| Acknowledgements | 第1-5页 |
| 摘要 | 第5-6页 |
| Abstract | 第6-9页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第9-13页 |
| ·Rationale | 第9-11页 |
| ·The desirability of an inter-disciplinary approach | 第9页 |
| ·The feasibility of the adaptation theory in the studies of Ci | 第9-11页 |
| ·The objective of the present thesis | 第11页 |
| ·Methodology and data of the research | 第11-12页 |
| ·The structure of the thesis | 第12-13页 |
| Chapter Two Review of Relevant Literature | 第13-32页 |
| ·A brief review of the adaptation theory | 第13-26页 |
| ·A new perspective | 第13页 |
| ·A new look at the old themes | 第13-16页 |
| ·Key concepts | 第16-18页 |
| ·Four angles of investigation | 第18-26页 |
| ·A brief review of the studies of Ci | 第26-32页 |
| ·Origin and development of Ci | 第26-27页 |
| ·Approaches to the study of Ci | 第27-32页 |
| Chapter Three Understanding Ci in the Light of the Four Key Notions of Adaptation Theory | 第32-44页 |
| ·Making choices | 第32-38页 |
| ·The choice of the genre | 第32-34页 |
| ·The choice of strategies | 第34-36页 |
| ·Choice of words and its consequence | 第36-38页 |
| ·The variability of language in Ci | 第38-39页 |
| ·The negotiability of language in Ci | 第39-41页 |
| ·The adaptability of language in Ci | 第41-44页 |
| Chapter Four Understanding Ci from the Four Angles of Investigation of Adaptation Theory | 第44-64页 |
| ·Contextual correlates of adaptability | 第44-55页 |
| ·The multifold voices of utterers and interpreters of Ci | 第44-45页 |
| ·The mental world | 第45-46页 |
| ·The social world | 第46-48页 |
| ·The physical world | 第48-49页 |
| ·The linguistic context of Ci | 第49-54页 |
| ·The generation of context | 第54-55页 |
| ·Structural objects of adaptability | 第55-58页 |
| ·Languages, codes and styles of Ci | 第55-56页 |
| ·Utterance building ingredients: content and functional words and syntactic features of Ci | 第56-57页 |
| ·Utterance-building principles: prosody and antithesis | 第57-58页 |
| ·Dynamics | 第58-60页 |
| ·Salience | 第60-64页 |
| ·Perception and representation, planning and memory | 第60-61页 |
| ·Degrees of salience | 第61-64页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusion | 第64-66页 |
| ·Summary of the discussion | 第64页 |
| ·Major findings of the thesis | 第64-65页 |
| ·Limitation and suggestion | 第65-66页 |
| Bibliography | 第66-69页 |
