영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

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

Many people believe that building a new habit requires strong willpower or motivation. However, psychologist BJ Fogg argues that habits form more ①easily when a behavior itself becomes simple to perform. His theory, called the Fogg Behavior Model, states that a behavior happens only when motivation, ability, and a prompt occur together. When motivation is ②low, the model suggests, the task must be made extremely ③difficult, or it will not happen at all. For instance, a person who wants to exercise daily succeeds more often by committing to one push-up than to a long workout. Fogg calls this idea the law of ④least effort, since people naturally choose the option requiring the least energy. A student who wants to read more might leave a book open on the desk rather than setting a vague goal. By lowering the required effort, people reduce the ability barrier and make steady action far more ⑤achievable.

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.

Psychologists who study daily behavior describe habits through a model called the cue-routine-reward loop. This theory explains that every habit ①begins with a cue, a signal that tells the brain to start an ②automatic behavior. The brain then performs a routine, which is the action itself, whether physical or mental. Finally, the brain receives a reward, a ③negative feeling that makes it want to ④repeat the same behavior. For example, a notification sound can act as a cue that leads a student to check a phone, and the relief from boredom becomes the reward. Similarly, opening a refrigerator out of habit rather than hunger shows how a routine can run almost without ⑤conscious thought. Because this loop operates automatically, breaking a bad habit requires changing the routine while keeping the same cue and reward. Understanding this structure helps people redesign daily patterns more effectively than relying on willpower alone.

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.

The planning fallacy describes the tendency to underestimate how long a task will take, even when experience suggests otherwise. Psychologists who studied this bias found that ___________. They focus less on how similar projects actually unfolded before. A student who insists an essay takes two hours, despite needing five hours for every previous essay, shows a clear instance of the fallacy. Large construction projects offer another example. Officials frequently predict completion dates that later prove far too optimistic once delays appear. One reason this bias persists is that people rarely review their history of missed deadlines, relying instead on hopeful imagination. Some researchers recommend a technique called reference class forecasting, comparing a new task to similar completed tasks. By anchoring predictions to real outcomes, planners can produce estimates that are considerably more accurate.

A smart thermostat that learns a family's daily rhythm can lower the temperature automatically before everyone wakes up cold, while smart lights that follow a resident's schedule no longer need to be switched on and off by hand. (A) These small conveniences rest on a shared foundation: sensors collect data about temperature, motion, and light throughout the home, and an algorithm gradually learns which settings match each household's actual habits. (B) Over months of use, the system becomes noticeably better at anticipating needs, often adjusting settings moments before a resident would have reached for a switch. (C) Yet convenience comes with a trade-off that many households overlook, since a detailed record of daily habits is quietly being stored somewhere beyond their immediate control.

Parkinson's Law appears frequently in everyday workplaces, often without employees even realizing it. (A) As a result, the meeting naturally stretches to fill the entire hour, even though very little new information is actually discussed. (B) This situation illustrates the law's central claim that the amount of time allotted for a task directly shapes how long the task actually takes. (C) Consider a manager who schedules an hour-long meeting to discuss a minor issue that could realistically be resolved in only a few minutes.

주어진 문장: Yet this idea sounds strange to most people, who assume that close relationships would naturally provide better opportunities than distant ones. Sociologist Mark Granovetter introduced an idea that seems contradictory at first glance, known as the strength of weak ties. ( ① ) According to this theory, people who see each other only occasionally, called weak ties, often provide more valuable information than close friends or family members, who are considered strong ties. ( ② ) This happens because strong ties tend to share the same social circles and, therefore, already possess similar knowledge. ( ③ ) Weak ties, in contrast, move within different networks, which allows them to introduce ideas or opportunities that would otherwise remain unknown. ( ④ ) For example, a former classmate rarely contacted might mention a job opening unavailable through one's immediate circle. ( ⑤ ) Social media platforms have made maintaining such connections remarkably easier, letting users keep hundreds of loose acquaintances active without frequent face-to-face meetings.

주어진 문장: This is why many people find it especially difficult to maintain healthy eating habits after a long, stressful day at work. Psychologist Roy Baumeister proposed a concept called ego depletion theory, which suggests that willpower functions like a muscle that gradually tires after repeated use. ( ① ) According to this theory, every act of self-control, from resisting a snack to concentrating on difficult homework, draws from the same limited mental resource. ( ② ) As this resource becomes depleted throughout the day, later decisions require more effort and are more likely to fail. ( ③ ) For instance, someone who exercises discipline avoiding distractions all morning may struggle to resist checking a phone by evening. Likewise, dieters report that self-control weakens sharply at night, after hours of resisting food. ( ④ ) Some researchers argue that short breaks, adequate sleep, and blood sugar levels can help restore this depleted resource. ( ⑤ ) Although later studies have questioned how strong this effect is, the theory still offers a useful framework for understanding why willpower seems to fade throughout a long day.