| Acknowledgements | 第3-4页 |
| 中文摘要 | 第4-6页 |
| Abstract | 第6-7页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第12-15页 |
| Chapter 2 Review of the Literature | 第15-28页 |
| 2.1 Speech Act Theory | 第15-16页 |
| 2.2 Politeness Theory | 第16-20页 |
| 2.3 Studies on Refusal Speech Act | 第20-24页 |
| 2.4 Semantic Formulas | 第24页 |
| 2.5 Data Elicitation Methods | 第24-26页 |
| 2.6 Purposes of the Present Study | 第26-28页 |
| Chapter 3 Research Questions and Methodology | 第28-37页 |
| 3.1 Research Questions Investigated in the Present Study | 第28-29页 |
| 3.2 Research Design and Data Collection Procedure | 第29-31页 |
| 3.2.1 Data Collected through Natural Observation | 第29-30页 |
| 3.2.2 Screen Plays from Movies and TV series | 第30-31页 |
| 3.3 Classification of Refusal Semantic Formulas | 第31-35页 |
| 3.4 Data Analysis Procedures | 第35-37页 |
| Chapter 4 Results and Discussion | 第37-79页 |
| 4.1 Research Question 1 | 第37-45页 |
| 4.1.1 Overall Distribution of Refusal Strategies in both the Natural and Movie/TV Data | 第37-44页 |
| 4.1.2 Degree of Directness | 第44-45页 |
| 4.2 Research Question 2 | 第45-53页 |
| 4.2.1 Average Number of Semantic Formulas Used in Refusals Employed by Male and Female Speakers | 第46-47页 |
| 4.2.2 Distribution of Refusal Semantic Formulas Employed by Male and Female Speaker | 第47-51页 |
| 4.2.3 Degree of Directness in Relation to the Gender of the Refuser | 第51-53页 |
| 4.3 Research Question 3 | 第53-62页 |
| 4.3.1 Average Number of Semantic Formulas Used in Refusals to Different Initiating Speech Acts | 第53-54页 |
| 4.3.2 Distribution of Refusal Semantic Formulas in Response to Different Initiating Speech Acts | 第54-60页 |
| 4.3.3 Degree of Directness in Relation to Types of Initiating Speech Acts | 第60-62页 |
| 4.4 Research Question 4 | 第62-70页 |
| 4.4.1 Average Number of Semantic Formulas in Refusals to Persons of Different Social Status | 第62-63页 |
| 4.4.2 Distribution of Refusal Semantic Formulas in Response to Persons of Different Social Status | 第63-67页 |
| 4.4.3 Degrees of Directness in Relation to Social Status | 第67-70页 |
| 4.5 Research Question 5 | 第70-77页 |
| 4.5.1 Average Number of Semantic Formulas in Refusals to Persons of Different Social Distance | 第70-72页 |
| 4.5.2 Distribution of Refusal Semantic Formulas in Response to Persons of Different Social Distance | 第72-74页 |
| 4.5.3 Degree of Directness in Relation to Social Distance | 第74-77页 |
| 4.6 Summary of the Results | 第77-79页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusions | 第79-82页 |
| References | 第82-88页 |
| Appendix (Data Report) | 第88页 |
