Auctionsarepublicsalesofgoods,conductedbyanofficiallyapprovedauctioneer.Heaskedthecrowedassembledintheauction-roomtomakeoffers,or“bids”,forthevariousitemsonsale.Heencouragesbuyerstobidhigherfiguresandfinallynamesthehighestbidderasthebuyerofthegoods.Thisiscalled“knockingdown”thegoods,forthebiddingendswhentheauctioneerbangsasmallhammeronatableatwhichhestands.Thisisoftensetonaraisedplatformcalledarostrum. TheancientRomansprobablyinventedsalesbyauction,andtheEnglishwordcomesfromtheLatinAutcio,meaning“increase.”TheRomansusuallysoldinthiswaythespoilstakeninwar;thesesaleswerecalledsubhasta,meaning“underthespear,”aspearbeingstuckinthegroundasasignalforacrowdtogather,InEnglishintheeighteenthandnineteenthcenturies,goodswereoftensold“bythecandle”;ashortcandlewaslitbytheauctioneer,andbidscouldbemadewhileitstayedalight. Practicallyallgoodswhosequalitiesvaryaresoldbyauction.Amongthesearecoffee,hides,skins,wool,tea,cocoa,furs,spices,fruitandvegetablesandwines.Auctionsalesarealsousualforlandandproperty,antiquefurniture,pictures,rarebooks,oldchinaandsimilarworksofart.Theauction-roomsasChristie’sandSotheby’sinLondonandNewYorkareworld-famous. Anauctionisusuallyadvertisedbeforehandwithfullparticularsofthearticlestobesoldandwhereandwhentheycanbeviewedbyprospectivebuyers.Iftheadvertisementcannotgivefulldetails,cataloguesareprinted,andeachgroupofgoodstobesoldtogether,calleda“lot,”isusuallygivenanumber.TheauctioneerneednotbeginwithLotIandcontinueinnumericalorder;hemaywaituntilheregistersthefactthatcertaindealersareintheroomandthenproducethelotstheyarelikelytobeinterestedin.Theauctioneer’sservicesarepaidforintheformofapercentageofthepricethegoodsaresoldfor.Theauctioneerthereforehasadirectinterestinpushingupthebiddingashighaspossible. Acandleusedtoburnatauctionsales_____.
A.because they took place at night
B.as a signal for the crowd to gather
C.to keep the auctioneer warm
D.to limit the time when offers could be made
正确答案是D