概括大意與完成句子 實戰(zhàn)演練 五

（五）About Auction

Auctions (拍賣) 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 (目錄；手冊) 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 (投標價) 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________.

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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

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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________.

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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］第二段沒有主題句，但瀏覽全段會發(fā)現該段時態(tài)均為一般過去時，并且涉及了The ancient Roman以及England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries，由此可推斷D選項Auction sales in history（拍賣的歷史）與其意思相符，故D為正確答案。

2．A。［解析］第三段主題句為第一句：Practically all goods whose qualities vary are sold by auction. 句子意為：實際上，各種各樣的商品都可以通過拍賣來售出。選項A與其意思一致，故A為正確答案。

3．C。［解析］第四段沒有主題句，該段主要介紹了拍賣前通過做advertisement和catalogue來宣傳即將進行的拍賣會，包括拍賣的物品、拍賣時間與地點等。而這些活動的目的就是為了賣出盡可能多的商品。C選項與其意思一致，故C為正確答案。

4．F。［解析］第五段主題句是第一句：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：拍賣師的服務薪水將取決于售出商品的價格。也就是說，商品售出價越高，拍賣師由此所獲得的提成就越高，選項F與其意思一致，故F為正確選項。

5．B。［解析］根據題干線索詞strike his hammer將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. 由此可推斷選項B為正確答案。

6．F。［解析］根據題干線索詞the English word將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"，這里come from同F選項中的originate屬于同義詞，故F為正確答案。

7．C。［解析］根據題干線索詞advertisement可將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. 該句中的particular為名詞，意思是“細節(jié)”。選項C是對該句的同義改寫，故C為正確答案。

8．A。［解析］根據“題目順序與段落順序基本保持一致”的出題規(guī)律，可將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 (投標價) as high as possible. 因為拍賣師的薪水將直接來源于從拍賣商品的賣出價中所抽取的提成，故拍賣師會盡可能把商品價格抬得很高。選項A與其意思相符，故A為正確答案。