Abstract
Traditionally, theories of international relations are based on soverignty andstates. As the strides and leaps made in IT technologies largely accelerate theexpansion of Cyber space, today, cyber security has become an increasingly serious,and ever-hot, major international issue overshadowing other conventional areas ofsecurity in recent years. The nature and distinctive features of Cyber space, whichevolves and changes rapidly today, is challenging the focuses and scopes ofinternational relations.
In particular, the recent exposure of the so-called “PRISM Revelation” scandalagain ignites a global explosion of security concerns, suspicions, frictions andconflicts in the Cyber space that were once a local, insalient issue. The fact thatSnowden alone is capable of triggering a global turbulence reveals the astonishinglyenormous challenges posed by cyber imbalance to national or even internationalsecurity. The unfolding debate on state surveillance, Internet censorship and the manyother manifestations of state power exercising sovereignty over the network make thevery idea that making Cyber space a harbor free of states' influence sound unrealistic,or outdated.
Also, Cyber space brings changes to international community. Theinterconnectivity nature of Cyber space makes that one country's cyber securityconcerns not only its national security and people's livelihood, but also the stabilityand prosperity of the world as a whole, which means using Cyber space as abattlefield is in no one's interest. Therefore, Cyber space should not be a place whereevery gain for one country is a loss for the others, and vice-versa. Rather, it should bea place of competitive collaboration, where states challenge each other, but fairly,while seizing the opportunities to collaborate for collective good.
This paper is intended to explore the influence of the development of Cyberspace on international relations in the wake of the Prism Revelation, so as to have abetter understanding of changes and new characteristics of today's internationalrelations. Unlike the past, Cyber space has emerged and become a criticalconsideration when addressing international politics, it is reshuffling the world'slandscape and reshaping the political, economic, military and social patterns.
Keywords: Prism Revelation, Cyber space, International Relations
Abstract
Advertising is not only an important means of promoting products and services,but also an important part in human life. The influence of advertising has gonebeyond economy and entered into many aspects of people's life.
American advertising is the most developed and typical and can serve as a goodexample to demonstrate the relationship between advertising and culture. Thedevelopment of American advertising can be divided into four stages: the first stage（1776-1880） is the beginning of American advertising; the second stage（1880-WWⅠ） is the early development of American advertising; the third stage（1920-1960） is the stage of modern American advertising; the fourth stage （1960-） isthe stage of contemporary American advertising.
The four-stage development of American advertising shows that advertising isan important part of culture. Advertising reflects different aspects of culture in itsdevelopment. It reflects historical background of America. It propels thedevelopment of American consumer culture. It improves people's living standardsand reflects social values. It also creates social trends and contributes to culturaldiversity in America.
Key words: advertising, cultural elements, America
Abstract
Lisa Jane Smith is an American female writer of young-adult-themed literature.
The Vampire Diaries is one of her representative works. Since its publication oftrilogy in 1991, the novels have won wide readership across the globe.
This thesis conducts an analysis of The Vampire Diaries from a new perspective,considering it transcends the form of Gothic novel, and explores the inheritance andbreakthrough of Gothic features in The Vampire Diaries, focusing on its theme,characters, then plots development.
On the fiction theme, The Vampire Diaries inherits the Gothic theme of horror,love, and conflicts between good and evil; but further develops the above themesthrough combination of modern elements and fantasy. For the vampire image andcharacterization, The Vampire Diaries still possesses the vampire image and power intraditional Gothic novels, and brings more distinctive vampires' supernatural powerand unique behaviors. Compared with traditional Gothic vampire stories, the plot ofThe Vampire Diaries gets more involved and more twisted scenario.
As the representative work of modern vampire fictions, The Vampire Diaries'inheritance and breakthrough of Gothic fictions in turn brings itself huge success andgreat reputation. And as the sub-genre of Gothic fiction, vampire fictions will belongstanding and get prosperous due to its unique features and cultural backgroundin today's developed society.
Key words: The Vampire Diaries, Lisa Jane Smith, Gothic literature, inheritance,breakthrough
ABSTRACT
Cognate Object Construction （COC for short） in English is a special linguisticphenomenon. It is formed by an intransitive verb and its cognate noun somehowmodified. Many domestic and foreign scholars have described its syntactic andcognitive properties from different angles, but still there remain things inconclusive.
For example, must there be a modifier before the cognate object （CO）？ If so, whatmotivates the necessity of modifying the CO? Since the predicate verb in the COC isintransitive, what makes it possible for it to take an object? Is there any instantiationof COC in Chinese? What are the differences between the construction V-yi-V inChinese and the COC in English? In this thesis, we attempt to provide answers tothese questions.
Firstly, we approach the necessity of qualifying the CO from pragmatic andcognitive perspectives. From the viewpoint of pragmatic informational focus, themodifier of the CO expresses non-presupposed information and carries the normalstress. Therefore, it constitutes the natural focus of an entire sentence. On the otherhand, in the light of the cognitive mechanisms developed in the construal theory, themodifier of the CO highlights the difference between the profile （i.e. the specificevent denoted by the CO linked with the property characterized by the modifierphrase） and the base （i.e. the event kind denoted by the predicate verb）， andmetaphorically alludes to the path along which the subject referent （i.e. the trajector）moves against the background event （i.e. the landmark） designated by the predicateverb towards a telic point which is the specific event denoted by the CO together withits modifier. In another sense, the modifying element brings prominence to theresultativeness as well as boundedness of the verb-denoted event in its beingsummarily scanned by the CO.
Secondly, by adopting a construction grammar approach, the thesis tentativelyexplains the cause for the transitive use of the intransitive verb in the COC. Wecompare the COC with typical transitive constructions based on Hopper &Thompson's （1980） view on transitivity and conclude that COC is likewise atransitive construction. Meanwhile, the thesis reformulates the constructional meaningof the COC as being “X volitionally does the act of Z in a bounded qualified Y way”.
Thereby the intransitive verb is coerced by the construction to take an object.
Lastly, the thesis describes the semantic and syntactic features of the ChineseV-yi-V construction and compares it with the COC in English, drawing the followingconclusions: while these two constructions share a similar surface form and bothinvolve a semantic bleaching of the verb and the bounded reading of the construction,there are remarkable differences between the CO in COC and the “yi-V” in “V-yi-V”in terms of both syntactic properties and semantic features. Therefore, the ChineseV-yi-V construction is not a true COC.
Keywords: COC; Modifier; Information Focus; Transitivity; Construal Theory;V-yi-V Construction
ABSTRACT
There have been many studies on the verbs of placement （VOP for short） and theconstructions containing these verbs. However, these previous studies have not paidsufficient attention to the differences existing among the various Chinese constructionscontaining VOP as well as those existing between the Chinese constructions containingVOP and their English counterparts. This paper makes a comparison of those differenttypes of Chinese constructions containing VOP, and it also compares these Chineseconstructions with their English counterparts. Besides, it attempts to account for suchdifferences in relation to the Normal Stress Constraint （NSC）， the Post-verbal Constraintas well as the L/S-syntax distinction made in the generative theory of syntax.
First, the Chinese construction NP1+V+NP2+PLoc is different from the other1prepositional phrase co-occur after the verb. In the other Chinese constructionscontaining VOP, however, either the object or the locative prepositional phrase occursafter the verb. All the constructions in the latter group comply with the NSC andPost-verbal Constraint whereas the construction NP1+V+NP2+PLoc apparently doesnot. However, if we regard this construction as a pivotal construction, where theverb-like item zai（在） taking the P position acts as a predicate element capable ofassigning the normal stress to the locative noun, then the construction in question doesnot violate NSC. Moreover, this pivotal construction may be analyzed as beingcomprised of two separable clauses: NP1 + V + NP2 and NP2 + PLoc. In each of them,only the object occurs after the verb. The construction therefore doesn't violate thePost-verbal Constraint, either.
Second, this thesis determines the typical constructions containing VOP in Chineseand English. The typical construction containing VOP in Chinese is NP1+PP+V+NP2while that in English is NP1+V+NP2+PP in English. The difference existing betweenthese two constructions apparently lies in word order. In the typical English construction,the prepositional phrase occurs after the verb but it occurs in a preverbal position in thetypical Chinese construction. We think that it is due to the Post-verbal Constraintattested in Chinese only that gives rise to this difference. Generally, only the object ofthe verb and the resultative element can occur post-verbally in a Chinese clause. Theprepositional phrase indicating location or instrument, however, has to occur in apreverbal position. This applies to the typical Chinese construction containing a VOP aswell.
Finally, the extension-type construction found in English can not be found inChinese. According to our analysis, English verbs of placement such as pocket andbutter, which can enter the extension-type construction, are derived from theircorresponding nominal form. In the derivative process, the nouns incorporaterespectively with the light verbs CAUSE and BECOME through syntactic operations atthe lexical syntactic level, ultimately forming the denominal VOPs taking the matrixverb position. Such syntactic operations in L-syntax are, however, unavailable inChinese according to Lin （2001）。 Therefore, the denominal VOP is not yieldable inChinese, resulting in the absence of extension-type construction in Chinese.
Key words: VOP; Construction Containing VOP; Comparison; Normal StressConstraint; Post-verbal Constraint; L-syntax
ABSTRACT
Known as the “heaven-taught ploughman”, Robert Burns（1759-96） is one of themost famous and influential bards in Scotland. He is also widely regarded as thenational poet of Scotland and is celebrated around the world. His poems are alwayswritten in the Scottish dialect on a variety of versions expounding on different subjects,such as political poems, satirical epigrams and lyrics ballads. If domestic studies aremainly concerned with the appreciation and translation of certain epigrams and epistlesof Burns' early poems, this thesis will mainly explore his later poems from another newpoint to enlarge a wilder horizon --- Burns' vocational involvement with the prosegeorgics and Scots pastoral in the 18thcentury, to which he has gradually attracted moreand more attention.
What impresses us readers most today about Robert Burns is, on the one hand, thehallmark feature of his reinvention of pastoral --- his use of Scottish dialect and frequenteschewal of polite Augustan couplet verse in favor of sixteenth andseventeenth-centuries Scots verse forms such as the Christ's Kirk, Cherry and Slae,especially the adoption of the Standard Habbie. Some of his most famous poems such asTo a Mouse and Holy Willie's Prayer have surprised us with their unusual poetictechniques, particularly for its employment of this representative 6-line stanza. On theother hand, Robert Burns calls for the renaissance of classical, and especially Theocritanpastoral, which is identified with the shepherd-songs voice of the revival of Scottishvernacular poetry at that time.
But Burns' pastoral poems have the tendency for rusticity and for critical realism,which is in line with the Scots pastoral poetry. Burns' poems are rooted deeply inScotland, and are always the reflections of local color and customs. His poems relateshepherds, the cotters with whom he is quite familiar with, the pure and innocent youthof Scotland, the heroes who have fought for the independence of their nation, and theScot church and the snobbish gentry which he hatreds most.
As a ploughman poet, Burns is quite familiar with the local native land, where helives happily and laboriously. He also senses the poor life and toilsome labor of thebottom-layered people, for whom he creates many poems to hail their diligence andconvey his mercy and pity. As a romantic poet, Burns enters nature, goes into the wildfield to experience the life and feelings of a goatherd. Besides envisioning the beauty ofnature, pursuing the pleasures in nature, he longs for herding in the wild pasture withfreedom and joyance.
Key Words: Scots pastoral; labor; nature; rusticity; realism
ABSTRACT
William Faulkner is one of the greatest writers in the 20th century. As a leader ofAmerican “Southern Renaissance”, he won the Nobel Prize of literature in 1949 for “hispowerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel”. （Faulkner,1949） Light in August is one of his masterpieces which explore moral themes related tothe decline of the old South. This thesis primarily concentrates on hard-to-defineidentity of the protagonist-Joe Christmas with the application of the post-colonialisttheory.
Identity, from the perspective of post-colonialism, is a dynamic process ofconstruction involved with historical and social elements. It is neither natural nor stable,but invented and constructed outside. In the novel, Joe Christmas is regarded as amulatto suspect because of his birth riddle, despite the fact that there is no clearevidence about his uncertainty. Caged within the racism-rooted southern society, Joe'suncertain identity sets him onto the tragic life, for this ambiguity itself is a threat to thestability of the community. On the one hand, Joe is in the endless pursuit of his ownidentity under the influence of society. He is so obsessed with locating his own positionand seeking the sense of belonging that he cannot find peace in deep heart. It turns outthat all his efforts fail, without satisfactory consequences. In a certain sense, Joe createsthe predicament for himself. Having failed to apply the strategy of hybridity inpost-colonialism to fight back the society, Joe is doomed to be ostracized andabandoned by the mainstream white society. He is like a round peg in a square hole,wavering between the white and the black community all his lifetime. On the other hand,the whole society is keen to pin down Joe's clear identity in his own will, regardless ofJoe's intention. In a hierarchical society, it is the racial prejudice and different socialpowers that create and construct Joe as a part nigger.
There are four chapters in the thesis besides Introduction and Conclusion parts.
Chapter One is the literature review of Light in August both at home and abroad.
Chapter Two gives an overview of the post-colonialist theories, especially theories ofidentity construction, which constitutes the theoretical foundation. Chapters Three andFour are the main body, respectively analyzing both the internal and external elementsof Joe's identity dilemma in the light of the post-colonial theories.
In conclusion, the indeterminacy of Joe Christmas' identity demonstrates that theessence of identity issue is not whether one is a black or not, but the social constructionof identity of human beings.
Key words: Light in August; Joe Christmas; Post-colonialist theory; identity
