门士影

海词积累

1. auction n. 拍卖

2. excessive adj. 过度的;过分的

3. transparent adj. 透明的

On Wednesday， May 15， 2019， a  buyer paid slightly over $91 million to acquire American artist Jeff Koons's Rabbit sculpture at Christie's Post-War & Contemporary Art in New York. The price is the highest-ever paid for work by a living artist. Created by Koons in 1986， the three-foot-tall， faceless steel bunny was one of 11 works of art offered at the auction.

The shiny sculpture， which had been displayed in a custom-built room at Christies Rockefeller Center headquarters for two weeks before the auction， was expected to fetch from $50 million to $70 million. However， with five eager buyers， four on the telephone and New York-based art dealer Robert Mnuchin in the room， the price increased rapidly from the original bid price of $40 million. It took Mnuchin 10 minutes and 40 seconds to seal the deal for his customer with an offer of $80 million， or $91 million with Christie's high price.

While paying such a large amount for a “stainless steel bunny” may sound excessive， the Rabbit sculpture is considered as the “holy grail” of Koons's works among some collectors. It has also become somewhat of a cultural icon. The sculpture sold on Wednesday is the only one of the four Rabbits owned by a private collector. The other specimens（樣品） are housed at The Broad Art Foundation in Los Angeles， the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago， and the National Museum of Qatar.

This is not the first time a Koons's creation has broken this record. In November 2013， the artist made history when his orange Balloon Dog —one of five similar stainless steel sculptures each sporting a different transparent color coating—fetched $58.4 million， which at the time was the highest price paid for a piece of art by any living artist.

Reading Check

1. When was the Rabbit sculpture created？

A.In 2019. B.In 1986. C.In 1997. D.In 2013.

2. What does the underlined word mean in the last paragraph？

A.Wearing.     B.Competing.    C.Running.    D.Playing.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

This is not the first time a Koons's creation has broken this record.

【点石成金】本句中的This is not the first time为主句， a Koons's creation has broken this record为从句，其中that被省略。This/It/That be the first/second/third time that...表示“这/那是某人第一/二/三次做某事……”，主句中的be动词若为is，则从句用现在完成时;主句中的be动词若为was，则从句用过去完成时。

【仿写】这是她第一次参观北京。