| Acknowledgements | 第4-5页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第5-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第7-13页 |
| Abbreviations in the Thesis | 第13-14页 |
| Chapter One INTRODUCTION | 第14-17页 |
| 1.1 Motivation of the Thesis | 第14页 |
| 1.2 Objectives of the Thesis | 第14页 |
| 1.3 Significance of the Thesis | 第14-15页 |
| 1.4 Layout of the Thesis | 第15-17页 |
| Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW | 第17-25页 |
| 2.1 Previous Studies of Metaphor in Diplomatic Discourses | 第17-19页 |
| 2.1.1 Previous studies of metaphor in diplomatic discourses abroad | 第17-18页 |
| 2.1.2 Previous studies of metaphor in diplomatic discourses at home | 第18-19页 |
| 2.2 Previous Studies of ESM and Its Usage in Diplomatic Discourses | 第19-25页 |
| 2.2.1 Studies of the theory of ESM | 第19页 |
| 2.2.2 Four perspectives of studies of ESM both at home and abroad | 第19-20页 |
| 2.2.3 Usage of ESM in diplomatic discourses | 第20-25页 |
| Chapter Three THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK | 第25-34页 |
| 3.1 Diplomatic Discourses | 第25-26页 |
| 3.1.1 Definition and forms | 第25页 |
| 3.1.2 Characteristics and functions | 第25-26页 |
| 3.2 The Theory of ESM | 第26-31页 |
| 3.2.1 The structure of ESM | 第26-29页 |
| 3.2.2 The cognitive basis of ESM | 第29-30页 |
| 3.2.3 The cultural basis of ESM | 第30-31页 |
| 3.3 Three Typical Conceptual Metaphors in Diplomatic Discourses | 第31-34页 |
| Chapter Four RESEARCH DESIGN | 第34-54页 |
| 4.1 Research Questions | 第34页 |
| 4.2 Research Methodology | 第34页 |
| 4.3 Data Analysis | 第34-54页 |
| 4.3.1 Data of ESM in China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue | 第35-36页 |
| 4.3.2The comparative analysis of three ESMs in Chinese and American corpus | 第36-49页 |
| 4.3.3 Similarities and differences of three ESMs | 第49-51页 |
| 4.3.4 The diachronic change of three ESMs in Chinese and American corpus 38Chapter Five RESULTS AND DISCUSSION | 第51-54页 |
| Chapter Five RESULTS AND DISCUSSION | 第54-63页 |
| 5.1 Interpretation of Similarities between Chinese and American ESMs | 第54-55页 |
| 5.2 Interpretation of Differences between Chinese and American ESMs | 第55-57页 |
| 5.3 The Current Situation and Trend of China-U.S. Relations | 第57-63页 |
| Chapter Six CONCLUSION | 第63-66页 |
| 6.1 Major Findings | 第63-65页 |
| 6.2 Limitations and Suggestions | 第65-66页 |
| References | 第66-70页 |
| Appendix | 第70-101页 |
| Publication | 第101页 |
