| 摘要 | 第1-6页 |
| Abstract | 第6-12页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第12-15页 |
| ·Origin of the Thesis | 第12页 |
| ·Significance of the Research | 第12-13页 |
| ·Organization of the Thesis | 第13-15页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第15-28页 |
| ·Definition of Hedges | 第15-16页 |
| ·Definition of Hedges in Dictionaries | 第15-16页 |
| ·Definition of Hedges from Linguistic Perspective | 第16页 |
| ·The Classification of Hedges | 第16-21页 |
| ·Zadeh's Classification | 第16-17页 |
| ·Prince et al.'s Classification | 第17-18页 |
| ·Varttala's Classification | 第18-19页 |
| ·Hyland's Classification | 第19-21页 |
| ·Empirical Studies on Hedges | 第21-24页 |
| ·Empirical Studies on Hedges Abroad | 第21-22页 |
| ·Empirical Studies on Hedges at Home | 第22-24页 |
| ·Theoretical Background | 第24-28页 |
| ·Adaptation Theory | 第24-28页 |
| Chapter 3 Research Methodology | 第28-32页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第28页 |
| ·Research Method | 第28-32页 |
| ·Corpus Collection | 第29-30页 |
| ·Hedges Identification | 第30-31页 |
| ·Data Processing | 第31-32页 |
| Chapter 4 Data Analysis | 第32-42页 |
| ·Overall Frequency of Hedges in the Two Corpora | 第32-33页 |
| ·Distribution of the Four Types of Hedges in the Two Corpora | 第33-42页 |
| ·Distribution of Attribute Hedges | 第33-35页 |
| ·Distribution of Reliability Hedges | 第35-36页 |
| ·Distribution of Speaker-oriented Hedges | 第36-39页 |
| ·Distribution of Hearer-oriented Hedges | 第39-42页 |
| Chapter 5 Discussion | 第42-52页 |
| ·Possible Reasons for the Differences | 第42-44页 |
| ·Complexity of Hedges | 第42-43页 |
| ·Relative Poor Language Competence | 第43页 |
| ·Personal Habit | 第43页 |
| ·Low Awareness of Hedges | 第43-44页 |
| ·Analysis of Communicative Functions of Hedges Based on Adaptation Theory | 第44-52页 |
| ·Communicative Functions of Rounders | 第44-46页 |
| ·Communicative Functions of Modal Auxiliaries | 第46-49页 |
| ·Communicative Functions of Hearer-oriented Hedges | 第49-52页 |
| Conclusion | 第52-56页 |
| References | 第56-59页 |
| Appendix A Published Papers during the Study of M.A. Degree | 第59-60页 |
| Appendix B List of Lexical Hedges in the Two Corpora | 第60-62页 |
| Appendix C 详细中文摘要 | 第62-66页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第66页 |
