摘要
Text-theme, the writing or speaking motive, is construed before creation at the basis of a writer's or speaker's background and typical cognitive structures. This paper attempts to explore text-theme in the Pearl Harbor address to the nation within the framework of appraisal theory founded by James Martin, et al., the excavation is centered on how the grammatical resources of appraisal can disclose the addressor's evaluation of the text-theme. The aim for the study is to testify the operationality and practicability of appraisal theory towards the exploration on text analysis. It is hoped that the theoretical and practical significance in the present exploration of text-theme can provide inspirations and novel insights in the realm of English language teaching and text analysis.