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

Auctions(拍卖)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(拍卖)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 Chritie’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 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 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 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 细节题。第二段的最后一句话中“…and bids could be made while it was burning. ”(蜡烛燃烧时可以竞价)，因此我们可以推断出蜡烛燃尽，竞价结束。由此可见蜡烛是用来限制竞价时间的，正是D选项。B选项的意思是作为集合的信号，由第二段第二句可知，作为集合信号的是"spear”，意为矛，因此B选项不正确。其他选项均未提及。
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大学英语四级

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