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
答案：D
答案句：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 for bankruptcy.
参考译文：2008年9月15日，伦敦苏富比拍卖行以一场达米恩·赫斯特56件作品的拍卖会“美丽永驻我心”戏剧性地结束了艺术市场史上最长的牛市。除两件外全部售出，成交额超过7000万英镑，创下单个艺术家拍卖纪录。这是最后的胜利。就在拍卖师喊出报价时，纽约华尔街最古老的银行之一雷曼兄弟申请破产。
定位线索：题干“In the first paragraph”和“a last victory”→答案句取自第1段“It was a last victory”；文中“Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy”对应选项D“just before the world financial crisis”。
解析：题干问赫斯特拍卖为何被称为“最后的胜利”。答案句指出拍卖成功（“All but two pieces sold, fetching more than £70m”）后紧接着“Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy”，暗示金融危机爆发，此后市场衰退，因此这是危机前的最后胜利。选项D正确。A项“一系列胜利”无中生有；B项“拍卖师最终以最高价拍得两件”曲解“All but two pieces sold”；C项“胜过所有杰作”过度夸大，原文只说创纪录。
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
答案：A
答案句：In the weeks and months that followed Mr. Hirst’s sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable. 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 sector, they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008.
参考译文：在赫斯特拍卖之后的数周和数月里，任何形式的支出都变得极不合时宜。在艺术界，这意味着收藏家远离画廊和拍卖厅。当代艺术销售额下降了三分之二，而在最过热的领域，截至2008年11月的一年中下降了近90%。
定位线索：题干“spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable”和“suggests”→答案句取自第3段“spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable”及后文“collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms”；文中“stayed away from”对应选项A“no longer actively involved”。
解析：题干要求推断“任何支出都变得不合时宜”的含义。答案句直接解释“In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms”，即收藏家不再积极参与拍卖，选项A正确。B项“人们停止所有支出”绝对化，原文限定“in the art world”；C项“艺术收藏作为一种时尚失去吸引力”偷换概念，原文指“支出”不合时宜而非“收藏”本身；D项“艺术品过时”无中生有。
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 art market generally went downward in various ways.
- D. Some art dealers were awaiting better chances to come.
答案：B
答案句：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, 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, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.
参考译文：世界艺术市场在2003年以来令人困惑地上涨之后，已经失去动力一段时间了。研究公司Arts Economics创始人克莱尔·麦克安德鲁估计，2007年高峰期市值约650亿美元，是五年前的两倍。此后可能已降至500亿美元。但市场产生的兴趣远超其规模，因为它以很少有其他行业能匹敌的方式汇集了巨大财富、自负、贪婪、激情和争议。
定位线索：题干“Which of the following statements is NOT true”和选项B“surpassed many other industries in momentum”→答案句取自第2段“matched by few other industries”；文中“matched by few other industries”对应选项B“surpassed many other industries”，但原文是“匹敌”而非“超越”，故B错误。
解析：题干问哪项不正确。答案句“matched by few other industries”表示“很少有其他行业能匹敌”，而非“超越”，选项B“surpassed”程度过重，偷换概念，故为答案。A项对应“Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds”；C项对应“losing momentum”和“come down”；D项对应末段“waiting for confidence to return”，均正确。
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
答案：C
答案句：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.
参考译文：三个D——死亡、债务和离婚——仍然将艺术品送到市场。但任何不必出售的人都在远离，等待信心恢复。
定位线索：题干“The three Ds”和“are”→答案句取自末段“The three Ds – death, debt and divorce – still deliver works of art to the market”；文中“deliver works of art to the market”对应选项C“factors promoting artwork circulation”。
解析：题干问三个D是什么。答案句明确“death, debt and divorce”是“deliver works of art to the market”的因素，即促进艺术品流通，选项C正确。A项“拍卖行最爱”无中生有；B项“当代趋势”范围扩大；D项“印象派风格”与原文无关。
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
答案：C
答案句：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. … The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989. … But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.
参考译文：艺术市场史上持续了一个世纪的最长牛市，以2008年9月15日伦敦苏富比拍卖行举办的达米恩·赫斯特56件作品拍卖会《我脑海中的永恒之美》戏剧性地告终。 … 当前艺术市场的低迷是自1989年底日本人停止购买印象派作品以来最严重的一次。 … 但任何不必出售的人都在远离市场，等待信心恢复。
定位线索：题干“most appropriate title”→全文主旨；首段“bull run...ended”对应选项“Decline”；末段“downturn...worst”和“keeping away”进一步印证衰退。
解析：题干要求选择最合适的标题，属于主旨题。答案句从首段“bull run...ended”和末段“downturn...worst”及“keeping away”等关键句，概括了艺术市场从繁荣到衰退的全过程，正确选项C“Art Market in Decline”是对全文主旨的准确概括。错误选项A“Fluctuation of Art Prices”只涉及价格波动，范围过窄；B“Up-to-date Art Auctions”只提及拍卖活动，未体现衰退主题；D“Shifted Interest in Arts”文中未提及兴趣转移，属于无中生有。