As is known to us all, baths and bathing have long been considered of medical importance t

As is known to us all, baths and bathing have long been considered of medical importance to man. In Greece there are the ruins of a water system for baths built over 3,000 years ago. The Romans had warm public baths. In some baths, as many 3,000 persons could bathe at the same time.
Treating disease by taking bathing has been popular for centuries. Modern medical bathing first became popular in Europe and by the late 1700’s has also bee popular in the United States.
For many years frequent(经常的) bathing was believed to be bad for one’s health. Ordinary bathing just to keep clean was avoided, and perfume was often used to cover up body smells!
By the 1700’s doctors began to say that soap and water were good for health. They believed that it was good for people to be clean. Slowly, people began to bathe more frequently. During the Victorian Age of the late 19th century, taking a bath on Saturday night became mon.
In the United States ordinary bathing was slow to bee popular. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans were known as “The Great Unwashed!” In one American city, for example, a person was only allowed to take a bathe every thirty days! That was a law!
Frequency of bathing today is partly a matter of habit. People know that bathing for cleanliness is important to health, Doctors know that dirty bodies increase the chance of diseases. As a result, in the United States, people generally bathe often. Some people bath once a day at least. They consider a daily bath essential (=necessary) to good health.
【小题1】 A water system for baths was built by      over 3,000 years ago.A．the GreeksB．the RomansC．the AmericansD．the Europeans【小题2】In the 18th century doctors believed that being clean was     .A．good for healthB．unimportantC．harmfulD．important【小题3】The underlined word perfume probably means     .A．a strange smelling substanceB．good healthC．a sweet smelling substanceD．large wealth【小题4】Which of the following gives the main idea of the passage?A．Everybody inAmericatakes a daily bath.B．A bath a day keeps the doctor away.C．Bathing has bee easier and cheaper.D．Taking baths has bee popular in the world.A