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A small bowl bought for $35 at a home in Connecticut turned out to be a rare piece of ancient Chinese art. The bowl is worth between $300,000 and $500,000. It will soon go up for sale at an auction—an event at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most. The white bowl has blue paintings of flowers and other designs. It is about 16 centimeters across.

The company holding the auction, Sotheby's, says the object was found at a yard sale in the New Haven area last year. A yard sale is a sale of used objects held at the seller's home. A collector of old objects saw the bowl at the sale and thought it could be something special. The piece is one of only seven such bowls known to exist in the world. It will go up for sale in New York on March 17 as part of Sotheby’s Auction of Important Chinese Art.

The unidentified buyer paid $35 for the bowl and later emailed information and photos to Sotheby’s asking for an estimate of its value. Angela McAteer and Hang Yin, the auction house’s experts on Chinese art, get many such emails every week. But this one was the kind they dream about.

McAteer, Sotheby’s senior vice president and head of its Chinese Works of Art Department, said it was clear that they were looking at something really very, very special. McAteer added, “The style of painting, the shape of the bowl, even just the color of the blue is quite characteristic of that early, early 15th century period of porcelain.” McAteer said all the information helped them identify it as a product of the early Ming period. McAteer said only six other such bowls are known to exist, and most of them are in museums. No others are in the United States.

How the bowl ended up at a Connecticut yard sale remains a mystery. McAteer said it is possible that the bowl was passed down through generations of the same family who did not know how special it was.

1.What can we know about the bowl?

A It is a rare piece of ancient Chinese art.

B It dates back to the Yuan Dynasty.

C It must be worth large sums of money.

D It could be the most expensive bowl in Sotheby’s.

解析：选A。细节理解题。根据文章第一段第一句A small bowl bought for $35 at a home in Connecticut turned out to be a rare piece of ancient Chinese art. The bowl is worth between $300,000 and $500,000. 以及…early 15th century period of porcelain.可知，这个小碗售价仅35美元，原来是一件罕见的中国古代艺术品——15世纪早期的瓷器，这个碗值30万到50万美元之间。由此可见这个碗是一件罕见的中国古代艺术品，故选A。

2.Where did the bowl appear?

A In an auction.

B In a yard sale.

C In an art display.

D In a personal collection.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第二段第一句The company holding the auction, Sotheby's, says the object was found at a yard sale in the New Haven area last year.可知，举办拍卖会的苏富比拍卖行说，这件艺术品是去年在纽黑文地区的一次庭院拍卖会上被发现的，故选B。

3.When was the real value of the bowl revealed?

A When the buyer searched for some information online.

B After the buyer attended an auction about Chinese Art.

C After the buyer turned to Sotheby’s for identification.

D When the buyer chatted with Angela McAteer on the phone.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第三段内容可知，这名身份不明的买家花了35美元买下了这只碗，后来他通过电子邮件向苏富比拍卖行（Sotheby's）发送了相关信息和照片，要求对其价值进行估价，这个碗的真正价值才被揭示出来，故选C。

4.What are the experts still confused about?

A The age of the bowl.

B The origin of the bowl.

C The characteristics of the bowl.

D The real value of this kind of bowl.

解析：选B。推理判断题。根据文章最后一段第一句How the bowl ended up at a Connecticut yard sale remains a mystery.可知，这个碗是如何最终在康涅狄格州的一个庭院拍卖会上出现的仍然是个谜。由此说明专家们对该碗的身世还是一头雾水，故选B。