The 500­year­old painting is called "Salvator Mundi"， Latin for "Saviour of the World". It is one of fewer than 20 da Vinci paintings known to exist.

　　The 66­centimetre­tall painting dates to around 1500. It shows Jesus dressed in Renaissance­style clothing. His right hand is raised in blessing and his left hand is holding a crystal(水晶) ball.

　　The painting was in a private collection of King Charles Ⅰ of England. It disappeared from view until 1900, when a British collector bought it. At that time, it was thought to have been painted by a student of Leonardo rather than the master himself.

　　In 2005, a group of art dealers paid less than $10,000 for the artwork. It was badly damaged and partly painted over. They restored the work and proved that the painting was done by Leonardo da Vinci himself.

　　Before last month's record­breaking sale, the highest known sale price for any artwork had been $300 million for Willem de Kooning's painting "Interchange"．

　　语篇导读　本文讲述了达·芬奇的名画《救世主》以4.5亿美元高价被拍卖的事。

　　4．What can we learn when the painting was sold at the high price?

　　A．The people present were surprised.

　　B．The painting was badly destroyed.

　　C．The buyer and the seller were not known to people.

　　D．People all want to know the buyer's and the seller's names.

　　解析 C　细节理解题。根据第二段第二句可知，买卖双方的名字都没有被公布，即大家都不知道买主和卖方是谁，故选C项。

　　5．How old is the painting "Saviour of the World"？

　　A．500. B．1,000.

　　C．1,500. D．1,900.

　　解析 A　细节理解题。根据第三段第一句可知，这幅画有500年的历史，故选A项。

　　6．What did people think of the painting many years ago?

　　A．It was very valuable.

　　B．It was very special.

　　C．It was painted by Leonardo.

　　D．It was painted by a student of Leonardo.

解析 D　细节理解题。根据倒数第三段最后一句可知，当时人们认为这幅画是达·芬