| Acknowledgements | 第1-7页 |
| Abstract in English | 第7-9页 |
| Abstract in Chinese | 第9-14页 |
| List of Abbreviations | 第14-15页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第15-19页 |
| ·Background of the Study | 第15-16页 |
| ·Purpose and Significance of the Study | 第16-18页 |
| ·Overall Structure of the Thesis | 第18-19页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第19-42页 |
| ·Metaphor and Metaphoric Competence | 第19-28页 |
| ·Traditional Theories of Metaphor | 第19-21页 |
| ·The Contemporary Views on Metaphor | 第21-26页 |
| ·Metaphoric Competence | 第26-28页 |
| ·Reading and Reading Genre | 第28-36页 |
| ·Definition of Reading | 第29-30页 |
| ·Factors Affecting Reading | 第30-32页 |
| ·Reading Genre | 第32-36页 |
| ·The Relation between Conceptual Metaphor and Reading | 第36-38页 |
| ·Previous Studies on Metaphoric Competence | 第38-42页 |
| ·Previous Study Abroad | 第38-40页 |
| ·Previous study at home | 第40-42页 |
| Chapter 3 Methodology | 第42-49页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第42-43页 |
| ·Subjects | 第43-44页 |
| ·Instruments | 第44-46页 |
| ·Metaphoric Competence Test | 第44-45页 |
| ·Reading Proficiency Test | 第45-46页 |
| ·Procedure | 第46-48页 |
| ·Pilot Study | 第46-47页 |
| ·Main Study | 第47-48页 |
| ·Data Collection and Analysis | 第48-49页 |
| Chapter 4 Results and Discussion | 第49-67页 |
| ·Results | 第49-58页 |
| ·Results of Metaphoric Competence Test | 第49-51页 |
| ·Results of Reading Proficiency Test | 第51-53页 |
| ·Results of the Correlation between MC and Reading Proficiency | 第53-55页 |
| ·Results of the Correlation between MC and Reading Proficiency ofDifferent Genres | 第55-58页 |
| ·Discussion | 第58-67页 |
| ·Discussion of Metaphoric Competence Test | 第58-60页 |
| ·Discussion of Reading Proficiency Test | 第60-62页 |
| ·Discussion of the Correlation between MC and Reading Proficiency48 | 第62-64页 |
| ·Discussion of the Correlation between MC and Reading Proficiencyof Different Genres | 第64-67页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第67-73页 |
| ·Major Findings | 第67-69页 |
| ·Implications | 第69-71页 |
| ·Limitations | 第71-72页 |
| ·Suggestions for Further Research | 第72-73页 |
| References | 第73-77页 |
| Appendix A | 第77-82页 |
| Appendix B | 第82-89页 |
