영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

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.

When Mina was a freshman, she often spent her allowance within a few days. Her older cousin told her about the marshmallow experiment, a famous study in which children could eat one marshmallow ①immediately or wait for two. Researchers found that children who waited ②longer showed better academic performance and self-control years later. This ability to ③resist an immediate reward in favor of a larger future one is known as delayed gratification. 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 ④easy, especially when her friends were eating out. After three months, however, she had ⑤saved enough to buy a bicycle she had wanted for over a year.

Have you ever noticed that a ①finished task keeps returning to your mind long after you stopped working? This phenomenon was first noticed by psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, who saw that waiters remembered ②unpaid orders better than paid ones. Her observation led to what is now called the Zeigarnik effect: people remember ③incomplete tasks more vividly than completed ones. According to this theory, the mind maintains mental tension until a task reaches ④closure, keeping the unfinished task active in memory. Once the task is completed, the tension is ⑤released, and the mind lets go of the details.

Minji had tried for years to build a bedtime reading habit but always forgot once under the blanket. During summer, she found a method called habit stacking. It means attaching a new habit to an existing one so it acts as a reminder. Her existing habit was brushing her teeth every night, so she decided to place her book beside her toothbrush. After brushing her teeth, she would pick up the book, letting one action trigger the next. Within two weeks, opening the book after brushing felt almost automatic, requiring no conscious effort. Encouraged by this success, Minji stacked another habit onto her morning routine, reviewing vocabulary words after making her bed. She realized ___________. By the end of summer, both habits felt like steady parts of her routine, requiring no reminders.

A growing number of people are practicing what is now called digital detox, the deliberate decision to stop using smartphones for a set period. Rather than checking notifications every few minutes, participants unplug for a weekend, a week, or sometimes even longer. Numerous studies suggest that this temporary withdrawal produces real benefits for both the mind and the body. First, attention spans fragmented by constant notifications gradually recover, allowing people to concentrate on single tasks for longer stretches. Second, avoiding screens before bedtime improves sleep quality, since blue light emitted by devices is known to disrupt natural sleep cycles. Third, people freed from their phones often rediscover the pleasure of face-to-face conversations that had been replaced by texting. Critics argue that complete disconnection is impractical in a hyperconnected society, yet even brief, regular breaks appear to restore balance. Therefore, _______________.

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 ___________.

Psychologists have long studied a mechanism called the variable reward schedule, in which rewards arrive unpredictably rather than after every single action. Slot machines famously exploit this principle, and social media notifications operate on strikingly similar logic. When someone posts a photo, they cannot predict exactly when likes will appear, nor how many they will eventually receive. This uncertainty triggers a small burst of dopamine each time the phone is checked, regardless of whether the result is disappointing or thrilling. Consequently, users often refresh their feeds compulsively, hoping the next check will finally bring a satisfying reward. 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 _______________.

Not all parts of a city experience the same temperature, even when they are located close to one another. (A) Tall buildings packed closely together also block wind, trapping warm air within narrow streets. In contrast, areas with abundant trees and open water naturally stay cooler, since plants release moisture that helps lower surrounding temperatures. (B) To reduce this effect, many cities have begun installing rooftop gardens and expanding public parks, hoping that additional greenery will absorb less heat than pavement does. (C) On a summer evening, downtown streets often feel noticeably hotter than nearby parks or suburban neighborhoods, even after the sun has set. This phenomenon, known as the urban heat island effect, occurs when cities retain more heat than surrounding rural areas because of their dense concentration of asphalt, concrete, and buildings. Unlike soil or vegetation, which absorb and release heat gradually, these man-made surfaces absorb sunlight during the day and slowly radiate it back at night, preventing temperatures from cooling.

People rarely realize how many different roles they play throughout an ordinary day. (A) A single online post, however, reaches all of these audiences simultaneously, blending roles that were once kept apart. (B) They might act formally with a manager, casually with old friends, and gently with a younger sibling, switching tones without much thought. (C) This blending, known as context collapse, can leave posters uncertain about which version of themselves to display.

Social media algorithms are designed to keep users engaged by showing them content they are likely to enjoy. (A) As a result, users are gradually exposed to a narrower and narrower range of perspectives over time. (B) This pattern, known as an echo chamber, can eventually lead to greater political polarization within a society. (C) To achieve this goal, the algorithms recommend posts and articles similar to what a user has already liked or shared.