Jessica Vincent found a second-hand vase that turned out to be a valuable piece of art. Her discovery began with a visit to a thrift store. As she looked at the shelves, a particular glass vase caught her eye. Attracted by its unique design, she decided to take a chance and purchased it for a mere $3.99. Little did she realize that this vase held a secret history.

Upon bringing her discovery home, Vincent observed an “M” on the vase, which she speculated represented Murano, the famous Italian island celebrated for its glass factories. Eager to find out the vase’s origins, she shared a photo of it with an Italian glass collecting group on Facebook. The group quickly recommended reaching out to Wright Auction (拍卖) House in Chicago, because they had the experience in hosting Italian glass auctions for over a decade.

Later, Vincent received confirmation from the founder of Wright Auction House, Richard Wright, that the vase was crafted by Carlo Scarpa, a remarkable Italian architect. The glass masterpiece belonged to Scarpa’s exclusive (独家) “Pennellate” series, designed in the 1940s. The name “Pennellate”, meaning brushstroke in Italian, exactly described the technique employed in crafting these fine pieces. The “Pennellate” series is characterized by the complex process of adding colored opaque (不透明的) glass during the blowing of the piece. Scarpa’s innovative approach made these pieces exceptionally challenging to create, contributing to their rarity and high value. 

Bidders from around the world compete for the chance to own a piece of Scarpa’s artistic work. The rare vase was sold to an unknown private art collector in Europe for $107,100.

“The money means so much to us and will do so much for our lives and for our future together,” Vincent said. “This has been a real blessing, and I’m so happy that the vase is going somewhere where it can be safe and fully appreciated.”

1.What can we know from Para. 1?

A The color of the vase.

B The designer of the vase.

C The purchasing price of the vase.

D The previous owner of the vase.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第一段倒数第二句的“purchased it for a mere $3.99”可知，这个花瓶的购买价格是3.99美元。故选C。

2.What does the underlined word “speculated” mean?

A Guessed.

B Investigated.

C Conducted.

D Quoted.

解析：选A。A词义猜测题。根据划线部分后面的“Eager to find out the vase’s origins, she shared a photo of it with an Italian glass collecting group on Facebook.”可知，文森特进一步研究了这只好看花瓶后，注意到瓶子底部有一个很小的“M”，为了弄清花瓶的起源，她在脸书上与一个意大利玻璃收藏团体分享了一张花瓶的照片，由此可知，她一开始是猜测这个花瓶可能来自意大利以玻璃制品著称的慕拉诺岛。故选A。

3.What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?

A The creative inspiration of vase.

B The history behind the vase.

C The challenge Carlo Scarpa met.

D The methods Richard Wright adopted.

解析：选B。B段落大意题。该段主要描述了这个花瓶的相关制作背景，即它背后的历史。故选B。

4.How does Vincent feel about the auction of the vase?

A She is unhappy.

B She is frustrated.

C She is proud.

D She is satisfied.

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据最后一段的“The money means so much to us and will do so much for our lives and for our future together”和“This has been a real blessing, and I’m so happy that the vase is going somewhere where it can be safe and fully appreciated.”可知，杰西卡·文森特认为，拍卖花瓶得到的这笔钱对他们来说非常重要，这是一件非常幸运的事，并且她很高兴花瓶能被欣赏它的人得到，并被安全保存。由此可知，她对这个花瓶的拍卖感到非常满意。故选D。