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2010考研英语二 · 阅读理解 Text 1
本页为 2010考研英语二 阅读理解 Text 1的完整原文、正确答案与逐题解析（原文约 390 词，共 5 题）。建议先自己作答，再逐题核对解析里的原文定位与干扰项说明。
2010考研英语二阅读理解 Text 1 原文
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.
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.
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. Within weeks the world’s two biggest auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.
The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989. 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 different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market. 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.
答案与逐题解析
答案速查
21D
22A
23B
24C
25C
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21In the first paragraph, Damien Hirst’s sale was referred to as “a last victory” because ______.
答案D
解析原文末句写拍卖师叫价时“Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy”，此前称该场拍卖为“a last victory”，可见其成功恰好发生在金融危机爆发前夕，故D成立。A未提连续胜利；B与“All but two pieces sold”不符；C并未拿该专场与其他杰作比较。
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22By saying “spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable” (Line 1-2, Para. 3), the author suggests that ______.
答案A
解析第三段先说“spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable”，随即解释“that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms”，指向收藏家不再积极参与拍卖，A正确。B把“any sort”绝对化为停止一切消费；C把艺术收藏降格为过时时尚；D称艺术品本身不值得买，均超出原文。
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23Which of the following statements is NOT true?
答案B
解析A对应当代艺术成交跌三分之二乃至近九成；C对应价格平均跌约四成、保证金额赔付等下行表现；D对应“anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence”。B把“generates interest far beyond its size”曲解为动能超过多数行业，原文并无此比较，故B不实。
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24The three Ds mentioned in the last paragraph are ______.
答案C
解析末段写“The three Ds – death, debt and divorce – still deliver works of art to the market”，说明三者仍把作品送入市场、促进流通，C正确。A未说拍卖行偏爱；B非当代潮流；D与印象派风格无关。
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25The most appropriate title for this text could be ______.
答案C
解析全文由赫斯特专场收官写起，继而写成交额从峰值回落、收藏家离场、价格约跌四成及专家称已近底部，主线是艺术市场衰退，C最贴切。A仅价格波动、B时新拍卖、D兴趣转向均以偏概全。
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