From Floating Saunas to Clinical Trials: How Heat Might Help Mental Health

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which practices are mentioned alongside sauna use?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Yoga and controlled breathing
   2. Cold plunges and winter swimming
   3. Running and strength training
   4. Meditation and dietary restriction
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Cold plunges and winter swimming

   The narration specifically pairs sauna use with cold plunges and winter swimming.

   Often combined with cold plunges or winter swimming, the practice has become part of the wider wellness and longevity movement.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What prompted Hilland to investigate heat and mental health?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A government mandate requiring sauna treatment
   2. A shortage of cardiovascular research
   3. Promising evidence despite significant knowledge gaps
   4. A request from the International Sauna Congress
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Promising evidence despite significant knowledge gaps

   She found gaps but enough encouraging studies to justify further investigation.

   She found substantial gaps in knowledge, although the studies available appeared sufficiently encouraging to warrant further investigation.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How frequently will participants attend sauna sessions?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Once each month
   2. Every weekday
   3. Twice weekly
   4. Only during winter
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Twice weekly

   The trial schedule requires two sessions each week.

   Participants will attend two sessions each week in one of the floating sauna villages that have emerged in Oslo's inner harbor.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which sites are located beside the Opera House and Munch Museum?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Oslo’s university laboratories
   2. Sukkerbiten’s small saunas
   3. The International Sauna Congress halls
   4. The municipality’s research offices
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Sukkerbiten’s small saunas

   The narration identifies Sukkerbiten as the site beside both landmarks.

   At Sukkerbiten, beside the Opera House and the Munch Museum, the Oslo Sauna Association operates a cluster of small saunas in different styles.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the recording say about sauna-related mental-health research?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It is more developed than cardiovascular research
   2. It has received comparatively limited attention
   3. It has conclusively established therapeutic effects
   4. It focuses exclusively on social connection
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It has received comparatively limited attention

   It emphasizes that mental-health effects have received comparatively little research attention.

   Mental health has also received far less research attention than the cardiovascular consequences of sauna use.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What broader significance might Hilland’s study have?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It could determine whether tradition alone proves medical efficacy
   2. It could establish Oslo as the world’s sauna capital
   3. It could test whether communal practice produces defensible benefits
   4. It could replace cardiovascular studies with social research
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It could test whether communal practice produces defensible benefits

   The study could test whether a popular communal practice has scientifically demonstrable benefits.

   It may help clarify whether a popular communal ritual has benefits that can withstand systematic scientific testing.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the narrator qualify the historical association between heat and relief?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To distinguish cultural tradition from medical evidence
   2. To show that heat has never been socially valued
   3. To argue that all traditional practices are harmful
   4. To explain why the trial excludes experienced sauna users
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To distinguish cultural tradition from medical evidence

   Historical associations cannot independently establish a medical effect.

   Heat has historically been linked to relief from psychological suffering in many societies, but tradition alone cannot establish a medical effect.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.