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1. 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.
词汇
bull run 牛市
century ['sentʃəri] n. 百年；世纪
art [ɑːt] n. 艺术；艺术作品
market ['mɑːkɪt] n. 市场；交易量
history ['hɪstri] n. 历史；历史课；经历
end [end] v. 结束；终止 n. 终止；末端；目的
dramatic [drə'mætɪk] a. 戏剧性的；突然的；引人注目的
note [nəʊt] n. 气氛；便条；笔记；注释
sale [seɪl] n. 出售；大减价
work [wɜːk] n. 作品；工作
forever [fər'evə(r)] ad. 永远；长久地
2. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than £ 70 m, a record for a sale by a single artist.
词汇
but [bʌt] prep. 除……之外
sell [sel] v. 卖出；售价是
fetch [fetʃ] v. 售得；拿来
record ['rekɔːd] [rɪ'kɔːd] n. 记录；唱片 v. 记录；录制；标明
single ['sɪŋɡl] a. 单个的；单身的 n. 单程票；单曲
artist ['ɑːtɪst] n. 艺术家
3. It was a last victory.
词汇
last [lɑːst] a. 最后的；上一个的 v. 持续
victory ['vɪktəri] n. 胜利，成功
4. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy.
词汇
auctioneer [ˌɔːkʃə'nɪə(r)] n. 拍卖师
call out 喊出
bid [bɪd] n. 出价；努力尝试
bank [bæŋk] n. 银行；库；岸 v. 开账户；存款
Wall Street 华尔街
file [faɪl] v. 提出（申请）；归档
file for 申请
bankruptcy ['bæŋkrʌptsi] n. 破产
5. The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003.
词汇
world [wɜːld] n. 世界；星球；界
market [mɑːkɪt] n. 市场；交易量
already [ɔːl'redi] ad. 已经
momentum [mə'mentəm] n. 势头；冲力
lose momentum 失去动力
for a while 一段时间
rise [raɪz] v. 上升；增加 n. 增加；上升
bewilderingly [bɪ'wɪldərɪŋli] ad. 令人困惑地
since prep. 自……以后 conj. 从……以后；因为 ad. 自……以后；后来
6. 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.
词汇
peak [piːk] n. 顶峰；山峰；尖端
worth [wɜːθ] a. 值……钱的；值得的
some [sʌm] ad. 大约；稍微
billion ['bɪljən] n. 十亿
reckon ['rekən] v. 估算；认为
founder ['faʊndə(r)] n. 创建者，发起人
economics [ˌiːkə'nɒmɪks] n. 经济学；经济情况
research [rɪ'sɜːtʃ] n. 研究；调查；探索
firm [fɜːm] n. 公司，商行 a. 结实的
double ['dʌbl] det. 两倍的；双倍的
figure ['fɪɡə(r)] n. 数字；身材；人物；图形
7. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion.
词汇
since then 从那以后
come down 下降；落下
8. 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.
词汇
generate ['dʒenəreɪt] v. 产生，引起
interest ['ɪntrəst] n. 利益；兴趣；吸引力；利息
far beyond 远远超出
size [saɪz] n. 大小；大规模；尺码
bring together 集合；使……团结起来
wealth [welθ] n. 财富；钱财；富裕
enormous [ɪ'nɔːməs] a. 巨大的，极大的
ego ['iːɡəʊ] n. 自我价值感；自我
greed [ɡriːd] n. 贪婪；贪食
passion ['pæʃ(ə)n] n. 激情；盛怒；酷爱
controversy ['kɒntrəvɜːsi] n. 争论，辩论
match [mætʃ] v. 与……相匹敌；相同；相配
industry ['ɪndəstri] n. 行业；工业；生产制造
9. In the weeks and months that followed Mr Hirst’s sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable.
词汇
follow ['fɒləʊ] v. 在……后发生；遵循；跟随
spending ['spendɪŋ] n. 开支，花销
sort [sɔːt] n. 种类；某一种人
deeply ['diːpli] ad. 极其；深刻地；至深处
unfashionable [ʌn'fæʃnəbl] a. 过时的；不时兴的
10. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms.
词汇
mean [miːn] v. 意味着；打算；意思是
collector [kə'lektə(r)] n. 收藏家
stay away from 远离
gallery ['ɡæləri] n. 画廊；私家画店
saleroom ['seɪlruːm] n. 拍卖场
11. 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.
词汇
contemporary [kən'temp(ə)rəri] a. 当代的；同一时代的
fall [fɔːl] v. 下降；落下；跌倒
two-thirds 三分之二
overheated [ˌəʊvə'hiːtɪd] a. 过热的；增长过快的；痴迷的
sector ['sektə(r)] n. 部门；区域
nearly ['nɪəli] ad. 将近；几乎；差不多
12. 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.
词汇
auction ['ɔːkʃ(ə)n] n. 拍卖
auction house 拍卖行
pay out 支付
guarantee [ˌɡærən'tiː] n. 保证金；抵押品；担保 v. 保证； 担保
client ['klaɪənt] n. 委托人；当事人
place [pleɪs] v. 安排；放置；归类
13. The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying impressionists at the end of 1989.
词汇
current ['kʌrənt] a. 当前的；通用的，流行的
downturn ['daʊntɜːn] n. 下降；衰退期
worst [wɜːst] a. 最坏的；最糟的
stop doing sth. 停止做某事
impressionist [ɪm'preʃənɪst] n. 印象派画家
at the end of 在……的末端 / 尽头
14. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more fluctuant.
词汇
expert ['ekspɜː(r)t] n. 专家；行家
reckon ['rekən] v. 估算；认为；预计
on average 平均
fluctuant ['flʌktʃʊənt] a. 变动的；波动的
15. But Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive, says:“I’m pretty confident we’re at the bottom.”
词汇
chief [tʃiːf] a. 首席的；主要的
executive [ɪɡ'zekjətɪv] n. 经理；领导层；（政府）行政部门
pretty ['prɪti] ad. 颇；非常
confident ['kɒnfɪdənt] a. 确信的；自信的
at the bottom 在谷底，在底端
16. What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market.
词汇
slump [slʌmp] n. 猛跌；衰退
different ['dɪfrənt] a. 不同的；各种的
last [lɑːst] a. 最后的；上一个的 v. 持续
buyer ['baɪə(r)] n. 买主；采购员
17. 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.
词汇
almost ['ɔːlməʊst] ad. 几乎，差不多
interview ['ɪntəvjuː] v. 记者采访；面试；面谈
special ['speʃ(ə)l] a. 特别的；重要的
report [rɪ'pɔː(r)t] n. 报告；报道 v. 报告；汇报
at the moment 此刻；当前
lack [læk] n. 缺乏，匮乏
demand [dɪ'mɑːnd] n. 需求；要求
18. The three Ds—death, debt and divorce—still deliver works of art to the market.
词汇
death [deθ] n. 死亡；破灭，终止
debt [det] n. 债务；负债情况；人情债
divorce [dɪ'vɔːs] n. 离婚；分离
still [stɪl] ad. 仍然；更 a. 静止的 n. 定格画面
deliver [dɪ'lɪvə(r)] v. 传送；发表；兑现；接生
19. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.
词汇
keep away 远离
wait for 等待
confidence ['kɒnfɪdəns] n. 信心；信任；把握
return [rɪ'tɜːn] v. 恢复；返回；带回