영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

For decades, productivity advice has focused almost entirely on ①managing time efficiently, yet many experts now argue this approach overlooks something important. This alternative approach, ②known as energy management, suggests that controlling personal energy matters more than controlling the clock. Unlike time, which flows at a constant rate, human energy naturally rises and falls in cycles ③shaped by sleep, food, and mental fatigue. A person who tackles difficult tasks during a low-energy period, for instance, may need two hours ④to finish what takes thirty minutes at peak energy. Similarly, someone who forces themselves to keep working without rest often ⑤produce careless mistakes that require additional time to correct later.

As more businesses move their operations online, cyberattacks ①have become one of the most serious threats facing modern companies. Hackers now target everything from small retail websites to massive financial institutions, ②stealing sensitive data or demanding ransom payments. These specialists design systems ③that detect suspicious activity, patch vulnerabilities before criminals can exploit them, and train employees to recognize phishing attempts. Unlike many technical fields, cybersecurity requires constant learning, ④since hackers continually develop new methods to bypass existing defenses. Universities have responded by creating specialized degree programs, while many companies now ⑤offers scholarships to attract students into this growing field.

Exercise does far more than strengthen muscles and the heart; it also produces ①measurable changes within the brain itself. During sustained physical activity, the body releases a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which supports the growth of new neurons and ②strengthens connections between existing ones, particularly in regions associated with memory and learning. Studies comparing physically active students to sedentary peers have repeatedly found that the active group performs ③better on tests of attention and problem-solving, even when the exercise session ends well before the test begins. Researchers believe that exercise increases blood flow to the brain, delivering oxygen and nutrients more efficiently, while also ④raising levels of stress hormones that can interfere with clear thinking. Interestingly, aerobic activities such as running or swimming appear to produce more ⑤pronounced cognitive benefits than purely strength-based training.

For decades, athletes were taught to stretch a muscle and hold the position before any competition, believing that this practice alone would ①prevent injury. Recent research, however, has complicated that assumption considerably. Static stretching, in which a muscle is held at its longest length for an extended period, can actually ②reduce the muscle's ability to generate explosive force immediately afterward, which is troubling for sprinters or jumpers who need maximum power right away. Dynamic stretching, which involves controlled, repeated movement through a joint's full range of motion, appears to ③prepare muscles for activity without this temporary weakening effect. As a result, many coaches now recommend ④saving static stretching for after a workout, when it may help restore muscle length and reduce soreness, while reserving dynamic movements for the warm-up period before intense effort begins. The right technique, in other words, depends heavily on ⑤chance.

Time-management researchers frequently mention a principle known as Parkinson's Law, which states that work ①expands to fill the time available for its completion. According to this idea, a task that could be finished in one hour will often stretch to fill an entire afternoon if that much time is scheduled for it. Students who set ②vague deadlines frequently experience this effect, spending extra hours refining a report that was already ③complete. Employees given a full week for a simple project may also delay meaningful progress until the final days, even though the actual work requires far ④more effort. This pattern happens partly because people unconsciously adjust their pace to match perceived urgency. Setting shorter, more specific deadlines can ⑤counter this tendency, forcing tasks to fit within a tighter and more realistic window.

Until last spring, Minji rarely thought twice about tossing a paper cup into the trash after finishing her coffee. _______________. That changed when her class was assigned a documentary about plastic waste drifting through the ocean, footage she initially expected to find boring. Instead, watching seabirds mistake plastic fragments for food left her strangely unsettled, and she found herself thinking about the assignment long after class ended. The next morning, almost without deciding to, she slipped her old tumbler into her backpack instead of buying a disposable cup on the way to school. It felt like a small, meaningless gesture at first. However, as weeks passed, she realized that consistently choosing the tumbler, declining a plastic straw, and reusing a shopping bag were quietly adding up. Small choices, she discovered, become meaningful once repeated.

Recovering from a serious sports injury involves far more than simply waiting for torn tissue to heal; it requires a carefully structured program that gradually reintroduces stress to the affected area. Immediately after an injury, rest and gentle range-of-motion exercises help prevent stiffness. As pain subsides, therapists introduce light resistance training, slowly rebuilding strength in muscles that have weakened from disuse. Progressing too quickly at this stage is a common mistake, since _______________. Only after strength and flexibility approach pre-injury levels do specialists introduce sport-specific drills that mimic the exact movements an athlete will face in competition.

When people encounter solid scientific evidence about climate change, we might expect them to accept it without hesitation. However, many individuals still dismiss or downplay such evidence, and psychologists explain this pattern through a concept called motivated reasoning. Motivated reasoning refers to _______________. For example, a person whose livelihood depends on the fossil fuel industry may unconsciously search for reasons to doubt climate data, even while claiming to value scientific accuracy. This happens because accepting uncomfortable facts can threaten a person's sense of self or demand costly lifestyle changes. Therefore, simply presenting more data rarely persuades a committed skeptic. Instead, experts suggest connecting climate information to values the person already holds, such as family safety or economic stability, so that acceptance feels natural rather than threatening.

VO2 max, defined as the maximum volume of oxygen a person's body can consume and use during intense exercise, is widely regarded as one of the best single indicators of cardiorespiratory fitness. (A) Elite endurance athletes typically post VO2 max values far higher than those of untrained individuals, reflecting hearts that pump larger volumes of blood and muscles that extract oxygen with remarkable efficiency. (B) While genetics accounts for a substantial portion of an individual's potential VO2 max, consistent aerobic training can still raise the measurement considerably over months of dedicated effort. (C) It is worth noting, however, that a high VO2 max does not guarantee success in competition, since other factors such as pacing strategy and mental resilience also play a decisive role.

주어진 문장: Because the number of likes a post will receive is never guaranteed, every notification carries a small element of suspense. Psychologists have long studied a mechanism called the variable reward schedule, in which rewards arrive unpredictably rather than after every single action. ( ① ) Slot machines famously exploit this principle, and social media notifications operate on strikingly similar logic. ( ② ) When someone posts a photo, they cannot predict exactly when likes will appear, nor how many they will eventually receive. ( ③ ) This uncertainty triggers a small burst of dopamine each time the phone is checked, regardless of whether the result is disappointing or thrilling. ( ④ ) Consequently, users often refresh their feeds compulsively, hoping the next check will finally bring a satisfying reward. ( ⑤ ) What makes this troubling is that technology companies deliberately designed notification systems using insights borrowed from gambling research, rather than stumbling upon them by accident. Such practices raise serious ethical questions about manipulating users' brains for profit. Therefore, people must consciously recognize this hidden mechanism and set firm limits on their checking habits.