Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He    1    the crowd to gather in the auction room to bid for the various items    2   .  He encourages buyers to bid    3    figures, and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods. This is    4    “knocking down" the goods, for the bidding ends    5    the auctioneer bangs a small hammer on a raised platform.