영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

Only a decade ago, translation apps produced sentences so awkward that users often laughed at the results rather than trusting them. Today, many of these apps rely on neural networks ①that analyze entire sentences at once, capturing context instead of translating word by word. This shift has made everyday tasks such as reading a foreign menu or chatting with an overseas friend remarkably smooth. Frequent travelers now point their phone cameras at street signs and ②receiving an instant translation overlaid on the screen. Even so, the technology still struggles with humor, sarcasm, and cultural nuance, areas ③where a single wrong word can completely change the intended meaning. A joke that depends on wordplay in one language may become confusing once it ④is translated literally into another. For this reason, professional translators argue that these apps are best treated as a helpful starting point rather than a final, polished result that no human ⑤needs to review.

An echo chamber refers to an online environment where people are mainly ①exposed to opinions that already match their own beliefs. This phenomenon occurs because social media algorithms tend to ②recommending content similar to what users have previously liked or shared, gradually narrowing the range of perspectives they encounter. As a result, individuals inside an echo chamber rarely engage with viewpoints ③that challenge their existing assumptions, which allows their original beliefs to grow increasingly extreme over time. For example, someone who frequently reads articles supporting one political party may begin to see the opposing party as entirely unreasonable, ④having never seriously considered its arguments. Political polarization, a significant issue in many countries today, is often ⑤linked to this pattern of selective exposure.

Psychologist Leon Festinger introduced social comparison theory, which ①explains that people evaluate their own abilities and opinions by comparing themselves with others. According to this theory, individuals engage in upward comparison when they measure themselves against someone ②who appears more successful, attractive, or accomplished. Social media platforms, filled with carefully edited photos and exaggerated achievements, ③provide endless opportunities for this kind of comparison. For instance, a teenager browsing vacation pictures posted by classmates may begin to feel that her own ordinary life ④are somehow inadequate. Unlike comparing oneself with someone in a similar position, which can sometimes boost confidence, upward comparison frequently ⑤triggers envy, dissatisfaction, and lower self-esteem.

For centuries, dreams have ①fascinated scientists and philosophers alike, yet no single theory fully explains why the sleeping brain generates such vivid and often bizarre experiences. One prominent idea suggests that dreaming helps the brain process emotional experiences, replaying difficult events in a ②safe, low-stakes environment so that their emotional intensity gradually fades. Another theory proposes that dreams serve a more practical function, allowing the brain to ③ignore responses to threats without any real danger, a kind of nightly simulation that may have offered early humans a survival advantage. Still other researchers argue that dreaming is simply a byproduct of the brain organizing memories, with vivid imagery arising as the mind sorts through the day's ④information rather than serving any independent purpose of its own. Because these theories rest on indirect evidence, none has been ⑤conclusively proven.

Mira had lived in a coastal village since birth, watching the tide creep closer to her family's doorstep every year. When the sea finally ①swallowed the rice paddies that had fed her village for generations, her parents decided that staying was no longer possible. Together with many neighbors, they packed what little they could carry and moved inland, becoming what experts now call climate migrants, people forced to ②abandon their homes because of rising seas, droughts, or other disasters. This term, rarely used a decade ago, has become increasingly ③common as extreme weather displaces communities worldwide. Mira missed her old house terribly, yet she slowly began to build a new life in the crowded city, learning to adapt just as her ancestors once had. International organizations, however, still ④manage to agree on how to protect people like her, since climate migrants are not officially ⑤recognized as refugees under current law.

To ①compensate for their carbon emissions, many individuals and companies now purchase carbon offsets, financial credits that fund projects such as planting trees or building renewable energy plants. The idea is ②unappealing: 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 functions as a convenient excuse for postponing ③genuine emission cuts rather than achieving them. For example, a newly planted forest may take decades to absorb the promised carbon, and it could later burn down or be cut, erasing any benefit. Moreover, some offset projects would have happened anyway, meaning the credits fund nothing truly ④additional. Experts insist that offsetting should complement, not replace, direct reductions in fossil fuel use if the strategy is to remain ⑤credible.

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.

Social psychologists describe a phenomenon called the bystander effect, in which individuals become less likely to help a victim as the number of witnesses increases. Each observer assumes someone else will step in, and this diffusion of responsibility leaves no one willing to act. Cyberbullying magnifies this problem, since a single humiliating post can be witnessed by thousands of people scattered across the internet rather than a few standing nearby. Anonymity intensifies the effect further, allowing silent observers to scroll past cruel comments without feeling accountable for their inaction. Some bystanders even worry that intervening publicly might make them the bully's next target, so they choose to remain silent instead. However, silence signals approval to both the bully and the audience watching the exchange unfold. Experts insist that even a single supportive comment can disrupt this harmful pattern. Therefore, witnesses online must _______________.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by a small gland deep within the brain, and its release follows a remarkably predictable daily pattern. (A) This rhythm is controlled primarily by light: specialized cells in the eye detect brightness and send signals that either permit or suppress melatonin production, which is why exposure to bright screens late at night can delay its release and make falling asleep more difficult. (B) Levels stay low throughout the bright hours of the day, begin rising in the evening as darkness falls, peak in the middle of the night, and then decline again as morning approaches. (C) Unlike some hormones that directly cause the body to perform a task, melatonin does not force sleep to occur; instead, it signals to the rest of the body that night has arrived, preparing various systems to shift into a lower-energy state. Because of this signaling role, taking melatonin supplements at the wrong time can shift a person's internal clock in the opposite direction from what was intended.

This is precisely the kind of disruption that white noise is designed to prevent. Many people struggling to fall asleep in noisy environments turn to white noise machines, devices that emit a steady, uniform sound covering a broad range of frequencies. ( ① ) The appeal lies in a phenomenon called auditory masking, in which a constant background sound makes sudden noises, such as a slamming door, less noticeable to the sleeping brain. ( ② ) Without this masking effect, an abrupt change in sound is far more likely to trigger a brief awakening, even if the sleeper does not consciously remember it the next morning. ( ③ ) Studies comparing sleep in quiet rooms with sleep alongside white noise have found that participants using white noise experienced fewer of these brief awakenings and reported feeling more rested. ( ④ ) However, researchers caution that the benefit depends heavily on volume and consistency, since noise that is too loud or that varies unpredictably can itself become a source of disruption rather than a remedy. ( ⑤ ) Such backfiring effects remind us that more sound is not always better for a restless sleeper.