歷年考研英語(二)真題較少，但是不可掉以輕心，一定要合理利用。為了幫助大家更好地復習，小編為各位同學梳理一下歷年考研英語(二)真題閱讀文章中涉及的要點，包括詞匯、短語、長難句以及簡單的閱讀方法。接下來看一下2010年考研英語(二)真題閱讀Text 1，這篇文章主要探討了藝術品市場和藝術品拍賣的衰退。

　　The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of ... at Sotheby’s in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70 m, 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.

　　bull run“牛市(股市用語，買家多于賣家，價格上漲)”;end on“以...方式結尾”;dramatic“戲劇性的”;note“調子”;sale“銷售額”;Sotheby’s“蘇士比拍賣行”;all but“除..之外全部都”;fetch“賣得”;record“記錄”;victory“勝利”;auctioneer“拍賣商”;call out bid“喊出報價”;file for“申請”;bankruptcy“破產”。

　　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 ... 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.

　　momentum“勢頭”;for a while“暫時”;bewilderingly“令人困惑地”;at one’s peak“處于巔峰時期”;worth“價值”;some“大約”;reckon“估計”;far beyond“遠遠超出”;size“規(guī)模”;bring together“集合”;enormous ego“強烈的自我意識”;greed“貪婪”;controversy“爭論”;be matched by“與...相匹配”。

　　... spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable... collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector ... Within weeks the world’s two biggest auction houses ... had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.

　　spending“花費”;unfashionable“過時的，不時髦的”;collector“收藏家”;stay away from“遠離”;gallery“畫廊”;saleroom“拍賣廳”;contemporary“當代的”;overheated“狂熱的”;sector“部門，行業(yè)”;action house“拍賣行”;pay out“付出(錢)”;guarantee“擔保”;client“客戶”;place“投放”;works“作品”。