The pair of Nike Air Ships that Michael Jordan wore during his first season with the Chicago Bulls sold for nearly $1.5 million at an auction(拍卖). The shoes were estimated to sell between $1 million to 1.5 million before the auction. The shoes were sold to collector Nick Fiorella for $1.47 million.

That sets a new world record for the highest price achieved for a pair of sneakers(运动鞋) at auction, according to Sotheby’s auction house. The auction broke the last record of a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s selling for $560,000 last year. The shoes also became the first pair of sneakers to sell for more than $1 million at auction.

The Nike Air Ship shoes were what Jordan played in before Nike gave him his own line(款式) of clothing and shoes. In 1984, Nike gave Jordan a signature(签名) line of shoes and clothes to make him work together with the sports company. Jordan made a five-year sneaker deal with Nike in 1984, with a pay of $500,000 every year. The “Air Jordan” was born and both Jordan and Nike immediately made a lot of money. As Falk put it: “By the end of year four, Nike hoped to make $3 million in sales. But by the end of year one, they’d made $126 million.”

Jordan wore the shoes that were auctioned on Sunday during his 5th NBA game on Nov. 1, 1984, when the Chicago Bulls experienced a loss against the Denver Nuggets, 113-129. Jordan gave the size 13 shoes to the Denver Nuggets ball boy, Tommie Tim III Lewis, after the game, and they have been kept in “good general condition”—according to Sotheby’s—ever since.

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1.What does the underlined word “estimated” mean in Chinese?

A 出售.

B 估价.

C 出价.

D 购买.

解析：选B。B 词义猜测题。根据estimated定位到第一段最后两句，可知拍卖前，这双鞋estimated的价格是在100万到150万美元之间，可知当时并没有交易，而只是进行估价，最后的成交价是147万美元。故选B。

2.How much more were the Nike Air Ships sold than Nike Air Jordan 1s?

A $1 million.

B $1.5 million.

C $1.47 million.

D $0.91 million.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第一段可知，Nike Air Ships拍卖价为1,470,000美元（$1.47 million），根据第二段可知Nike Air Jordan 1s拍卖价为$560,000（$0.56million），即多拍卖了910,000美元（$0.91 million），故选D。

3.What can we infer from Paragraph three?

A Jordan got the Nike Air Ships after 1984.

B In 1984 Jordan earned an annual pay of $500,000.

C “Air Jordan” made Jordan and Nike earn much money.

D By the end of the year four, Nike made $126 million.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第三段第一句可知，这双Nike Air Ship鞋在1984年耐克签约乔丹之前，乔丹已经穿着这双鞋了；1984年乔丹和耐克签订了一个为期五年，年薪50万美元的运动鞋合同之后，“Air Jordan”诞生了，这让耐克和乔丹都赚了一大笔；耐克原计划四年赚三百万美元，结果第一年底就赚了1.26亿美元。综上，只有C项正确，故选C。

4.Who owned the Nike Air Ship shoes before the auction?

A The Chicago Bulls.

B A player in Jordan’s team.

C The Denver Nuggets.

D Tommie Tim III Lewis.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第四段第二句Jordan gave the size 13 shoes to the Denver Nuggets ball boy, Tommie Tim III Lewis...可知，乔丹把那双球鞋送给了对手球队(the Denver Nuggets)的球童Tommie Tim III Lewis，即拍卖前应该是他拥有这双鞋，故选D。

5.What can be the best title of the passage?

A The Birth of Air Jordan.

B Michael Jordan’s Shoes at Auction.

C The Introduction of Michael Jordan.

D Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

解析：选B。B 主旨大意题。根据全文内容可知，文章围绕乔丹新秀赛季的球鞋Nike Air Ships的拍卖展开，故选B。