3. Read and translate the text: Body piercing

Body piercing is a form of body modification. It involves piercing a part of the human body and subsequently inserting and keeping a foreign object in the opening until the wound heals. This forms a tunnel of skin around the foreign object, thus creating a suitable place for wearing different types of body piercing jewelry. The term "piercing" typically refers to this hole. One example of this process is the common ear piercing. This procedure is so simple and mainstream that some people do not even think of it as body piercing.

Body piercing has been common among most cultures throughout history other than some puritan eras. In many cultures, piercing is part of religious tradition, while in others, it is non-religious tradition. In more recent times, body piercing in industrialized cultures has emerged from the underground and become visible (though it was always present). It is performed for various reasons: aesthetics, sensations, self-image, or occasionally shock value.

Piercing the body carries with it a number of risks, most notably the risk of infection and the risk of delayed healing. The risk of infection varies; good sterile practice greatly reduces it, whereas the risk is considerable with "do-it-yourself" piercing. An infection can ONLY be treated with antibiotics from a doctor. An infection can generally be self-diagnosed as hot to the touch, very sore and tender, smells funny and excreting a brown/green pus. Infections are commonly confused with simple irritation to the piercing. All piercing sites should be kept clean until they are healed. Peroxide or bactine should never be used to clean any piercing. The piercing healing time varies depending on what sort of piercing has been performed.

3. Read and translate the text: The origins of piercing

Piercing has ancient origins. The oldest mummified body in the world discovered in an Austrian glacier was found to have an ear piercing 7–11 mm in diameter. Nose piercing is mentioned in the Bible. In Genesis 24:22 Abraham gave an earring to Rebekah, wife of his son Isaac. Nose piercing reached India in the 16th century and rapidly became accepted

Tongue piercing was popular with the elite of Aztec and Maya civilization; it was carried out as part ceremony blood ritual, not to insert jewelry. Ancient Mesoamericans did pierce ears, nose, and lower lips for jewelry, practices still popular amongst indigenous peoples in these regions. In Dreamtime by Hans Peter Duerr, it is claimed that nipple piercing became popular in 14^th century Europe. On many websites it is claimed that the Romans invented nipple piercing and that soldiers attached their capes to the piercings. There is some debate about this as it is much more plausible that capes may have been hung from rings attached to their armor.

Piercing in industrialized civilizations

In the United States, ear piercing for females was long the only common piercing. Other body piercings were popularized by Jim Ward and his piercing shop, The Gauntlet, which opened in 1975 in Los Angeles. Since piercing has become more common and widespread, many new piercings have been developed that do not have a history or precedent.

Some regard body piercing as a kind of artistic expression, others as a form of sexual expression