The name of one of the world's most famous auction houses — a company that sells valuable things, especially art, antiques, rare books, jewellery and wine, by auction, where buyers call out higher and higher prices until nobody will go higher. It was founded in London in the 1740s and now has its main offices in London and New York, with sale rooms in Hong Kong and other cities.

The name of one of the world's most famous auction houses這是世界上最有名的拍賣公司之一的名字 a company that sells valuable things, especially art, antiques, rare books, jewellery and wine, by auction這家公司透過拍賣的方式，賣出貴重的東西，尤其是藝術品、古董、珍本書、珠寶和酒 where buyers call out higher and higher prices until nobody will go higher在拍賣會上，買家會一路喊出越來越高的價錢，直到沒有人願意再加價為止 It was founded in London in the 1740s它在1740年代創立於倫敦 and now has its main offices in London and New York現在總部設在倫敦和紐約 with sale rooms in Hong Kong and other cities在香港和其他城市也有拍賣廳

Two things make the name useful to a learner. First, it almost always appears in a pair with Christie's, its old rival; 'Sotheby's and Christie's' is how English talks about the top end of the art market, the way 'Harvard and Yale' works for universities.

Two things make the name useful to a learner對學習者來說，這個名字有兩點值得注意 First, it almost always appears in a pair with Christie's, its old rival第一，它幾乎總是跟老對手Christie's（佳士得）成對出現 'Sotheby's and Christie's' is how English talks about the top end of the art market'Sotheby's and Christie's'就是英文講藝術市場頂端時的說法 the way 'Harvard and Yale' works for universities就像'Harvard and Yale'用在大學上一樣

Second, the name has become a kind of shorthand for 'extremely expensive and important'. If someone says 'that vase belongs at Sotheby's', they are not booking an auction — they mean the thing is grand, or they are teasing you for treating a cheap object like treasure.

Second, the name has become a kind of shorthand for 'extremely expensive and important'第二，這個名字已經變成一種簡稱，代表'極其昂貴又重要' If someone says 'that vase belongs at Sotheby's'如果有人說'that vase belongs at Sotheby's'（那個花瓶該去蘇富比） they are not booking an auction他們不是在預約拍賣 they mean the thing is grand他們的意思是這東西很了不起 or they are teasing you for treating a cheap object like treasure或者是在虧你把一個便宜貨當成寶貝

Note the apostrophe-s. It is there because the company is named after Mr Sotheby, so the full sense is 'Sotheby's place of business' — the same pattern as 'the dentist's' or 'McDonald's'. Because of that, the -'s is part of the name and never gets dropped, and the word takes a singular verb: 'Sotheby's is selling it', not 'are'.

Note the apostrophe-s注意那個's It is there because the company is named after Mr Sotheby會有's是因為這家公司是以創辦人Sotheby先生的名字命名的 so the full sense is 'Sotheby's place of business'完整的意思其實是'Sotheby's place of business'（Sotheby先生的店） the same pattern as 'the dentist's' or 'McDonald's'跟'the dentist's'（牙醫診所）或'McDonald's'（麥當勞）是同一種模式 Because of that, the -'s is part of the name and never gets dropped正因為如此，這個's是名字的一部分，絕對不能拿掉 and the word takes a singular verb而且這個字要用單數動詞 'Sotheby's is selling it', not 'are'要說'Sotheby's is selling it'，不能說'are'