| Abstract in English | 第1-6页 |
| Abstract in Chinese | 第6-7页 |
| List of Figures | 第7-8页 |
| List of Tables | 第8-12页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第12-16页 |
| ·Background of the Research | 第12页 |
| ·Objective of the Research | 第12-13页 |
| ·Rationale of the Research | 第13-14页 |
| ·Methodology and Data Collection | 第14页 |
| ·Organization of the Thesis | 第14-16页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第16-32页 |
| ·Previous Studies on Vagueness | 第16-18页 |
| ·Previous Studies on Hedge and Hedging | 第18-26页 |
| ·Definition | 第18-19页 |
| ·Development of the Study | 第19-26页 |
| ·Logical Perspective | 第20-21页 |
| ·Semantic Perspective | 第21-22页 |
| ·Pragmatic Perspective | 第22-26页 |
| ·Prince et al.’s Classification | 第23-25页 |
| ·Hyland’s Classification | 第25-26页 |
| ·News | 第26-29页 |
| ·Definition | 第26-27页 |
| ·Classification | 第27页 |
| ·Essential Features | 第27-29页 |
| ·The Proposed Model of Hedging | 第29-32页 |
| Chapter Three Theoretical Framework | 第32-38页 |
| ·Verschueren’s Linguistic Adaptation Theory | 第32-35页 |
| ·The Pragmatic Perspective | 第32页 |
| ·Making Choices | 第32-33页 |
| ·Variability, Negotiability and Adaptability | 第33-34页 |
| ·Four Angles of Investigation | 第34-35页 |
| ·The Proposed Adaptation Model | 第35-37页 |
| ·Summary | 第37-38页 |
| Chapter Four Findings of the Investigation | 第38-44页 |
| ·Frequency of Hedging in Different Types of News | 第38-42页 |
| ·Reasons for Different Frequency of Hedging in Different Types of News | 第42-43页 |
| ·Summary | 第43-44页 |
| Chapter Five Adaptability of Hedging in English News | 第44-64页 |
| ·Hedging as Adaptation to the Physical World | 第44-51页 |
| ·Adaptation to Accuracy | 第45-47页 |
| ·Adaptation to Objectivity | 第47-48页 |
| ·Adaptation to Timeliness | 第48-51页 |
| ·Hedging as Adaptation to the Mental World | 第51-62页 |
| ·Hedging as Strengthening-protection Strategy | 第52-54页 |
| ·Hedging as Avoiding-absoluteness Strategy | 第54-57页 |
| ·Hedging as Achieving-politeness Strategy | 第57-60页 |
| ·Hedging as Orientating-readers Strategy | 第60-62页 |
| ·Summary | 第62-64页 |
| Chapter Six Functions of Hedging in English News | 第64-70页 |
| ·Increasing Credibility | 第64-65页 |
| ·Enhancing Efficiency | 第65-66页 |
| ·Heightening Flexibility | 第66-67页 |
| ·Raising Acceptability | 第67-70页 |
| Chapter Seven Conclusion | 第70-73页 |
| ·Major Findings | 第70-71页 |
| ·Contributions | 第71页 |
| ·Limitations of the Thesis and Suggestions for Further Studies | 第71-73页 |
| Bibliography | 第73-78页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第78-79页 |
| 攻读学位期间取得的科研成果清单 | 第79页 |
