2. 外语
  3. Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asked the crowd to gather in the auction

Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asked the crowd to gather in the auction

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问题     Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asked the crowd to gather in the auction room to bid for 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 raised platform.
    The ancient Romans probably invented sales by auction and the English word comes from the Latin "autic", 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 was burning.
    Practically all goods can be sold by auction. Among these are coffee, skins, wool, tea, cocoa, furs, fruit, vegetables and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, antique furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and works of art. The auction rooms at 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 the buyers. If the advertisement can’t 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 a lot one and continue the numerical order. 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.
In England a candle was used to burn at auction sales
选项 A、because the auction sales took place at night.
B、as a signal for the crowd to gather.
C、to keep the auction room warm.
D、to limit the time when offers of prices could be made.
答案D
解析 从第二段最后一句话…and bids could be made while it was burning可以看出该拍卖只有在蜡烛燃烧的时候才能进行，也就是指点蜡烛的目的在于限制拍竟拍时间，所以选项[D]是正确的。而选项[B]则体现了罗马人在拍卖时的习俗——一他们用矛来召集竞拍的人群。其余选项都缺乏原文依据。
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专业英语四级

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