2010年英语二text1鲸洋三下
The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”, at Sotheby’s in London on September 15th 2008 (e picture). All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70m, a record for a sale by a single artist. It was a last hurrah. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy.
The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising vertiginously since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, a rearch firm-double the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size becau it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.
In the weeks and months that followed Mr Hirst’s sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable, especially in New York, where the bail-out of the banks coincided with the lo
ss of thousands of jobs and the financial demi of many art-buying investors. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated ctor-for Chine contemporary art-they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world’s two biggest auction hous, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.
The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japane stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989, a move that started the most rious contraction in the market since the cond world war. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more volatile. But Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive, says: “I’m pretty confident we’re at the bottom.”
What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market, whereas in the early 1990s, when interest rates were high, there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to ll. Christie’s revenues in the first half of 2009 w
ere still higher than in the first half of 2006. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to ll. The three Ds-death, debt and divorce-still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to ll is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.
21.In the first paragraph,Damien Hirst's sale was referred to as “a last victory”becau ____.
A.the art market hadwitnesd a succession of victoryies
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B.the auctioneer finally got the two pieces at the highest bids
C.Beautiful Inside My Head Forever won over all masterpieces
D.it was successfully made just before the world financial crisis
22.By saying “spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable”(Line 1-2,Para.3),the author suggests that_____ .最低租赁付款额
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A . collectors were no longer actively involved in art-market auctions
B .people stopped every kind of spending and stayed away from galleries
C.art collection as a fashion had lost its appeal to a great extent
变的词语D .works of art in general had gone out of fashion so they were not worth buying
23.Which of the following statements is NOT ture?
A .Sales of contemporary art fell dramatically from 2007to 2008.
B.The art market surpasd many other industries in momentum.
C.The market generally went downward in various ways.
D.Some art dealers were awaiting better chances to come.农村酒席20个菜单
24.The three Ds mentioned in the last paragraph are ____
A.auction hous ' favorites
B.contemporary trends
C.factors promoting artwork circulation
D.styles reprenting impressionists
购物城25.The most appropriate title for this text could be ___
A.Fluctuation of Art Prices
B.Up-to-date Art Auctions
主见C.Art Market in Decline
D.Shifted Interest in Arts助班是什么
答案解析
本文主要就米恩・赫斯特的作品大卖后，艺术品市场出现的持续衰退现象进行了讨论。文章第一段介绍了持续一个世纪的牛市结束了，其标志是赫斯特的56部作品的出售。第二段
回顾了自2003年以来艺术品市场的走势情况，即经历了持续的上升期后，艺术品市场的势头大减。第三段对低迷的艺术品市场进行了详细的例示。第四段指出尽管当前的艺术品市场状祝糟糕，但佳士得的总裁对市场的复苏仍然充满信心。第五段指出这衰退与以在的情况不同，市场中缺的不是买家，而是吸引买家的好的艺术品，许多买家都在等待合适的时机再次进入艺术品市场。
21.【答案】D
【解析】根据“ In the first paragrap和信号词“ a last victory可回文定位到首段倒数第二句“ It was a last victory”。答案应该在首段的尾句中寻找: As the auctioneer called out bids， Lehman Brothersfiled for bankruptcy“就在拍卖师喊出报价时，，，雷曼兄弟申请破产”。该句中提到的银行破产与D项中的“金融危机”相吻合。题干中的“a last victory'”显而易见是指金融危机前的最后一次成功的拍卖，所以D项为正确答案A项“艺术品市场经历了一系列的成功的交易”，B项“拍卖人最终以高价得到了两件作品”和C项““我脑海中永存的美丽'赢了所有大作”在文章中都没有提到，均属无中生有。
