Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asked the crowed assembled in the auction-room to make offers, or “bids”, for the various items on sale. He encourages buyers to bid higher figures and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods. This is called “knocking down” the goods, for the bidding ends when the auctioneer bangs a small hammer on a table at which he stands. This is often set on a raised platform called a rostrum.
The ancient Romans probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin Autcio, meaning “increase.” The Romans usually sold in this way the spoils taken in war; these sales were called subhasta, meaning “under the spear,” a spear being stuck in the ground as a signal for a crowd to gather, In English in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, goods were often sold “by the candle”; a short candle was lit by the auctioneer, and bids could be made while it stayed alight.
Practically all goods whose qualities vary are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, hides, skins, wool, tea, cocoa, furs, spices, fruit and vegetables and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, antique furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art. The auction-rooms as Christie’s and Sotheby’s in London and New York are world-famous.
An auction is usually advertised beforehand with full particulars of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by prospective buyers. If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues are printed, and each group of goods to be sold together, called a “lot,” is usually given a number. The auctioneer need not begin with Lot I and continue in numerical order; he may wait until he registers the fact that certain dealers are in the room and then produce the lots they are likely to be interested in. The auctioneer’s services are paid for in the form of a percentage of the price the goods are sold for. The auctioneer therefore has a direct interest in pushing up the bidding as high as possible.
Why is the end of the bidding called “knocking down”?
由文章第一段倒数第二句：for the bidding ends when the auctioneer bangs a small hammer on a table at which he stands可知，当拍卖成功时，拍卖商会用一个小锤子敲一下桌子，D选项正确。
关于绒毛膜癌及侵蚀性葡萄胎的临床分期，II期是指（）
28岁已婚女性，2年前因输卵管妊娠切除右侧输卵管，继发不孕2年，现停经40天，阴道流血10天，尿HCG(+)，B超提示右侧输卵管妊娠3cm×2cm×2cm，盆腔无积液。选择哪种治疗为宜
40岁已婚育妇女，因停经50天，下腹剧烈疼痛2小时急诊。检查：血压70/50mmHg，腹部移动浊音(+)，剖腹探查见左输卵管妊娠破裂型，左输卵管包裹于血块中。选择哪种治疗为宜
40岁已婚育女性，因"先兆流产"做流产刮宫术，术中发现为宫颈妊娠，大量流血，经注射止血药，局部填塞等措施仍血流如注，血压80/60mmHg。此时宜选择哪种治疗
36岁已婚女性，停经45天，阴道流血7天，下腹剧烈疼痛2小时入院。检查：患者面色苍白，腹部移动浊音(+)。剖腹探查诊断为卵巢妊娠，选择哪种治疗方法为宜
最常见的异常胎位是
初产妇，规律宫缩8小时，阴道检查宫口开全，先露部位于坐骨棘水平以下2cm，矢状缝与骨盆横径一致，小囟门位于母体的右侧，胎位是
对母儿危害最大的异常胎位是
胎儿纵轴与母体纵轴平行，先露部宽大而软，胎位是
胎儿枕骨位于母体骨盆左后方，胎位是
