綜合類考試：閱讀理解Ceremonial bathing
Ceremonial bathing1 has existed for thousands of years and has many forms， one of which is the sauna. The Finns have perfected the steam bath， or sauna， which may be taken， usually in an enclosed room， by pouring water over hot rocks or as dry heat bath. The Japanese， Greeks， Turks and Russians as well as Native Americans have forms of the sweat bath in their bathing rituals. Dry heat and steam baths had advocates in ancient Rome and pre-Columbian Americans2 used sweat lodges.
The earliest saunas were probably underground caves heated by a fire that naturally filled with smoke as chimney making was unknown at that time. A fire kept in a fire-pit3 would heat the rock walls of the cave. After reaching full heat， the smoke was let out of the cave and the stones would retain heat for several hours. A few people today say that the smoke sauna， “svusauna”， is the only true sauna experience and that all saunas should have at least a background odor or smoke. Today most saunas use electric stoves， although gas and wood-burning stoves are available.
Saunas are relaxing and stress relieving4. Those with muscle aches or arthritis may find that the heat relaxes muscles and relieves pain and inflammation. Asthma patients find that the heat enlarges air passageways of the lung and facilitates breathing. Saunas do not cure the common cold but they may help to alleviate congestion and speed recovery time5. The body’s core temperature usually rises a 1-2 degrees while in the sauna， thus imitating6 a slight fever7. The regular use of a sauna may decrease the likelihood of getting a cold in the first place.
Sauna is goof for your skin as the blood flow to the skin increases and sweating occurs. Adults sweat about 2 lbs8 of water per hour on average in a sauna. A good sweat removes dirt and grime from pores and gives the skin a healthy glow. The loss in water weight is temporary as the body’s physiological mechanisms will quickly restore proper volumes. The cardiovascular system9 gets work out10 as the heart must pump harder and faster to move blood to the surface for heat exchange. Heart rate may increase from 72 beats per minute on average to 100-150 beats per minute.
A normal heart can handle these stresses but those with heart trouble wishing to begin to use a sauna should seek a doctor’s advice. The elderly and those with diabetes should check with their doctor prior to beginning to take saunas. Pregnant women should not take saunas， particularly in the first three months. Indeed， everyone just starting out should take short sessions11 at first to become accustomed to this type of bath.
詞匯：
sauna [‘saun？，’s？：n？] n. (芬蘭式)蒸汽浴，桑拿浴
congestion [k？n’d？est∫？n] n. 阻塞；擁塞
odor [‘？ud？] n. 氣味，味道 grime [ɡraim] n. 污垢；塵垢
arthritis [ɑ：’θraitis] n. 關節炎
cardiovascular [？kɑ：di？u’væskjul？] adj. 心血管的
inflammation [？infl？’mei∫？n] n. 炎(癥) asthma [‘æsm？] n. 氣喘
diabetes [？dai？’bi：ti：z，-ti：s] n. 糖尿病
注釋：
1. ceremonial bathing ： 儀式性的沐浴。許多宗教都有這種以沐浴作為儀式的習俗。
2. pre-Columbian Americans ：哥倫布前的美洲人。Columbian 是Columbus 的形容詞形式，意思是“哥倫布的”：pre-是前綴，意思是：在……前。Pre- Columbian Americans，其完整的意思是：哥倫布發現美洲大陸前的美洲人。
3. fire-pit： 火槽
4. relaxing and stress relieving ：能使人放松并消除壓力
5. alleviate congestion and speed recovery time ：減輕充血，加快痊愈
6. imitate ：to appear like;resemble;像；；類似
7. feed a cold， starve a fever：【諺】傷風時宜吃，發熱時宜餓；傷風不怕吃，熱病不怕餓。
8. lb：pound (磅)的縮寫形式
9. cardiovascular system ：心血管系統
10. a work out ： 做名詞用，意為“運動，鍛煉”。
11. sessions ：(做某事或進行某活動的)一段時間