| Abstract | 第1-10页 |
| 摘要 | 第10-12页 |
| List of Abbreviations | 第12-13页 |
| List of Tables | 第13-14页 |
| List of Figures | 第14-15页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第15-18页 |
| ·Significance of the Study | 第15-16页 |
| ·Objectives of the Study | 第16页 |
| ·Outline of the Thesis | 第16-18页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第18-36页 |
| ·Definitions of Hedges and Hedging | 第18-20页 |
| ·Classifications of Hedges | 第20-27页 |
| ·Prince et al.’s Classification of Hedges | 第21-24页 |
| ·Brown and Levinson’s Classification of Hedges | 第24页 |
| ·Hyland’s Classification of Hedges | 第24-27页 |
| ·An Overview of Previous Studies of Hedges | 第27-35页 |
| ·Studies of Hedges Related to Zadeh’s Fuzzy Set Theory | 第27-29页 |
| ·Studies of Hedges Related to Politeness Theory | 第29-31页 |
| ·Studies of Hedges Related to Epistemic Modality | 第31-33页 |
| ·Studies of Hedges Related to Interlanguage | 第33-35页 |
| ·Issues Seldom Touched in Previous Studies | 第35-36页 |
| Chapter Three Research Methodology | 第36-48页 |
| ·Working Definition and Linguistic Realizations of Hedges in the Study | 第36-40页 |
| ·Working Definition of Hedges | 第36-37页 |
| ·Linguistic Realizations of Hedges | 第37-40页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第40-41页 |
| ·The Approach of CIA and Corpus Description | 第41-44页 |
| ·The Approach of CIA | 第41-42页 |
| ·Corpus Description | 第42-44页 |
| ·Data Collection and Analysis | 第44-46页 |
| ·Validity and Reliability | 第46-48页 |
| Chapter Four Results and Discussion | 第48-82页 |
| ·The Overall View of Hedges in the Corpora | 第48-51页 |
| ·The Overall Frequency of Hedges and Total Number of Items in the Corpora | 第48-50页 |
| ·The Most Frequent Hedging Items in the Corpora | 第50-51页 |
| ·Comparative Analysis of Hedging Items in the Corpora | 第51-56页 |
| ·Occurrence of Hedging Items in the Corpora | 第52-53页 |
| ·Comparative Analysis of the Most Frequent or Typical Hedging Item in the Corpora | 第53-56页 |
| ·Categories of Hedges in the Corpora | 第56-82页 |
| ·A General Comparison of Frequencies and Items of Different Hedging Categories | 第57-59页 |
| ·Categories and Subcategories of Hedges in the Corpora | 第59-82页 |
| ·Modals | 第60-69页 |
| ·Full Verbs | 第69-72页 |
| ·Adverbs | 第72-75页 |
| ·Adjectives | 第75-77页 |
| ·Nouns | 第77-79页 |
| ·Phrases | 第79-81页 |
| ·Other Hedges | 第81-82页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusion | 第82-86页 |
| ·Major Findings of This Study | 第82-83页 |
| ·Pedagogical Implications | 第83-85页 |
| ·Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research | 第85-86页 |
| Bibliography | 第86-89页 |
| Appendix I | 第89-90页 |
| Appendix II | 第90-102页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第102-103页 |
| Publication | 第103页 |
