| Acknowledgements | 第1-6页 |
| Abstract | 第6-8页 |
| 摘要 | 第8-11页 |
| Chapter Ⅰ Introduction | 第11-15页 |
| ·Research background | 第11-13页 |
| ·Significance of the study | 第13页 |
| ·Research questions | 第13-14页 |
| ·Methodology | 第14-15页 |
| Chapter Ⅱ Literature Review | 第15-29页 |
| ·Western studies of humor | 第15-23页 |
| ·A general review | 第15-16页 |
| ·Traditional theories of humor | 第16-18页 |
| ·Modern linguistic theories of humor | 第18-20页 |
| ·Pragmatic approaches to the study of humor | 第20-23页 |
| ·Verbal humor as a violation of the Cooperative Principle | 第20-22页 |
| ·Verbal humor as non-bona-fide mode of communication | 第22-23页 |
| ·Studies of humor in China | 第23-27页 |
| ·Origin and development of humor in China | 第23-25页 |
| ·Pragmatic studies of humor in China | 第25-27页 |
| ·Studies of humor strategies | 第27-29页 |
| Chapter Ⅲ Similarities of humor strategies adopted in Chinese and English stand-up comedies | 第29-41页 |
| ·A brief introduction to stand-up comedy | 第29-30页 |
| ·Shared English and Chinese humor strategies | 第30-41页 |
| ·Macro strategies — humor in violation of the CP maxims | 第30-36页 |
| ·Humor in violation of the maxim of quantity | 第31-32页 |
| ·Humor in violation of the maxim of quality | 第32-33页 |
| ·Humor in violation of the maxim of relevance | 第33-35页 |
| ·Humor in violation of the maxim of manner | 第35-36页 |
| ·Micro strategies—humor achieved at the linguistic level | 第36-41页 |
| ·Phonological strategy | 第36-37页 |
| ·Lexical strategy | 第37-38页 |
| ·Syntactic strategy | 第38-39页 |
| ·Semantic strategy | 第39-41页 |
| Chapter Ⅳ Analysis on barriers of humor appreciation | 第41-51页 |
| ·Distinctions between English and Chinese humor strategies | 第41-46页 |
| ·Favored topic choices of English and Chinese stand-up comedies | 第41-43页 |
| ·Joking targets of English and Chinese stand-up comedies | 第43-44页 |
| ·Different patterns of expression between English and Chinese stand-up comedies | 第44-46页 |
| ·Reasons behind the barriers | 第46-51页 |
| ·Different social structures:high-power-distance vs.low-power-distance | 第46页 |
| ·Different cultural values:collectivism vs.individualism | 第46-49页 |
| ·Different world views:religion and belief | 第49-51页 |
| Chapter Ⅴ Conclusion | 第51-53页 |
| References | 第53-55页 |
