| Acknowledgements | 第4-8页 |
| Abstract | 第8-9页 |
| 内容摘要 | 第10-12页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第12-15页 |
| 1.1 Background of the Study | 第12-13页 |
| 1.2 Significance of the Study | 第13-14页 |
| 1.3 Purpose of the Study | 第14页 |
| 1.4 Research Methods | 第14页 |
| 1.5 Structure of the Thesis | 第14-15页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第15-28页 |
| 2.1 Concepts of Euphemism | 第15-22页 |
| 2.1.1 Definition of Euphemism | 第15-18页 |
| 2.1.2 Classification of Euphemism | 第18-19页 |
| 2.1.3 Linguistic Devices in Creating Euphemism | 第19-22页 |
| 2.1.3.1 Analogy | 第20页 |
| 2.1.3.2 Distortion | 第20-21页 |
| 2.1.3.3 Internal and External Borrowing | 第21-22页 |
| 2.2 Reviews of Euphemism Studies | 第22-28页 |
| 2.2.1 Euphemism Studies at Home and Abroad | 第22-23页 |
| 2.2.2 Euphemism Study Approaches | 第23-25页 |
| 2.2.2.1 A Pragmatic Approach | 第23-24页 |
| 2.2.2.2 A Cognitive Approach | 第24页 |
| 2.2.2.3 A Semantic Approach | 第24-25页 |
| 2.2.3 Euphemisms in Bad News Delivery | 第25-28页 |
| Chapter Three Theoretical Basis for the Use of Death and Disease Euphemism in Bad News Delivery-Terror Management Theory | 第28-39页 |
| 3.1 Past Theoretical Frameworks for Death and Disease Euphemism | 第28-32页 |
| 3.1.1 Pragmatics:Cooperative Principle and Face-saving Theory | 第28-31页 |
| 3.1.2 Cognitive:Conceptual Metaphor | 第31-32页 |
| 3.2 New Interpretation for Euphemism Use from the Perspective of Terror Management Theory | 第32-39页 |
| 3.2.1 Two Tenets of Terror Management Theory | 第32-35页 |
| 3.2.1.1 Anxiety-buffer Research | 第33-34页 |
| 3.2.1.2 Mortality Salience Research | 第34页 |
| 3.2.1.3 The Cognitive Architecture of Terror Management | 第34-35页 |
| 3.2.2 Terror Management Theory and Communication | 第35-36页 |
| 3.2.3 Terror Management Theory in Explaining Death and Disease Euphemism in Bad Delivery | 第36-39页 |
| Chapter Four Analysis of Doctors' Use of Death and Disease Euphemism in Bad News Delivery to Critically-ill Patients | 第39-52页 |
| 4.1 Doctors' Use of Death and Disease Euphemism under Mortality Salience | 第39-40页 |
| 4.2 Linguistic Devices for Creating Death and Disease Euphemism in Bad News Delivery | 第40-50页 |
| 4.2.1 Euphemism Creation for Bad News Diagnosis Term | 第40-45页 |
| 4.2.1.1 Semantic Devices | 第41-42页 |
| 4.2.1.2 Lexical Devices | 第42-43页 |
| 4.2.1.3 Grammatical Devices | 第43-45页 |
| 4.2.2 Euphemism Creation for Evaluating Bad News | 第45-46页 |
| 4.2.2.1 Semantic Devices | 第45页 |
| 4.2.2.2 Grammatical Devices | 第45-46页 |
| 4.2.3 Euphemism Creation for Expressing Certainty about Bad News | 第46-48页 |
| 4.2.3.1 Semantic Devices | 第46页 |
| 4.2.3.2 Lexical Devices | 第46-47页 |
| 4.2.3.3 Grammatical Devices | 第47-48页 |
| 4.2.4 Euphemism Creation for the Recipient in Bad News Condition | 第48-50页 |
| 4.2.4.1 Semantic Devices | 第48-49页 |
| 4.2.4.2 Grammatical Devices | 第49-50页 |
| 4.3 Arguments for Euphemism Use in Bad News Delivery to Critically-ill Patients | 第50-52页 |
| 4.3.1 Doctor-centeredness and Patient-centeredness:Awareness Check | 第50-51页 |
| 4.3.2 Flexibility in Doctors' Bad News Delivery Style | 第51-52页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusion | 第52-55页 |
| 5.1 Findings | 第52-53页 |
| 5.2 Limitations | 第53页 |
| 5.3 Suggestions for Future Study | 第53-55页 |
| References | 第55-61页 |
