摘要

新闻标题是新闻的重要组成部分，对新闻起引导、概括和提示的作用，而修辞的运用更使其增色不少。本文从语义修辞格、结构修辞格和音韵修辞格三方面入手，分析修辞手法在英语新闻标题中起到的作用。语义修辞格把事物用为人熟知的或者有趣的又或者意味深长的表达方式表现出来，符合人们思维习惯；结构修辞格和音韵修辞格分别在特殊的结构和优美的旋律上抓住读者眼球。总而言之，除了归纳新闻，标题中修辞的运用起到了引起读者的兴趣，进而读完整篇新闻报道的作用。

关键词： 新闻标题；修辞格；功能

Abstract

A headline, which plays a role of guidance and summary, is a very important part of a piece of news，and the application of rhetorical devices polishes it. This study analyzed the effects of the rhetoric on the whole piece of news from three categories: semantic devices, structural devices and phonological devices. Semantic devices comply with people’s behavior of expressing things in familiar，interesting or understandable ways; structural devices and phonological devices arouse readers’ attention with their special structure and beautiful rhythm. Above all, the principal purpose of figures of speech employed in news headlines is to lead readers to continue to read the whole story till they finish it.

Key words: news headlines; rhetorical devices；functions

1 Introduction
1.1 Research Background

A headline, which plays the role of guidance and summary, is a very important part of a piece of news.  Many experts and scholars have done significant research on this aspect because, to some extent，they believe the success of a news story depends on the quality of its headline. To satisfy the “ABC Principles” (accuracy, brevity and clarity), a headline has its own features such as the features of wording, grammar, discourse and rhetoric. On a basis of rhetorical devices, the writer analyses how a headline affects the whole piece of news.