Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asks the crowd assembled in the auction-room to make offers, or “bids”, for the various items on sale. He encourages buyers to bid higher figures and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods. This is called “knocking down” the goods, for the bidding ends when the auctioneer bangs a small hammer on a table at which he stands. This is often set on a raised platform called a rostrum.
The ancient Romans probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increase”. The Romans usually sold in this way the spoils taken in war; these sales were called sub hasta, meaning “under the spear”, a spear being stuck in the ground as a signal for a crowd to gather. In England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, goods were often sold “by the candle”: a short candle was lit by the auctioneer, and bids could be made while it stayed alight.
Practically all goods whose qualities vary are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, hides, skins, wool, tea, cocoa, furs, spices, fruit and vegetables and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, antique furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art. The auction-rooms as Christie’s and Sotheby’s in London and New York are world-famous.
An auction is usually advertised beforehand with full particulars of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by prospective buyers. If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues are printed, and each group of goods to be sold together, called a “lot”, is usually given a number. The auctioneer need not begin with Lot 1 and continue in numerical order; he may wait until he registers the fact that certain dealers are in the room and then produce the lots they are likely to be interested in. The auctioneer’s services are paid for in the form of a percentage of the price the goods are sold for. The auctioneer therefore has a direct interest in pushing up the bidding as high as possible.
The auctioneer must know fairly accurately the current market values of the goods he is selling and he should be acquainted with regular buyers of such goods. He will not waste time by staring the bidding too low. He will also play on the rivalries among his buyers and succeed in getting a high price by encouraging two business competitors to bid against each other. It is largely on his advice that a seller will fix a “reserve” price that is a price below which the goods cannot be sold. Even the best auctioneers, however, find it difficult to stop a “knock out”, whereby dealers illegally arrange beforehand not to bid against each other but nominate one of themselves as the only bidder in the hope of buying goods at extremely low prices. If such a “knock-out” comes off, the real auction sale lakes place privately afterwards among the dealers.
1. A candle used to burn at auction sales ________.
2. An auction catalogue gives prospective buyers ________.
3. The auctioneer may decide to sell the “lots” out of order because ________.
4. An auctioneer likes to get high prices for the goods he sells because ________.
5. A “knock out” is arranged ________.
问题1选项
A.because they took place at night
B.as a signal for the crowd to gather
C.to keep the auctioneer warm
D.to limit the time when offers could be made
问题2选项
A.the current market values of the goods
B.details of the goods to be sold
C.the order in which goods must be sold
D.free admission to the auction sale
问题3选项
A.he sometimes wants to confuse the buyers
B.he knows from experience that certain people will want to buy certain items
C.he wants to keep certain people waiting
D.he wants to reduce the number of buyers
问题4选项
A.then he earns more himself
B.the dealers are pleased
C.the auction-rooms become world famous
D.it keeps the customers interested
问题5选项
A.to keep the price in the auction room low
B.to allow one dealer only to make a profit
C.to increase the auctioneer’s profit
D.to help the auctioneer
第1题:D
第2题:B
第3题:B
第4题:A
第5题:A
第1题:
【选项释义】
A candle used to burn at auction sales _______. 在拍卖会上,用来燃烧的蜡烛,______。
A. because they took place at night A. 因为拍卖在晚上进行
B. as a signal for the crowd to gather B. 作为人群聚集的信号
C. to keep the auctioneer warm C. 让拍卖师保持温暖
D. to limit the time when offers could be made D. 限制提出报价的时间
【答案】D
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干可以确定答案所在区域为第二段。根据第二段最后一句“在18世纪和19世纪的英国,商品通常是‘借着蜡烛’出售的:拍卖师点燃一支短蜡烛,然后在蜡烛点着的时候出价”,由出价时间限制在蜡烛燃着的时间内可知:点蜡烛是为了限制出价时间,所以正确答案为D选项。
【干扰项排除】A、B、C选项均属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
An auction catalogue gives prospective buyers _______. 拍卖目录给潜在买家______。
A. the current market values of the goods A. 货物的当前市场价值
B. details of the goods to be sold B. 待出售货物的详细信息
C. the order in which goods must be sold C. 拍卖商品的顺序
D. free admission to the auction sale D. 拍卖会免费入场
【答案】B
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干可以确定答案所在区域为第四段。根据第四段前三句内容“拍卖通常事先做广告,详细说明要出售的物品,以及潜在买家何时何地可以看到这些物品。如果广告不能给出全部细节,则会打印商品目录,由此可知选项B符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A选项:“货物的当前市场价值”,原文没有提及,属于无中生有;
C选项:“拍卖商品的顺序”,从后文可知,商品并不一定会按照原有的顺序进行拍卖;
D选项:“拍卖会免费入场”,原文没有提及,属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The auctioneer may decide to sell the “lots” out of order because _______. 拍卖商可能会决定不按顺序出售“拍品”,因为______。
A. he sometimes wants to confuse the buyers A. 有时想迷惑买家
B. he knows from experience that certain people will want to buy certain items B. 根据经验他知道哪些人想要买哪些东西
C. he wants to keep certain people waiting C. 想让某些人等着
D. he wants to reduce the number of buyers D. 想减少买家的数量
【答案】B
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干可以确定答案所在区域为第四段。根据第四段第三句“拍卖商不需要从第一批拍品开始,按数字顺序进行拍卖;他可能会等到他知道某些商人在拍卖厅后,然后展示商人可能感兴趣的批次”,由此可知拍卖商不按顺序出售拍品,是为了向在场的人展示他们所感兴趣的拍品,也就是说他知道在场的人想买哪些东西,所以正确答案为B选项。
【干扰项排除】A、C、D选项均属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
An auctioneer likes to get high prices for the goods he sells because _______. 拍卖商喜欢以高价卖出商品,因为______。
A. then he earns more himself A. 他们自己能赚更多
B. the dealers are pleased B. 商人们高兴
C. the auction-rooms become world famous C. 拍卖会会更有名
D. it keeps the customers interested D. 吸引顾客
【答案】A
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干可以确定答案所在区域为第四段。根据第四段最后两句内容“拍卖商的服务是按商品售价的百分比支付的。因此,拍卖商在尽可能提高出价方面有着直接的利益”,由此可知拍卖商卖出商品的价格越高,他们就赚的更多,所以正确答案为A选项。
【干扰项排除】B、C、D选项均属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
A “knock out” is arranged _______. “拍卖勾结”被安排用来______。
A. to keep the price in the auction room low A. 为了保持拍卖品的低价格
B. to allow one dealer only to make a profit B. 只允许一个商人获利
C. to increase the auctioneer’s profit C. 提高拍卖商的利润
D. to help the auctioneer D. 帮助拍卖商
【答案】A
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干可以确定答案所在区域为最后一段。根据最后一段倒数第三句至倒数第二句内容“然而,即使是最好的拍卖师也发现很难阻止‘拍卖勾结’,即商人事先非法协商不互相竞争,而是商定其中一人竞拍,以此用极低的价格购买商品”,由此可知拍卖勾结是为了低价买入商品,所以正确答案为A选项。
【干扰项排除】
B选项:“只允许一个商人获利”,根据最后一段最后一句“如果这样的‘拍卖勾结’成功了,真正的拍卖江湖之后会私下进行”,由此可知在拍卖厅的拍卖结束以后,他们还会再次进行拍卖,拍卖勾结不是为了让特定的一个人获利,该选项属于曲解原文;
C选项:“提高拍卖商的利润”,原文没有提及,属于无中生有;
D选项:“帮助拍卖商”,原文没有提及,属于无中生有。