奇速英語國際教育研究院

Art from the private collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen fetched over $1.6 billion this week to become the largest single-owner sale in auction（拍賣） history.

Works by Georges Seurat， Paul Cézanne， Vincent van Gogh， Paul Gauguin and Gustav Klimt all sold for over $100 million across a record-breaking two nights at Christie’s in New York. Spanning 500 years of art history， art from Allen’s collection was offered on Wednesday and Thursday， with all the profits going to charity， the auction house said. Christie’s had initially estimated that the 150-plus works would sell for a combined $1 billion， but the landmark sum was exceeded even before the conclusion of day one.

After spending several decades assembling his collection， Allen lent works to museums around the world， including The National Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts in London and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibition “Seeing Nature” based on his collection， toured the US in 2016 and 2017 with stops at the Seattle Museum of Art and Minneapolis Institute of Arts， among others.

Allen died in 2018 from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma（非霍奇金淋巴瘤） at age 65. “（Allen） was collecting all the way up until the year that he passed away，” Johanna Flaum， a vice chairman of 20th and 21st century art at Christie’s， said ahead of the sale. “It’s hard to say there’s one specific principle for a collection that spans 500 years of the greatest works of Western art，” Max Carter， another vice chairman of 20th and 21st century art at Christie’s， said. “But I think， to an extent， you can—he was looking at artists who looked at the world a different way， and who were... looking ahead to the future.”

Allen’s sister， Jody Allen， said in a press statement ahead of the sale that， to her brother， art was “both analytical（分析的） and emotional.” “He believed that art expressed a unique view of reality—combining the artist’s inner state and inner eye—in a way that can inspire us all，” she said. “His collection reflects the diversity of his interests， with their own mystery and beauty.”

1.What does the underlined sentence mean？

A.These collections’ value goes beyond history.

B.The prediction of the auction house became reality.

C.The auction result was beyond expectation.

D.The best-known work was sold on day one.

2.What can we know about Paul G. Allen’s collecting？

A.He assembled countless collections.

B.He once sold his collections to museums.

C.He never stopped his collecting until 2018.

D.He held the exhibition “Seeing Nature” in 2016.

3.What does Max Carter think of Allen’s preference for collection？

A.Realistic.

B.Changeless.

C.Unpredictable.

D.Future-oriented.

4.What can we know about Paul G. Allen from what Jody Allen said？

A.He was both emotional and practical.

B.He believed art is diverse and colorful.

C.He owned his own beauty and mystery.

D.He thought artists encourage us through works.

參考答案：1.C 2.C 3.D 4.D