概括大意与完成句子 实战演练 五

（五）About Auction

Auctions (拍卖) 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 strikes a small hammer on a table at which he stands.

The ancient Roman probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auctio, meaning "increase". The Romans usually sold in this way the goods taken in war. 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, skins, wool, tea, furs, silk and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art.

An auction is usually advertised beforehand with full particulars of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by potential buyers. If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues (目录；手册) 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 the order of numbers; he may wait until he notices the fact that certain buyers 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 (投标价) as high as possible. He will not waste time by starting the bidding too low. He will also play on the opponents among his buyers and succeed in getting a high price by encouraging two business competitors to bid against each other.

1. Paragraph 2________.

2. Paragraph 3________.

3. Paragraph 4________.

4. Paragraph 5________.

* * *

A. Goods for auction sales

B. Definition of bidding

C. Way to sell more goods by auction

D. Auction sales in history

E. Brief introduction to auctions

F. Making a larger profit as an auctioneer

* * *

5. When an auctioneer strikes his hammer on the table at which he stands, this means________.

6. The English word "auction" originates from________.

7. Before an auction, an advertisement is usually given, which includes________.

8. The auctioneer always tries to raise the bidding because________.

* * *

A. he is paid according to the price of the goods that are sold out

B. the end of an auction

C. details of goods, time and place of the auction

D. the beginning of an auction

E. his boss requires him to do so

F. the Latin word "auctio"

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［答案解析］

1．D。［解析］第二段没有主题句，但浏览全段会发现该段时态均为一般过去时，并且涉及了The ancient Roman以及England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries，由此可推断D选项Auction sales in history（拍卖的历史）与其意思相符，故D为正确答案。

2．A。［解析］第三段主题句为第一句：Practically all goods whose qualities vary are sold by auction. 句子意为：实际上，各种各样的商品都可以通过拍卖来售出。选项A与其意思一致，故A为正确答案。

3．C。［解析］第四段没有主题句，该段主要介绍了拍卖前通过做advertisement和catalogue来宣传即将进行的拍卖会，包括拍卖的物品、拍卖时间与地点等。而这些活动的目的就是为了卖出尽可能多的商品。C选项与其意思一致，故C为正确答案。

4．F。［解析］第五段主题句是第一句：The auctioneer's services are paid for in the form of a percentage of the price the goods are sold for. 句子大意是：拍卖师的服务薪水将取决于售出商品的价格。也就是说，商品售出价越高，拍卖师由此所获得的提成就越高，选项F与其意思一致，故F为正确选项。

5．B。［解析］根据题干线索词strike his hammer将原文定位至第一段最后一句：This is called "knocking down" the goods, for the bidding ends when the auctioneer strikes a small hammer on a table at which he stands. 由此可推断选项B为正确答案。

6．F。［解析］根据题干线索词the English word将原文定位至第二段第一句后半部分：...and the English word comes from the Latin auctio, meaning "increase"，这里come from同F选项中的originate属于同义词，故F为正确答案。

7．C。［解析］根据题干线索词advertisement可将原文定位至第四段第一句：An auction is usually advertised beforehand with full particulars of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by potential buyers. 该句中的particular为名词，意思是“细节”。选项C是对该句的同义改写，故C为正确答案。

8．A。［解析］根据“题目顺序与段落顺序基本保持一致”的出题规律，可将原文定位至最后一段：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 (投标价) as high as possible. 因为拍卖师的薪水将直接来源于从拍卖商品的卖出价中所抽取的提成，故拍卖师会尽可能把商品价格抬得很高。选项A与其意思相符，故A为正确答案。