passage1

注解：標(biāo)題為紅色，翻譯為藍(lán)色，分析為綠色。

????????The longest bull run(bull run(指股票市場(chǎng))牛市，與牛市相對(duì)應(yīng)的是熊市，英文[bear run]) in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst【隨著56 件作品的賣出，牛市以戲劇性地落幕了】, “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”【“我內(nèi)心的美麗永存”，這個(gè)應(yīng)該是拍賣會(huì)上的主題名】，at Sotheby’s in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold【所有作品中只有兩件沒(méi)有售出】, fetching(賣得(某價(jià))) more than ￡70m, a record for a sale by a single artist【創(chuàng)造了單個(gè)藝術(shù)家的拍賣紀(jì)錄】. It was a last victory. 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(推力；動(dòng)力) for a while after rising bewilderingly(令人困惑地；使人迷亂地) since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare Mc Andrew, founder of Arts Economics, a research 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 because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos(自負(fù)，自尊), greed(貪婪，貪欲), 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(bail-out(經(jīng)濟(jì)上的)緊急援助) of the banks coincided with(coincided with與......同時(shí)發(fā)生（文章取這個(gè)意思）；與......一致) the loss of thousands of jobs and the financial demise(倒閉，敗落) 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(最暢銷的,過(guò)熱的) sector(這里指領(lǐng)域)—for Chinese contemporary art—they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world’s two biggest auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees(保證金) to clients who had placed works for sale with them[已經(jīng)將作品交給他們出售的客戶].

????????The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the? end of 1989, a move that started the most serious contraction(收縮；縮小) in the market since the Second World War. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more fluctuant. But Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive, says: “I’m pretty confident we’re at the bottom.”

????????What makes this slump((價(jià)格、價(jià)值、數(shù)量等)驟降，猛跌) 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 sell. Christie’s revenues in the first half of 2009 were 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 sell. The three Ds—death, debt and divorce—still deliver(這里表示“推動(dòng)”) works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell【這里是定語(yǔ)從句，修飾anyone，是指那些不急于出手的人】?is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.【那些不急于出手的人是依然遠(yuǎn)離市場(chǎng)，等待市場(chǎng)信心的回歸】

一、文章結(jié)構(gòu)分析

本文是一篇討論經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退現(xiàn)象類的文章，文章探討了達(dá)明·赫斯特的作品大賣后，藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)出現(xiàn)的持續(xù)衰退現(xiàn)象。

文章第一段介紹了持續(xù)一個(gè)世紀(jì)的藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)牛市結(jié)束了，其標(biāo)志是赫斯特的 56 部作品的大賣。

第二段回顧了自 2003 年以來(lái)藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)的走勢(shì)情況，即經(jīng)歷了持續(xù)的上升期后，藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)的勢(shì)頭大減。

第三段對(duì)低迷的藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)進(jìn)行了詳細(xì)的例示。

第四段指出盡管當(dāng)前的藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)狀況糟糕，但人們對(duì)市場(chǎng)的復(fù)蘇仍然充滿信心。

第五段指出這次衰退與以往的情況不同，許多買家都在等待合適的時(shí)機(jī)再次進(jìn)軍藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)。

21.In the first paragraph, Damien Hirst's sale was referred to as “a last victory” because .

A.the art market had witnessed a succession of victories

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

21. 在文章第一段，達(dá)明·赫斯特的作品大賣被稱為“最后的勝利”是因?yàn)開_______。

[A] 藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)經(jīng)歷了一系列的成功交易

[B] 拍賣師最終以最高價(jià)格拍賣出了兩件藝術(shù)品

[C] “我內(nèi)心的美麗永存”勝過(guò)了其他任何作品

[D] 這次拍賣是在金融危機(jī)來(lái)臨之前完成的

22.By saying “spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable”(Line 1-2,Para.3)，the author suggests that .

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

D .works of art in general had gone out of fashion so they were not worth buying

22. 作者在第三段中提到“任何花銷都變得不再時(shí)尚”，暗示著______。

[A] 收藏者們不再積極參與到藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)的拍賣會(huì)中

[B] 人們停止了各種花銷并遠(yuǎn)離了畫廊

[C] 藝術(shù)品收集的時(shí)尚在很大程度上失去了吸引力

[D] 總體來(lái)說(shuō)，藝術(shù)品已經(jīng)過(guò)時(shí)，因此不值得購(gòu)買

23.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A .Sales of contemporary art fell dramatically from 2007 to 2008.

B.The art market surpassed many other industries in momentum.

C.The market generally went downward in various ways.

D.Some art dealers were awaiting better chances to come.

23. 下面哪項(xiàng)陳述是錯(cuò)誤的？

[A] 從 2007 年到 2008 年當(dāng)代藝術(shù)品的銷售明顯下降。

[B] 在市場(chǎng)推動(dòng)力方面，藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)超過(guò)了其他很多產(chǎn)業(yè)。

[C] 總體上藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)在不同的方面都有所下滑。

[D] 一些藝術(shù)品經(jīng)營(yíng)者在等待好機(jī)會(huì)的到來(lái)。

24.The three Ds mentioned in the last paragraph are? ? ? ? ??

A.auction houses ' favorites

B. contemporary trends

C. factors promoting artwork circulation

D. styles representing impressionists

24. 文章在最后一段提到“3Ds”是________。

[A] 拍賣行的最愛(ài)

[B] 當(dāng)代的趨勢(shì)

[C] 促進(jìn)藝術(shù)作品流通的因素

[D] 印象派畫家的風(fēng)格

25.The most appropriate title for this text could be? ? ? ??

A.Fluctuation of Art Prices

B.Up-to-date Art Auctions

C.Art Market in Decline

D.Shifted Interest in Arts

25. 這篇文章最恰當(dāng)?shù)臉?biāo)題是________。

[A] 藝術(shù)品價(jià)格的波動(dòng)

[B] 現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)品拍賣

[C] 藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)的衰退

[D] 對(duì)藝術(shù)品興趣的轉(zhuǎn)移

二、核心詞匯與超綱詞匯

1.bull run (股市)活躍期，牛市

2.dramatic a. 戲劇性的；引人注目的

3.auction n. /vt.拍賣；競(jìng)賣

4.file n. 文件夾，檔案

5.bankruptcy n. 破產(chǎn)，倒閉

6.momentum n. 動(dòng)力，勢(shì)頭

7.bewilderingly adv.令人困惑地

8.reckon vt.推斷，估計(jì)；設(shè)想；認(rèn)為

9.greedy a. 貪心的；渴望的

10.controversy n. 爭(zhēng)論，爭(zhēng)執(zhí)

11.contemporary a. 屬同一時(shí)期的；當(dāng)代的

12.fluctuant a. 波動(dòng)的，起伏的

三、閱讀答案：D A B C C

四、全文翻譯：?

????????2008 年 9 月 15 日在倫敦蘇富比拍賣行舉行的“我內(nèi)心的美麗永存”的拍賣會(huì)上，隨著達(dá)明·赫斯特的 56 件作品成功出售，藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)一個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)最長(zhǎng)的牛市戲劇性的落幕了。所有作品中只有兩件沒(méi)有售出，銷售額超過(guò) 7000 萬(wàn)英鎊，創(chuàng)造了單個(gè)藝術(shù)家的拍賣紀(jì)錄。這是藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)的最后勝利。因?yàn)?，就在拍賣師大聲喊出報(bào)價(jià)時(shí)，紐約華爾街上歷史最悠久的銀行之一雷曼兄弟宣布破產(chǎn)。

????????世界藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)自 2003 年經(jīng)歷了急速攀升后的一段時(shí)間以來(lái)逐步失去了發(fā)展動(dòng)力。Clare McAndew 是一家名叫 ArtsEconomists 研究公司的創(chuàng)始人，他估計(jì)，在 2007 年的高峰期世界藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)的價(jià)值約為 650 億美元，是五年前的兩倍。然而從那時(shí)起藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)的價(jià)值可能已經(jīng)下跌至 500 億。但是藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)產(chǎn)生的利益遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)它本身的規(guī)模，因?yàn)樗鼌R集了巨大的財(cái)富、膨脹的自我、貪婪、激情和爭(zhēng)議，其匯集方式幾乎沒(méi)有哪個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè)能與之相提并論。

????????在赫斯特作品大賣后的幾個(gè)星期至幾個(gè)月內(nèi)，任何藝術(shù)品的花銷都變得不合時(shí)宜。在藝術(shù)收藏界里， 這意味著收藏者們會(huì)遠(yuǎn)離畫廊和拍賣會(huì)場(chǎng)。當(dāng)代藝術(shù)品的銷售額下降了三分之二，而在最暢銷的熱門領(lǐng)域，那一年的銷售額截止到 2008 年 11 月份下跌了近 90%。幾周之內(nèi)，世界上最大的兩家拍賣行， 蘇富比和佳士得，不得不支付兩億美元的保證金給已經(jīng)將作品交給他們出售的客戶。

????????當(dāng)前藝術(shù)品市場(chǎng)的衰退是 1989 年底日本停止購(gòu)買印象派作品以來(lái)最糟糕的一次。針對(duì)這次衰退，專家估計(jì)平均價(jià)位相對(duì)峰值下降了 40%，盡管有些價(jià)格波動(dòng)的幅度更大。但是佳士得的首席執(zhí)行官 EdwardDolman 說(shuō)：“我們現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)處于低谷，對(duì)此我十分確信”。

????????他認(rèn)為，這次藝術(shù)品價(jià)格的大幅度下降與上次的不同之處在于，市場(chǎng)中依然存在買家。幾乎每位接受這個(gè)特別報(bào)道采訪的人都說(shuō)，當(dāng)前最大的問(wèn)題不是缺乏需求，而是沒(méi)有好的作品銷售。三 D 因素——死亡、債務(wù)和離婚——依然會(huì)把藝術(shù)品推向市場(chǎng)。那些不急于出手的人依然遠(yuǎn)離市場(chǎng)，等待市場(chǎng)信心的回歸。