英语听力精选进阶版 7228

（单词翻译）

Background: 以超人为封面的第一册漫画以2千1百万美金成交，创下漫画书拍卖的世界新纪录。这本初版“动作漫画"是1938年出版的，这次通过美国的一个拍卖网站进行拍卖。

When it appeared on newsstands 73 years ago, the first edition of Action Comics cost just ten cents. The cover design showed a well-built man in blue tights and a red cape¹, smashing a car against a rock.

Superman was introduced to readers as a "champion of the oppressed," who could "run faster than an express train."

Only a hundred copies of that first issue survive. And for comic buffs this one was in breathtakingly good condition.

In an online auction² it fetched a little over $2 million, a world record for a comic. The buyer remains³ anonymous⁴. The seller is rumoured⁵ to have been the actor Nicolas Cage.

Connoisseurs⁷ of the comic world say this type of investment has become popular during troubled economic times because rare collectibles hold their value more reliably than property or shares.

Glossary⁸ 词汇表

a newsstand 报亭，报摊

the cover design 首页设计

the oppressed 受排挤的，受压迫的

a buff 一个对什么事情或东西特别感兴趣的人

to be in breathtakingly good condition 品相令人难以致信的好

to fetch 得到

to be anonymous 匿名，没有公开

a connoisseur⁶ 鉴赏家，行家

a collectible 收藏品

to hold its value 保值

Questions:

1: In which edition of Action Comics did the character Superman appear?

The first edition.

2: How many copies still exist of this edition?

A hundred.

3: True of false? Because of its age the comic is not in a very good state.

False, it's in a "breathtakingly good condition".

4: Who sold the comic?

It's not known. The seller is anonymous but some people think it might be the actor Nicolas Cage.