第一段
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. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70m, 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 forbankruptcy.
单词&词组搭配
dramatic [drəˈmætɪk] adj.戏剧性的，引人注意的
fetch [fetʃ] v.取来；[僻义] v.售得
auctioneer [ˌɔːkʃəˈnɪr] n.拍卖者
work v.劳动，工作；n.职业，作品
bankruptcy [ˈbæŋkrʌptsi] n.破产
file for（申请）
bull run（牛市）
end on（以...结束）
本段翻译
2008年9月15日在伦敦苏富比拍卖行举行的“我内心的美丽永存”的拍卖会上，随着达明·赫斯特的56件作品成功出售，艺术品市场一个世纪以来最长的牛市戏剧性的落幕了。所有作品中只有两件没有售出，销售额超过7000万英镑，创造了单个艺术家的拍卖纪录。这是艺术品市场的最后胜利。因为，就在拍卖师大声喊出报价时，纽约华尔街上历史最悠久的银行之一雷曼兄弟宣布破产。
第二段
The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after risingbewilderingly 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 generatesinterest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.
单词&搭配
momentum [moʊˈmentəm] n.动力，势头
bewilderinglyadv.令人困惑地
reckon [ˈrekən] vt.推断，估计，设想
interest n.兴趣，爱好；[僻义] n.利息，利益
passion [ˈpæʃn] n.激情
ego [ˈiːɡoʊ] n.自我
controversy [ˈkɑːntrəvɜːrsi] n.争论，辩论
match [mætʃ] v.相配，相一致；n.比赛
enormous ego（膨胀的自我）
come down（降低）
本段翻译
世界艺术品市场自2003年经历了急速攀升后的一段时间以来逐步失去了发展动力。Clare McAndew是一家名叫Arts Economists研究公司的创始人，他估计，在2007年的高峰期世界艺术品市场的价值约为650亿美元，是五年前的两倍。然而从那时起艺术品市场的价值可能已经下跌至500亿。但是艺术品市场产生的利益远远超过它本身的规模，因为它汇集了巨大的财富、膨胀的自我、贪婪、激情和争议，其汇集方式几乎没有哪个产业能与之相提并论。
第三段
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 loss of thousands of jobs and the financial demise of many art-buying investors. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away fromgalleries and salerooms. Sales ofcontemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector—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 outnearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.
单词&词组
demise [dɪˈmaɪz] n.失败，倒闭
gallery [ˈɡæləri] n.展览馆，画廊
contemporary [kənˈtempəreri] adj.当代的，现代的
overheated [ˌoʊvərˈhiːtɪd] adj.过热的
guarantee [ˌɡærənˈtiː] n.保证
coincid with（与...一致）
staye away from（远离）
pay out（支付）
本段翻译
在赫斯特作品大卖后的几个星期至几个月内，任何艺术品的花销都变得不合时宜，特别是在纽约,银行的纾困恰逢数以千计的工作岗位的损失许多艺术投资者和金融的灭亡。在艺术收藏界里，这意味着收藏者们会远离画廊和拍卖会场。当代艺术品的销售额下降了三分之二，在最过热的中国当代艺术下降了近90%，而在最畅销的热门领域，那一年的销售额截止到2008年11月份下跌了近90%。几周之内，世界上最大的两家拍卖行，苏富比和佳士得，不得不支付两亿美元的保证金给已经将作品交给他们出售的客户。
第四段
The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buyingImpressionists at the end of 1989, a move that started the most serious contraction 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.”
单词&词组
downturn [ˈdaʊntɜːrn] n.衰退，下降
Impressionist [ɪmˈpreʃənɪst] adj.印象的；n.印象主义者
contraction [kən'trækʃn] n.萎缩
executive [ɪɡˈzekjətɪv] n.管理人员
fluctuant ['flʌktʃʊənt] adj.波动的，变化的
at the bottom（谷底）
本段翻译
当前艺术品市场的衰退是1989年底日本停止购买印象派作品以来最糟糕的一次，此举引起了自第二次世界大战以来最严重的市场萎缩。针对这次衰退，专家估计平均价位相对峰值下降了40%，尽管有些价格波动的幅度更大。但是佳士得的首席执行官Edward Dolman说：“我们现在已经处于低谷，对此我十分确信”。
第五段
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 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 works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.
单词&词组
slump [slʌmp] v.骤降，锐减
revenue [ˈrevənuː] n.收益
interview [ˈɪntərvjuː] n.面试，访谈
interest rate（利率）
deliver...to..（给..递送..）
auction house（拍卖行）
circulation [ˌsɜːrkjəˈleɪʃn] n.流通，循环
appropriate [əˈproʊprieɪt] adj.恰当的
decline [dɪˈklaɪn] n.衰退，下降；v.拒绝
shift [ʃɪft] v.移动，转移
本段翻译
他认为，这次艺术品价格的大幅度下降与上次的不同之处在于，市场中依然存在买家。但是在20世纪90年代，虽然利率很高，没有需求，很多收藏家都想卖掉。佳士得在2009年上半年的收入仍高于2006年上半年。几乎每位接受这个特别报道采访的人都说，当前最大的问题不是缺乏需求，而是没有好的作品销售。三D因素——死亡、债务和离婚——依然会把艺术品推向市场。那些不急于出手的人依然远离市场，等待市场信心的回归。
五道题
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
（艺术品市场经历了一系列的成功交易）
B. the auctioneer finally got the two pieces at the highest bids
（拍卖师最终以最高价格拍卖出了两件艺术品）
C. Beautiful Inside My Head Forever won over all masterpieces
（我内心的美丽永存”胜过了其他任何作品）
D. it was successfully made just before the world financial crisis
（这次拍卖是在金融危机来临之前完成的）
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
（收藏者们不再积极参与到艺术品市场的拍卖会中）
B .people stopped every kind of spending and stayed away from galleries
（人们停止了各种花销并远离了画廊）
C. art collection as a fashion had lost its appeal to a great extent
（艺术品收集的时尚在很大程度上失去了吸引力）
D .works of art in general had gone out of fashion so they were not worth buying
（总体来说，艺术品已经过时，因此不值得购买）
23. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A .Sales of contemporary art fell dramatically from 2007 to 2008.
（从2007年到2008年当代艺术品的销售明显下降）
B. The art market surpassed many other industries in momentum.
（在市场推动力方面，艺术品市场超过了其他很多产业）
C. The market generally went downward in various ways.
（总体上艺术品市场在不同的方面都有所下滑）
D. Some art dealers were awaiting better chances to come.
（一些艺术品经营者在等待好机会的到来）
24. The three Ds mentioned in the last paragraph are ____
A. auction houses ' favorites
（拍卖行的最爱）
B. contemporary trends
（当代的趋势）
C. factors promoting artwork circulation
（促进艺术作品流通的因素）
D. styles representing impressionists
（印象派画家的风格）
25. The most appropriate title for this text could be ___
A. Fluctuation of Art Prices
（艺术品价格的波动）
B. Up-to-date Art Auctions
（现代艺术品拍卖）
C. Art Market in Decline
（艺术品市场的衰退）
D. Shifted Interest in Arts
（对艺术品兴趣的转移）
参考答案
DABCC
