媒体英语会带大家一起学习BBC撰稿人在报道世界大事时常用到的单词和短语。

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Background: 一种非常罕见的可食用的菌类也就是我们常说的意大利白松露或白松露前不久在东京的一个拍卖会上与大家见面。一个重为一公斤的松露以三万美元的最高价被拍走，然而这个价格却远远比不上去年竞拍的价格，由此看来松露销售市场也没有能逃脱信贷危机的风波。

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White truffles 白松露 have been described by one famous chef as the diamond of the kitchen.

They are almost as expensive as precious stones because they are extremely hard to find, growing underground 地下 beneath certain trees.

Some of the rarest truffle specimens were auctioned 被拍卖 at a VIP dinner in Tokyo attended by sumo wrestlers 相扑运动员 and beauty queens 选美皇后.

The biggest one, found in Italy, was bought by a Japanese millionaire with a chain 连锁 of fashion shops.

He paid $30,000 for it and intends to eat with a bowl of rice.

However, the prices were way down on 下降 a similar truffle auction last year, when an even bigger truffle was bought for $300,000 in China.

The economy of Japan is thought to be heading for recession 衰退 and the auctioneers say that's why prices have dropped.

Nevertheless, tickets for the auction cost hundreds of dollars apiece and the hotel was packed 挤满了 with guests, who were of course served truffle sauce 松露汁 with their dinner.