Art from the private collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen fetched over $1.6 billion this week to become the largest single-owner sale in auction(拍卖) history. 

Works by Georges Seurat, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Gustav Klimt all sold for over $100 million across a record-breaking two nights at Christie’s in New York. Spanning 500 years of art history, art from Allen’s collection was offered on Wednesday and Thursday, with all the profits going to charity, the auction house said. Christie’s had initially estimated that the 150-plus works would sell for a combined $1 billion, but the landmark sum was exceeded even before the conclusion of day one.

After spending several decades assembling his collection, Allen lent works to museums around the world, including The National Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts in London and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibition “Seeing Nature” based on his collection, toured the US in 2016 and 2017 with stops at the Seattle Museum of Art and Minneapolis Institute of Arts, among others.

Allen died in 2018 from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma(非何杰金淋巴瘤) at age 65. “(Allen) was collecting all the way up until the year that he passed away,” Johanna Flaum, a vice chairman of 20th and 21st century art at Christie’s, said ahead of the sale. “It’s hard to say there’s one specific principle for a collection that spans 500 years of the greatest works of Western art,” Max Carter, another vice chairman of 20th and 21st century art at Christie’s, said. “But I think, to an extent, you can—he was looking at artists who looked at the world a different way, and who were... looking ahead to the future.”

Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, said in a press statement ahead of the sale that, to her brother, art was “both analytical(分析的) and emotional.” “He believed that art expressed a unique view of reality—combining the artist’s inner state and inner eye—in a way that can inspire us all,” she said. “His collection reflects the diversity of his interests, with their own mystery and beauty.”

1.What does the underlined sentence mean?

A These collections’ value goes beyond history.

B The prediction of the auction house became reality.

C The auction result was beyond expectation.

D The best-known work was sold on day one.

解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据第一段的“fetched over $1.6 billion”和划线部分的“had initially estimated”及“but”“even”等关键词可知，佳士得拍卖行本来预计保罗·艾伦的150多幅收藏品可能会拍出10亿，但没想到在第一天结束前就达到了10亿，即拍卖的结果出乎意料。故选C。

2.What can we know about Paul G. Allen’s collecting?

A He assembled countless collections.

B He once sold his collections to museums.

C He never stopped his collecting until 2018.

D He held the exhibition “Seeing Nature” in 2016.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第四段第一、二句可知，艾伦于2018年逝世，他一生收藏，从未停止，直至逝世那年。故选C。

3.What does Max Carter think of Allen’s preference for collection?

A Realistic.

B Changeless.

C Unpredictable.

D Future-oriented.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据第四段的“who looked at the world a different way, and who were... looking ahead to the future”可知，Max Carter认为艾伦更偏向于收藏那些着眼于未来的艺术家的作品。故选D。

4.What can we know about Paul G. Allen from what Jody Allen said?

A He was both emotional and practical.

B He believed art was diverse and colorful.

C He owned his own beauty and mystery.

D He thought artists encouraged us through works.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据最后一段的“art expressed a unique view of reality—combining the artist’s inner state and inner eye—in a way that can inspire us all”可知，保罗·艾伦认为艺术以激励人的方式，结合了艺术家的内心状态和内在眼光，表达了一种对现实的独特看法。故选D。