自Aristotle伊始，隐喻研究跨越了两千多年的历史长河，期间理论流派竞现，各有其说，仁智互见。由于外语教学研究界总是热衷于从理论语言学研究中获取养料（White 2003：147），因此这些隐喻理论无疑对外语教学研究的走向起着举足轻重的影响。有鉴于此，魏耀章编著的《认知能力和语言水平对中国英语学习者隐喻理解和生成的影响》认为，当前对于外语教学研究和教学而言，要提高外语学习者的隐喻能力，首当其冲的问题是要对各种隐喻理论进行深入的分析，进而探究影响外语学习者隐喻能力发展的各种关键因素。

魏耀章编著的《认知能力和语言水平对中国英语学习者隐喻理解和生成的影响》首先从隐喻研究以来最具影响的以Aristotle为代表的古典隐喻理论和以Lakoff＆Johnson为代表的当代隐喻理论（Steen2000：261）人手，借助于其他相关研究成果，探究隐喻的本质属性。在此基础上，作者指出，两种理论的根本分歧不在于它们所讨论的隐喻本质有所不同，而是由于它们各自受当时所处的社会历史和学术环境的影响和制约，从不同的角度阐释了对隐喻的理解。

Chapter 1 General Introduction

 1.1 Introduction

 1.2 Need for the study

 1.3 The theoretical framework: A caveat

 1.4 Purposes of this research

 1.5 Terminological issues

1.5.1 Conceptualization of cognitive ability

1.5.2 Conceptualization of language proficiency

 1.6 The organization of the book

Chapter 2 A Theoretical Framework for This Study

 2.1 Introduction

 2.2 The classical theory of metaphor

 2.3 The contemporary theory of metaphor

2.3.1 Introduction to cognitive linguistics

2.3.2 Relationship of cognition and metaphor

 in cognitive linguistics

2.3.3 Metaphor: A contemporary view

2.3.4 Conceptual vs. linguistic metaphors

 2.4 A critical analysis of the classical theory of

 metaphor

2.4.1 Introduction

2.4.2 The classical theory of metaphor:

 A cognitive perspective

2.4.3 Basic differences between the classical and the

 contemporary metaphor theory

2.4.4 Possible reasons for the misunderstanding of

 the classical theory of metaphor

 2.5 A brief conclusion

 2.6 Significance. An applied linguistic perspective

Chapter 3 A Literature Review of the Relevant Research

 3.1 Introduction

 3.2 Metaphoric competence

 3.3 Factors influencing metaphor comprehension and

 production

3.3.1 Introduction

3.3.2 Cognitive ability, language proficiency and

 metaphor comprehension

3.3.3 Cognitive ability, language proficiency and

 metaphor production

3.3.4 Basic issues in metaphor production research

 3.4 Limitations of the previous research

 3.5 A brief summary

Chapter 4 Experiment Design and Data Collection

 4.1 Introduction

 4.2 Methods and data collection

4.2.1 Subjects

4.2.2 Materials for the tests

4.2.3 Testing Procedures

4.2.4 Scoring

Chapter 5 Results and Discussions

 5.1 Introduction

 5.2 Question 1

5.2.1 Data and analyses

5.2.2 Summary and discussion

 5.3 Question 2

5.3.1 Data and analyses

5.3.2 Metaphor comprehension and production performances

 of the subjects divided by cognition

5.3.3 Metaphor comprehension and production performances

 of the subjects divided by language proficiency

5.3.4 A general summary and discussion

 5.4 Question 3

5.4.1 Data and data analyses

5.4.2 Summary and discussion

 5.5 Question 4

5.5.1 Data and data analyses

5.5.2 Summary and discussion

Chapter 6 Conclusion, Implication and Limitation

 6.1 Introduction

 6.2 Major findings of the study

 6.3 Implications

6.3.1 Theoretical implications

6.3.2 Pedagogical implications

6.3.3 Methodological implications

6.3.4 Limitations

6.3.5 Suggestions for future research

Appendixes

Bibliography