| Abstracts in Chinese | 第4-6页 |
| Abstracts in English | 第6-8页 |
| List of Abbreviation | 第12-13页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第13-18页 |
| 1.1 The background of the research | 第13-15页 |
| 1.2 The aim and significance of the research | 第15-16页 |
| 1.2.1 The aim of the research | 第15页 |
| 1.2.2 The significance of the research | 第15-16页 |
| 1.3 Thesis layout | 第16-18页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第18-30页 |
| 2.1 Theoretical studies review | 第18-23页 |
| 2.1.1 Speech act theory | 第18-20页 |
| 2.1.2 Politeness theories | 第20-23页 |
| 2.2 Empirical studies of compliments and responses at home and abroad | 第23-30页 |
| 2.2.1 Empirical studies of compliments and responses | 第23-26页 |
| 2.2.2 Empirical studies of comparison and contrast of compliments and responses | 第26-30页 |
| Chapter Three Research Design | 第30-36页 |
| 3.1 Research questions | 第30页 |
| 3.2 Research subjects | 第30-31页 |
| 3.3 Research instruments | 第31-34页 |
| 3.4 Data collection procedures | 第34-36页 |
| Chapter Four Results and Discussion | 第36-67页 |
| 4.1 The comparison of compliments employed by Sino-U.S. undergraduates | 第36-46页 |
| 4.1.1 The comparison of lexical features | 第36-42页 |
| 4.1.2 The comparison of syntactic patterns | 第42-46页 |
| 4.2 Comparison of compliment responses employed by Sino-U.S. undergraduates | 第46-59页 |
| 4.2.1 Similarities of compliment responses | 第46-49页 |
| 4.2.2 Differences of compliment response strategy | 第49-59页 |
| 4.3 The factors influencing complimenting behaviors | 第59-67页 |
| 4.3.1 Gender | 第59-60页 |
| 4.3.2 Position and status | 第60-61页 |
| 4.3.3 Intimacy | 第61-62页 |
| 4.3.4 Culture | 第62-65页 |
| 4.3.5 The change of society | 第65-67页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusion | 第67-73页 |
| 5.1 Major findings of the study | 第67-68页 |
| 5.2 Implications of the study | 第68-71页 |
| 5.2.1 Implications for cross-cultural communications | 第68-69页 |
| 5.2.2 Implications for foreign language teaching and learning | 第69-71页 |
| 5.3 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies | 第71-73页 |
| Bibliography | 第73-77页 |
| Appendix Ⅰ | 第77-79页 |
| Appendix Ⅱ | 第79-81页 |
| Papers Published During the Study for M. A. Degree | 第81-82页 |
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第82-83页 |
