| Acknowledgements | 第1-4页 |
| Abstract | 第4-7页 |
| 摘要 | 第7-12页 |
| LIST OF TABLES | 第12-13页 |
| LIST OF FIGURES | 第13-14页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第14-18页 |
| ·Background to the study | 第14-16页 |
| ·Purposes and significance of the study | 第16-17页 |
| ·Research questions | 第17页 |
| ·Organization of the thesis | 第17-18页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第18-35页 |
| ·Western and Chinese concepts of politeness | 第18-23页 |
| ·Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory | 第18-20页 |
| ·Leech’s Politeness Principle | 第20-22页 |
| ·Gu Yueguo’s politeness principle | 第22-23页 |
| ·Pragmatic transfer | 第23-25页 |
| ·Previous studies on compliment responses | 第25-34页 |
| ·The studies conducted by Western scholars | 第25-30页 |
| ·The studies on compliment responses by Chinese scholars | 第30-34页 |
| ·Comments on the previous studies | 第34-35页 |
| Chapter 3 Methodology | 第35-48页 |
| ·Defining the variables | 第35-36页 |
| ·Subjects | 第36-37页 |
| ·Research methods | 第37-41页 |
| ·Rationale for the choice of DCT | 第37页 |
| ·The design of DCT | 第37-41页 |
| ·Retrospective interview | 第41页 |
| ·Procedures for date collection | 第41-44页 |
| ·Pilot study | 第41-43页 |
| ·Final study | 第43-44页 |
| ·Data processing | 第44-48页 |
| ·Data coding scheme | 第44-46页 |
| ·Reliability of coding | 第46页 |
| ·Methods of data analysis | 第46-48页 |
| Chapter 4 Results | 第48-67页 |
| ·The comparison of the distribution of CR strategies by Chinese EFL learnes between the Chinese context and the English context | 第48-52页 |
| ·The distribution of CR strategies by Chinese EFL learners with different English proficiency | 第52-59页 |
| ·The distribution of CR strategies by Chinese EFL learners with different English proficiency in the Chinese situations | 第52-55页 |
| ·The distribution of CR strategies by the Chinese EFL learners with different English proficiency in the English situations | 第55-59页 |
| ·The distribution of CR strategies by Chinese EFL learners from different regions | 第59-67页 |
| ·The distribution of CR strategies by Chinese EFL learners from different regions in the Chinese context | 第59-63页 |
| ·The distribution of CR strategies by Chinese EFL learners from different regions in the English context | 第63-67页 |
| Chapter 5 Discussion | 第67-80页 |
| ·General pattern of CR Strategies | 第67-71页 |
| ·CR Strategies and English Proficiency Level | 第71-75页 |
| ·CR Strategies and English Proficiency Level in the Chinese Context | 第71-72页 |
| ·CR Strategies and English Proficiency Level in the English Context | 第72-75页 |
| ·CR Strategies and Geographical Factors | 第75-80页 |
| ·CR Strategies and Geographical Factors in the Chinese Context | 第75-76页 |
| ·CR Strategies and Geographical Factors in the English Context | 第76-80页 |
| Chapter 6 Conclusion | 第80-85页 |
| ·Major findings | 第80-82页 |
| ·Pedagogical implications | 第82-83页 |
| ·Limitations | 第83-85页 |
| Bibliography | 第85-90页 |
| Appendix I | 第90-92页 |
| Appendix II | 第92-95页 |
