The order of coming into being on the ...

Passage One Thousands of years ago, in the middle of an ocean, miles from the nearest island, an undersea volcano broke out. The hot liquid got higher and higher and spread wider and wider. In this way, an island rose up in the sea. As time went on, hot sun and cool rains made the rock split and break to pieces. Sea waves hit against the rock. In this way, soil and sand came into being. Nothing lived on the naked soil. And then the wind and birds brought plant seeds, spiders and other little living things there. Only plants could grow first. Only they, in sunlight, could produce food from the soil, water and air. While many animals landed on the island, they could find no food. A spider made its web uselessly,because there were no insects( 昆虫) for its web to catch. Insects couldn’t stay until there were plants for them to eat. So plants had to be the first life on this new island.The passage centers on _______ .

A．how an undersea volcano broke out
B．how an island rose up in the sea
C．how soil was formed on a new island
D．how life began on a volcanoproduced island

单项选择题

Passage Two Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. In the nearly sixty two years of his life that followed, he built a literary fame unsurpassed ( 无法超越) in the twentieth century. As a boy he was taught by his father to hunt and fish along the shores and in the forests around Lake Michigan. The Hemingways had a summer house in northern Michigan, and the family would spend the summer months there trying to stay cool. Hemingway would either fish the different streams that ran into the lake, or would take the small boat out to do some fishing there. He would also go squirrel hunting in the woods, discovering early in life the peace to be found while alone in the forest or going through a stream. It was something he could always go back to throughout his life, and though he often found himself living in major cities like Chicago, Toronto and Paris early in his life, once he became successful he chose somewhat isolated places to live in. When he wasn’t hunting or fishing his mother taught him the good points of music. She was a skilled singer who once had wished a life on stage, but at last settled down with her husband and spent her time by giving voice and music lessons to local children, including her own. Hemingway was never talented for music and suffered through singing practices and music lessons, however, the musical knowledge he got from his mother helped him share in his first wife Hadley’s interest in the piano.Ernest Hemingway died in _______ .

A．1969
B．1979
C．1981
D．1961

单项选择题

Passage One Thousands of years ago, in the middle of an ocean, miles from the nearest island, an undersea volcano broke out. The hot liquid got higher and higher and spread wider and wider. In this way, an island rose up in the sea. As time went on, hot sun and cool rains made the rock split and break to pieces. Sea waves hit against the rock. In this way, soil and sand came into being. Nothing lived on the naked soil. And then the wind and birds brought plant seeds, spiders and other little living things there. Only plants could grow first. Only they, in sunlight, could produce food from the soil, water and air. While many animals landed on the island, they could find no food. A spider made its web uselessly,because there were no insects( 昆虫) for its web to catch. Insects couldn’t stay until there were plants for them to eat. So plants had to be the first life on this new island.According to the passage, the island got its first soil from （）.

A．sea waves
B．the sand brought by the wind
C．its own rock
D．cool rains

单项选择题

Passage Three What will man be like in the future — in 5000 or even 50000 years from now We can only make a guess,of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time. Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones. This is likely to bring about a physical change tool — the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger. Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger. On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life. But what about hair It will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald. Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at. This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us.He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.The passage tells us about _______ .

A．how man’s life will be in the future
B．how future man will look like
C．the fact that man’s organs will function differently in the future
D．the fact that man is growing uglier as time passes

单项选择题

Passage One Thousands of years ago, in the middle of an ocean, miles from the nearest island, an undersea volcano broke out. The hot liquid got higher and higher and spread wider and wider. In this way, an island rose up in the sea. As time went on, hot sun and cool rains made the rock split and break to pieces. Sea waves hit against the rock. In this way, soil and sand came into being. Nothing lived on the naked soil. And then the wind and birds brought plant seeds, spiders and other little living things there. Only plants could grow first. Only they, in sunlight, could produce food from the soil, water and air. While many animals landed on the island, they could find no food. A spider made its web uselessly,because there were no insects( 昆虫) for its web to catch. Insects couldn’t stay until there were plants for them to eat. So plants had to be the first life on this new island.The word “naked” (in para. 3) could be replaced by which of the following（）

A．red
B．new
C．old
D．bare

单项选择题

Passage Two Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. In the nearly sixty two years of his life that followed, he built a literary fame unsurpassed ( 无法超越) in the twentieth century. As a boy he was taught by his father to hunt and fish along the shores and in the forests around Lake Michigan. The Hemingways had a summer house in northern Michigan, and the family would spend the summer months there trying to stay cool. Hemingway would either fish the different streams that ran into the lake, or would take the small boat out to do some fishing there. He would also go squirrel hunting in the woods, discovering early in life the peace to be found while alone in the forest or going through a stream. It was something he could always go back to throughout his life, and though he often found himself living in major cities like Chicago, Toronto and Paris early in his life, once he became successful he chose somewhat isolated places to live in. When he wasn’t hunting or fishing his mother taught him the good points of music. She was a skilled singer who once had wished a life on stage, but at last settled down with her husband and spent her time by giving voice and music lessons to local children, including her own. Hemingway was never talented for music and suffered through singing practices and music lessons, however, the musical knowledge he got from his mother helped him share in his first wife Hadley’s interest in the piano.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage（）

A．His father taught him to fish and hunt when he was a boy.
B．His family had a summer house in northern Michigan.
C．He taught himself music when he was a boy.
D．He also went squirrel hunting in the woods.

单项选择题

Passage One Thousands of years ago, in the middle of an ocean, miles from the nearest island, an undersea volcano broke out. The hot liquid got higher and higher and spread wider and wider. In this way, an island rose up in the sea. As time went on, hot sun and cool rains made the rock split and break to pieces. Sea waves hit against the rock. In this way, soil and sand came into being. Nothing lived on the naked soil. And then the wind and birds brought plant seeds, spiders and other little living things there. Only plants could grow first. Only they, in sunlight, could produce food from the soil, water and air. While many animals landed on the island, they could find no food. A spider made its web uselessly,because there were no insects( 昆虫) for its web to catch. Insects couldn’t stay until there were plants for them to eat. So plants had to be the first life on this new island.The order of coming into being on the island is （） .

A．soil, plants and animals
B．soil, little creatures and plants
C．soil, birds and plants
D．soil, human beings and animals

单项选择题

Passage Three What will man be like in the future — in 5000 or even 50000 years from now We can only make a guess,of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time. Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones. This is likely to bring about a physical change tool — the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger. Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger. On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life. But what about hair It will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald. Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at. This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us.He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.There is evidence that man is changing,（）.

A．he has been growing taller over the past 500 years
B．he has got stronger eyes than he ever had
C．his hair is getting thinner and thinner
D．his limbs are getting weaker because he tends to make less use of them

单项选择题

Passage Four Auctions( 拍卖) are public sales of goods, made by an officially approved auctioneer. He asked the crowd assembled in the auction room to make offers, or bids, for the various items on sale. He encouraged buyers to bid higher figures, and finally named 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 table at which he stands.This is often set on a raised platform called a rostrum. The ancient Romans probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increase”. The Romans usually sold in this way the spoils taken in war, these sales were called “sub hash”, meaning “under the spear”, a spear being stuck in the ground as a signal for a crowd to gather. In England in the eighteenth century, 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 varied are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, hides, skins, wool,tea, cocoa, furs, spices, fruit, vegetables and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, antique furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art. The auction rooms at Christie’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 prospective 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 1 and continue in numerical order he may wait until he registers the fact that certain dealers 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 as high as possible. A “bidder” (in para. 1) is a person _______ .

A．who sells something.
B． who buys something.
C．who offers a price.
D．who borrows something.

单项选择题

Passage One Thousands of years ago, in the middle of an ocean, miles from the nearest island, an undersea volcano broke out. The hot liquid got higher and higher and spread wider and wider. In this way, an island rose up in the sea. As time went on, hot sun and cool rains made the rock split and break to pieces. Sea waves hit against the rock. In this way, soil and sand came into being. Nothing lived on the naked soil. And then the wind and birds brought plant seeds, spiders and other little living things there. Only plants could grow first. Only they, in sunlight, could produce food from the soil, water and air. While many animals landed on the island, they could find no food. A spider made its web uselessly,because there were no insects( 昆虫) for its web to catch. Insects couldn’t stay until there were plants for them to eat. So plants had to be the first life on this new island.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE（）

A．Spiders were the first life that could live on the island.
B．The island is far away from any piece of land.
C．Insects could not live on the island without plants
D．Plants were brought to the island by human beings

单项选择题

Passage Two Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. In the nearly sixty two years of his life that followed, he built a literary fame unsurpassed ( 无法超越) in the twentieth century. As a boy he was taught by his father to hunt and fish along the shores and in the forests around Lake Michigan. The Hemingways had a summer house in northern Michigan, and the family would spend the summer months there trying to stay cool. Hemingway would either fish the different streams that ran into the lake, or would take the small boat out to do some fishing there. He would also go squirrel hunting in the woods, discovering early in life the peace to be found while alone in the forest or going through a stream. It was something he could always go back to throughout his life, and though he often found himself living in major cities like Chicago, Toronto and Paris early in his life, once he became successful he chose somewhat isolated places to live in. When he wasn’t hunting or fishing his mother taught him the good points of music. She was a skilled singer who once had wished a life on stage, but at last settled down with her husband and spent her time by giving voice and music lessons to local children, including her own. Hemingway was never talented for music and suffered through singing practices and music lessons, however, the musical knowledge he got from his mother helped him share in his first wife Hadley’s interest in the piano.After he became successful, Ernest Hemingway （） .

A．preferred to stay in big cities
B．chose to live in somewhat isolated places
C．moved his family to Paris
D．killed himself

单项选择题

Passage Four Auctions( 拍卖) are public sales of goods, made by an officially approved auctioneer. He asked the crowd assembled in the auction room to make offers, or bids, for the various items on sale. He encouraged buyers to bid higher figures, and finally named 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 table at which he stands.This is often set on a raised platform called a rostrum. The ancient Romans probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increase”. The Romans usually sold in this way the spoils taken in war, these sales were called “sub hash”, meaning “under the spear”, a spear being stuck in the ground as a signal for a crowd to gather. In England in the eighteenth century, 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 varied are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, hides, skins, wool,tea, cocoa, furs, spices, fruit, vegetables and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, antique furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art. The auction rooms at Christie’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 prospective 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 1 and continue in numerical order he may wait until he registers the fact that certain dealers 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 as high as possible. Auctioned goods are sold（）price offered.

A．for the highest
B．for the fixed
C．for the lowest
D．for the unexpected

单项选择题

Passage Three What will man be like in the future — in 5000 or even 50000 years from now We can only make a guess,of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time. Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones. This is likely to bring about a physical change tool — the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger. Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger. On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life. But what about hair It will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald. Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at. This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us.He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.Man’s forehead will grow larger because （） .

A．he will make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity
B．the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time
C．he had rather narrow forehead a few hundred years ago
D．he will have to use his brain more and more as time goes on

单项选择题

Passage Three What will man be like in the future — in 5000 or even 50000 years from now We can only make a guess,of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time. Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones. This is likely to bring about a physical change tool — the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger. Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger. On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life. But what about hair It will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald. Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at. This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us.He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.Future man will probably （） .

A．have smaller eyes
B．have larger eyes
C．see better
D．have to wear better glasses

单项选择题

Passage Two Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. In the nearly sixty two years of his life that followed, he built a literary fame unsurpassed ( 无法超越) in the twentieth century. As a boy he was taught by his father to hunt and fish along the shores and in the forests around Lake Michigan. The Hemingways had a summer house in northern Michigan, and the family would spend the summer months there trying to stay cool. Hemingway would either fish the different streams that ran into the lake, or would take the small boat out to do some fishing there. He would also go squirrel hunting in the woods, discovering early in life the peace to be found while alone in the forest or going through a stream. It was something he could always go back to throughout his life, and though he often found himself living in major cities like Chicago, Toronto and Paris early in his life, once he became successful he chose somewhat isolated places to live in. When he wasn’t hunting or fishing his mother taught him the good points of music. She was a skilled singer who once had wished a life on stage, but at last settled down with her husband and spent her time by giving voice and music lessons to local children, including her own. Hemingway was never talented for music and suffered through singing practices and music lessons, however, the musical knowledge he got from his mother helped him share in his first wife Hadley’s interest in the piano.Being talented in music, Hemingway’s mother once wanted to （） .

A．be a music teacher
B．help Hemingway learn music
C．perform on the stage as a singer
D．marry a rich husband

单项选择题

Passage Four Auctions( 拍卖) are public sales of goods, made by an officially approved auctioneer. He asked the crowd assembled in the auction room to make offers, or bids, for the various items on sale. He encouraged buyers to bid higher figures, and finally named 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 table at which he stands.This is often set on a raised platform called a rostrum. The ancient Romans probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increase”. The Romans usually sold in this way the spoils taken in war, these sales were called “sub hash”, meaning “under the spear”, a spear being stuck in the ground as a signal for a crowd to gather. In England in the eighteenth century, 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 varied are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, hides, skins, wool,tea, cocoa, furs, spices, fruit, vegetables and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, antique furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art. The auction rooms at Christie’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 prospective 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 1 and continue in numerical order he may wait until he registers the fact that certain dealers 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 as high as possible. The end of the bidding is called “knocking down” because （） .

A．the auctioneer knocks the buyer down
B．the auctioneer knocks the rostrum down
C．the goods are knocked down onto the table
D．the auctioneer bangs the table with a hammer

单项选择题

Passage Three What will man be like in the future — in 5000 or even 50000 years from now We can only make a guess,of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time. Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones. This is likely to bring about a physical change tool — the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger. Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger. On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life. But what about hair It will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald. Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at. This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us.He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.The reason for believing that future man will be different is that he （）

A．will grow stronger
B．never stops changing
C．hopes for a change
D．will live a different life

单项选择题

Passage Two Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. In the nearly sixty two years of his life that followed, he built a literary fame unsurpassed ( 无法超越) in the twentieth century. As a boy he was taught by his father to hunt and fish along the shores and in the forests around Lake Michigan. The Hemingways had a summer house in northern Michigan, and the family would spend the summer months there trying to stay cool. Hemingway would either fish the different streams that ran into the lake, or would take the small boat out to do some fishing there. He would also go squirrel hunting in the woods, discovering early in life the peace to be found while alone in the forest or going through a stream. It was something he could always go back to throughout his life, and though he often found himself living in major cities like Chicago, Toronto and Paris early in his life, once he became successful he chose somewhat isolated places to live in. When he wasn’t hunting or fishing his mother taught him the good points of music. She was a skilled singer who once had wished a life on stage, but at last settled down with her husband and spent her time by giving voice and music lessons to local children, including her own. Hemingway was never talented for music and suffered through singing practices and music lessons, however, the musical knowledge he got from his mother helped him share in his first wife Hadley’s interest in the piano.The passage is most probably from（）.

A．a literary biography
B．a science textbook
C．a term paper
D．a personal diary

单项选择题

Passage Four Auctions( 拍卖) are public sales of goods, made by an officially approved auctioneer. He asked the crowd assembled in the auction room to make offers, or bids, for the various items on sale. He encouraged buyers to bid higher figures, and finally named 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 table at which he stands.This is often set on a raised platform called a rostrum. The ancient Romans probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increase”. The Romans usually sold in this way the spoils taken in war, these sales were called “sub hash”, meaning “under the spear”, a spear being stuck in the ground as a signal for a crowd to gather. In England in the eighteenth century, 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 varied are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, hides, skins, wool,tea, cocoa, furs, spices, fruit, vegetables and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, antique furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art. The auction rooms at Christie’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 prospective 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 1 and continue in numerical order he may wait until he registers the fact that certain dealers 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 as high as possible. The “candle” used in paragraph 2 is （）.

A．because they took place at night
B．as a signal for the crowd to gather
C．to give light to the auctioneer
D．to limit the time when offers could be made

单项选择题

Passage Four Auctions( 拍卖) are public sales of goods, made by an officially approved auctioneer. He asked the crowd assembled in the auction room to make offers, or bids, for the various items on sale. He encouraged buyers to bid higher figures, and finally named 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 table at which he stands.This is often set on a raised platform called a rostrum. The ancient Romans probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increase”. The Romans usually sold in this way the spoils taken in war, these sales were called “sub hash”, meaning “under the spear”, a spear being stuck in the ground as a signal for a crowd to gather. In England in the eighteenth century, 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 varied are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, hides, skins, wool,tea, cocoa, furs, spices, fruit, vegetables and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, antique furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art. The auction rooms at Christie’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 prospective 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 1 and continue in numerical order he may wait until he registers the fact that certain dealers 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 as high as possible. An auction catalogue gives prospective buyers （） .

A．the current market values of the goods
B．details of the goods to be sold
C．the order in which goods must be sold
D．free admission to the auction sale

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