영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

Until last spring, Minji rarely thought twice about ①tossing a paper cup into the trash after finishing her coffee. Environmental issues seemed distant, something scientists and politicians should handle rather than an ordinary student like her. That changed when her class was assigned a documentary about plastic waste drifting through the ocean, footage she initially ②expected finding boring. Instead, watching seabirds mistake plastic fragments for food ③left her strangely unsettled, and she found herself thinking about the assignment long after class ended. The next morning, almost without deciding to, she ④slipped 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, ⑤declining a plastic straw, and reusing a shopping bag were quietly adding up. Small choices, she discovered, become meaningful once repeated.

Setting a goal such as 'I will study harder' rarely ①leads to meaningful improvement. According to psychologists Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, specific and challenging goals ②produce far better performance than vague or easy ones. This idea, known as goal-setting theory, suggests ③that clear targets direct attention and sustain effort over time. To apply this theory effectively, many educators recommend the SMART framework, which ④require goals to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Because the goal includes a clear number and a deadline, progress becomes easy ⑤to track and evaluate.

The planning fallacy describes the tendency to ①underestimate how long a task will take, even when experience suggests otherwise. Psychologists who studied this bias found that people focus mainly on an ②idealized, best-case version of a project. They focus less on how similar projects actually unfolded before. Large construction projects offer another example. Officials frequently predict completion dates that later prove far too ③optimistic once delays appear. One reason this bias persists is that people ④rarely review their history of missed deadlines, relying instead on hopeful imagination. By anchoring predictions to real outcomes, planners can produce estimates that are considerably more ⑤inaccurate.

Have you ever felt a ①boring class lasted forever while an exciting weekend disappeared in an instant? This common experience reflects what psychologists call the distortion of time perception: subjective time can differ from actual clock time. Researchers explain that people who focus intensely on an enjoyable activity process fewer separate moments, so time seems to pass ②slowly. In contrast, bored or anxious people pay ③closer attention to each moment, making time feel as though it is dragging. When people become deeply ④engaged in a task, they often lose track of time, unaware of how many minutes have passed. For example, athletes and musicians often say that hours felt like minutes while they were fully ⑤absorbed in performance.

The twenty-hour rule proposes that years of practice are not needed to become skilled at a new activity. Only about twenty hours of effort are needed to reach a ①worthless level. Unlike theories claiming true mastery requires ten thousand hours, this rule targets a more ②modest goal. That goal is simple competence for everyday use. According to supporters, practicing any new skill produces the ③fastest visible improvement, since a beginner has room to grow. Advocates emphasize that the twenty hours must be ④deliberate and focused, broken into short daily sessions rather than one long stretch. The hours should be aimed at fixing weaknesses rather than ⑤repeating what one already knows.

Psychologist Roy Baumeister proposed a concept called ego depletion theory, which suggests that willpower functions like a muscle that gradually ①strengthens after repeated use. According to this theory, every act of self-control, from resisting a snack to concentrating on difficult homework, draws from the same ②limited mental resource. As this resource becomes ③depleted throughout the day, later decisions require more effort and are more likely to fail. For instance, someone who exercises discipline avoiding distractions all morning may ④struggle to resist checking a phone by evening. Likewise, dieters report that self-control weakens sharply at night, after hours of resisting food. Some researchers argue that short breaks, adequate sleep, and blood sugar levels can help ⑤restore this depleted resource.

Choice architecture refers to how decisions are designed. It determines which option is automatically selected unless a person chooses otherwise, known as the default option. Research consistently shows that ___________, even when changing it takes only seconds. Organ donation is a well-known example. Countries where citizens are automatically registered as donors unless they opt out show much higher donation rates than opt-in countries. Retirement savings programs show a similar pattern, since employees automatically enrolled in a pension plan rarely cancel it. Voluntary sign-ups, in contrast, often delay indefinitely. Critics argue that default options can be manipulated to benefit companies rather than individuals, so transparency about how defaults are chosen becomes essential. Still, supporters insist that because some default must always exist, it should support people's own long-term interests rather than mere institutional convenience.

Habit researchers often note that people overestimate the role of motivation in daily routines. (A) As a result, they frequently give up soon after starting, blaming themselves for lacking discipline. (B) In contrast, Fogg's framework suggests that shrinking the task itself is more effective than boosting motivation. (C) Because motivation naturally rises and falls, relying on it alone often leads to inconsistent effort.

Many self-help books emphasize the cue-routine-reward loop as a tool for building better habits. (A) For example, athletes who want to build a stretching habit often rely on a specific cue, such as arriving at the gym, to trigger the same short routine every time. (B) Over time, this consistent pairing strengthens the neural pathway connecting the cue to the routine, making the behavior feel almost automatic. (C) According to this model, every habit consists of three connected parts: a cue that triggers behavior, a routine that follows, and a reward that reinforces it.

The Zeigarnik effect has practical applications beyond the classroom and the restaurant industry. (A) This same tension applies to everyday tasks, since starting a small step can create a similar pull toward finishing. (B) Advertisers, for example, often design commercials that end abruptly, leaving viewers curious about the outcome. (C) For this reason, productivity experts often recommend beginning a task immediately, even for just a few minutes, rather than postponing it.