영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

To compensate for their carbon emissions, many individuals and companies now ①purchases carbon offsets, financial credits that fund projects such as planting trees or building renewable energy plants. The idea is appealing: paying for an equivalent amount of carbon to be absorbed elsewhere should cancel out the harm caused by activities like flying. However, critics argue that this system often ②functions as a convenient excuse for postponing genuine emission cuts rather than achieving them. For example, a newly planted forest may take decades to absorb the promised carbon, and it could later ③burn down or be cut, erasing any benefit. Moreover, some offset projects would have happened anyway, meaning the credits fund nothing truly ④additional. Therefore, relying heavily on offsets allows businesses ⑤to maintain harmful practices while appearing responsible.

Every cell in the human body follows an internal timer known as the circadian rhythm, a roughly twenty-four-hour cycle ①that governs when we feel alert and when we feel drowsy. This clock is regulated primarily by a tiny cluster of neurons in the brain ②that responds to light entering through the eyes. When morning sunlight strikes the retina, the cluster signals the body ③to suppress sleep hormones and raise body temperature, preparing us for activity. As evening approaches and light fades, the same mechanism triggers the release of melatonin, a hormone ④promotes drowsiness. Because this rhythm evolved around the natural cycle of day and night, modern habits such as staying indoors under artificial light or working night shifts can push the internal clock out of sync with the external environment. Such misalignment does not simply cause tiredness; it has also ⑤been associated with digestive problems and reduced concentration, suggesting that timing matters as much as total sleep hours.

Recovering from a serious sports injury involves far more than simply waiting for torn tissue to heal; it requires a carefully structured program that ①gradually reintroduces stress to the affected area. Immediately after an injury, rest and gentle range-of-motion exercises help prevent stiffness without ②disturbing the healing tissue. As pain subsides, therapists introduce light resistance training, slowly ③weakening strength in muscles that have weakened from disuse. Progressing too quickly at this stage is a common mistake, since tissue that appears healed on the surface may still be ④structurally fragile beneath it. Skipping the final stage, even when an athlete feels fully recovered, dramatically ⑤increases the risk of re-injury.

When the body fights off an infection, the immune system relies heavily on adequate sleep to function ①effectively. During deep sleep, the body produces and releases cytokines, proteins that help ②regulate immune responses and coordinate the fight against harmful invaders. People who consistently sleep fewer than six hours a night show measurably ③weaker antibody responses after vaccination compared with those who sleep seven or eight hours. Chronic sleep deprivation also appears to ④reduce low-grade inflammation throughout the body, a state that has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease. Rather than being a passive state, sleep functions as an active period during which the immune system repairs itself and ⑤prepares for future threats.

A flexitarian is someone who mainly eats plant-based meals but occasionally includes meat or fish, unlike a ①strict vegetarian who avoids animal products entirely. This flexible diet has recently ②lost attention as a practical way to fight climate change, since raising livestock produces a ③significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cattle, in particular, release large amounts of methane, a gas far more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. By replacing just a few meat-based meals each week with vegetables, grains, or legumes, individuals can ④noticeably shrink their carbon footprint without giving up meat completely. Nutritionists also emphasize that flexitarian eating is easier to maintain than full vegetarianism, because it allows flexibility rather than demanding absolute discipline. Therefore, many environmental groups now promote flexitarianism as a ⑤realistic first step, believing that gradual change, rather than sudden restriction, is more likely to spread widely across society.

Minji spent nearly every evening watching Jimin, an online creator who streamed cooking videos and chatted casually with her viewers. Over several months, Minji began to feel as though she truly knew Jimin, laughing at her jokes and worrying whenever she mentioned having a difficult week. Whenever Jimin responded to a comment, even a simple one, Minji felt a small thrill of connection, as if they were becoming closer friends. One day, Minji excitedly waited outside a fan event, hoping that Jimin would recognize her from the countless messages she had sent. However, Jimin greeted her the same way she greeted every other stranger in line, without any hint of personal recognition. Standing there, Minji slowly realized that ___________.

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. Elite endurance athletes typically post VO2 max values far higher than those of untrained individuals. 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. It is worth noting, however, that a high VO2 max does not guarantee success in competition, since _______________.

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.

Not all environmental changes happen at the same steady pace. (A) A well-known example involves melting Arctic ice, which exposes darker ocean water that absorbs more sunlight and speeds up further melting in a self-reinforcing cycle. (B) Once this kind of threshold is crossed, reversing the damage becomes extremely difficult, which is why scientists consider identifying these points an urgent priority. (C) Some changes accumulate slowly and predictably, while others can suddenly accelerate once a critical threshold, known as a tipping point, is crossed.

주어진 문장: Curious about why she always ran out of money so quickly, she asked her cousin for advice. When Mina was a freshman, she often spent her allowance within a few days. ( ① ) Her older cousin told her about the marshmallow experiment, a famous study in which children could eat one marshmallow immediately or wait for two. ( ② ) Researchers found that children who waited longer showed better academic performance and self-control years later. ( ③ ) This ability to resist an immediate reward in favor of a larger future one is known as delayed gratification. ( ④ ) Inspired by the study, Mina began saving half of her allowance each week instead of spending it all on snacks. At first, resisting small purchases felt surprisingly difficult, especially when her friends were eating out. After three months, however, she had saved enough to buy a bicycle she had wanted for over a year. ( ⑤ )