考研英语（二）历年真题阅读要点之2010-Text 1（一）

 　历年考研英语(二)真题较少，但是不可掉以轻心，一定要合理利用。为了帮助大家更好地复习，小编为各位同学梳理一下历年考研英语(二)真题阅读文章中涉及的要点，包括词汇、短语、长难句以及简单的阅读方法。接下来看一下2010年考研英语(二)真题阅读Text 1，这篇文章主要探讨了艺术品市场和艺术品拍卖的衰退。

　　The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of ... at Sotheby’s in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70 m, a record for a sale by a single artist. 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.

　　bull run“牛市(股市用语，买家多于卖家，价格上涨)”;end on“以...方式结尾”;dramatic“戏剧性的”;note“调子”;sale“销售额”;Sotheby’s“苏士比拍卖行”;all but“除..之外全部都”;fetch“卖得”;record“记录”;victory“胜利”;auctioneer“拍卖商”;call out bid“喊出报价”;file for“申请”;bankruptcy“破产”。

　　The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare McAndrew ... But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.

　　momentum“势头”;for a while“暂时”;bewilderingly“令人困惑地”;at one’s peak“处于巅峰时期”;worth“价值”;some“大约”;reckon“估计”;far beyond“远远超出”;size“规模”;bring together“集合”;enormous ego“强烈的自我意识”;greed“贪婪”;controversy“争论”;be matched by“与...相匹配”。

　　... spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable... collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector ... Within weeks the world’s two biggest auction houses ... had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.

　　spending“花费”;unfashionable“过时的，不时髦的”;collector“收藏家”;stay away from“远离”;gallery“画廊”;saleroom“拍卖厅”;contemporary“当代的”;overheated“狂热的”;sector“部门，行业”;action house“拍卖行”;pay out“付出(钱)”;guarantee“担保”;client“客户”;place“投放”;works“作品”。