ·Data Presentation | 第42-43页 |
| Chapter 4 A Relevance-Theoretical Analysis of Verbal Humor in Joe Wong’s Talk Show | 第43-63页 |
| ·Interpretation of Verbal Humor Based on Relevance Theory | 第43-54页 |
| ·Interpretation of Verbal Humor Based on Ostensive-inferential Process | 第43-47页 |
| ·Interpretation of Verbal Humor Based on Processing Effort | 第47-51页 |
| ·Interpretation of Verbal Humor Based on Cognitive Context | 第51-54页 |
| ·Factors Causing the Failure of Verbal Humor in Joe Wong’s Talk Show | 第54-63页 |
| ·Failure Caused by Incongruity | 第55-59页 |
| ·Failure Caused by Context | 第59-63页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第63-66页 |
| ·Major Findings | 第63-64页 |
| ·Limitation of the Study | 第64-65页 |
| ·Suggestions for Further Study | 第65-66页 |
| References | 第66-68页 |
