영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

Jian wanted to become a reader for years, but every time he picked up a thick novel, he felt overwhelmed and quickly ①close it. His cousin, who had read dozens of books that year, told him about something called the two-minute rule. This rule states that a new habit should be ②shrunk to under two minutes, since a smaller starting point removes the friction that usually stops people from beginning. Instead of ③committing to a full chapter each night, Jian promised himself only to open a book and read one page. Some nights he stopped after that single page, but most nights, once ④started, he kept reading for twenty or thirty minutes without noticing. Within three months, Jian had finished five books, ⑤proving that reducing friction can matter more than motivation itself.

Time-management researchers frequently mention a principle ①known as Parkinson's Law, which states that work expands 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 ②is scheduled for it. Students who set vague deadlines frequently experience this effect, spending extra hours ③refined a report that was already complete. Employees given a full week for a simple project may also delay meaningful progress until the final days, even though the actual work ④requires far less effort. This pattern happens partly because people unconsciously adjust their pace to match perceived urgency. Setting shorter, more specific deadlines can counter this tendency, forcing tasks to fit within a tighter and more realistic window. By recognizing how flexible time encourages unnecessary delay, individuals can complete assignments more efficiently ⑤without sacrificing quality.

Many people believe that building a new habit requires strong willpower or motivation. However, psychologist BJ Fogg argues that habits form more easily when a behavior itself becomes simple to perform. His theory, called the Fogg Behavior Model, states that ___________. When motivation is low, the task must be made extremely easy, 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 least 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 achievable.

Have you ever noticed that an unfinished 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 unpaid orders better than paid ones. Her observation led to what is now called the Zeigarnik effect: ___________. According to this theory, the mind maintains mental tension until a task reaches closure, keeping the unfinished task active in memory.

Many students assume that perfectionists work harder than everyone else, but psychologists describe a puzzling pattern called the perfectionism-procrastination cycle. This term describes how an intense fear of imperfect work causes people to ___________. Because perfectionists set impossibly high standards, they often feel anxious before they even begin, and the task feels overwhelming. They then postpone the work to avoid facing their own unrealistic expectations, even though delay only increases their stress later. For example, a student writing a research paper might spend hours reorganizing notes instead of composing a single sentence that feels good enough. Likewise, an employee facing an important report may check emails repeatedly rather than begin drafting, fearing an early attempt will seem inadequate. Ironically, this avoidance guarantees the very failure that perfectionists dread, since rushed, last-minute work rarely meets their own high standards.

Setting a goal such as 'I will study harder' rarely leads to meaningful improvement. According to psychologists Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, specific and challenging goals produce far better performance than vague or easy ones. This idea, known as goal-setting theory, suggests that ___________. To apply this theory effectively, many educators recommend the SMART framework, which requires goals to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Online reviews have transformed the way consumers evaluate products before buying them. (A) Unfortunately, some of these reviews are not genuine, having been written by paid promoters rather than actual customers. (B) Shoppers now trust the opinions of strangers online almost as much as recommendations from friends or family. (C) For this reason, several platforms have started using technology to detect and remove suspicious reviews automatically.

The Pomodoro Technique was originally developed using a simple kitchen timer shaped like a tomato. (A) Its creator discovered that dividing study time into short, timed intervals made it far easier to maintain concentration than studying for hours without pause. (B) Today, many productivity apps replicate this same twenty-five-minute cycle, allowing users to track their focused sessions digitally. (C) Based on this discovery, he designed a structured cycle of focused work followed by brief rest, which eventually became known worldwide.

The concept of energy management has gained popularity among workplace researchers who study how people sustain productivity throughout the day. (A) For this reason, experts recommend that people identify the hours when they naturally feel most alert and schedule their most demanding tasks during those windows. (B) Unlike time, which passes at the same rate for everyone, personal energy fluctuates throughout the day depending on factors such as sleep and nutrition. (C) Simple or repetitive tasks, on the other hand, can be handled during low-energy periods without much loss in quality.

This connection is not merely correlational; sleep appears to directly supply the raw materials the immune system needs. When the body fights off an infection, the immune system relies heavily on adequate sleep to function effectively. ( ① ) During deep sleep, the body produces and releases cytokines, proteins that help regulate immune responses and coordinate the fight against harmful invaders such as viruses and bacteria. ( ② ) People who consistently sleep fewer than six hours a night show measurably weaker antibody responses after vaccination compared with those who sleep seven or eight hours, suggesting that sleep loss can blunt the immune system's ability to build lasting protection. ( ③ ) Chronic sleep deprivation also appears to promote low-grade inflammation throughout the body, a state that, over time, has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions. ( ④ ) Rather than being a passive state in which the body simply rests, sleep functions as an active period during which the immune system repairs itself and prepares for future threats. ( ⑤ ) This is why doctors often recommend extra sleep, not just medication, when someone is fighting an illness.