영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

Imagine a cafeteria where a healthy salad ①sits at eye level while fried snacks rest on a low shelf. Nobody is ②forbidden from choosing the snacks, yet most people quietly pick the salad instead. This simple technique illustrates a nudge, a concept from behavioral economics that gently ③guides people toward better choices without restricting their freedom. Companies and governments increasingly apply nudges to encourage sustainable consumption. For example, some hotels print reminders on towels stating that most guests reuse them, which ④persuade new guests to do the same and save water. Similarly, energy bills that compare a household's usage with that of efficient neighbors often lead people to reduce electricity use. Unlike strict regulations or heavy taxes, nudges ⑤rely on subtle changes in design rather than force. Critics argue nudges alone cannot solve large environmental problems, but combined with stronger policies, they can meaningfully shift everyday habits toward sustainability.

Many students ①assume that perfectionists work harder than everyone else, but psychologists describe a puzzling pattern called the perfectionism-procrastination cycle. Because perfectionists set impossibly high standards, they often feel ②anxious before they even begin, and the task feels overwhelming. They then ③accelerate the work to avoid facing their own unrealistic expectations, even though delay only increases their stress later. Likewise, an employee facing an important report may check emails repeatedly rather than begin drafting, fearing an early attempt will seem ④inadequate. Ironically, this avoidance guarantees the very failure that perfectionists dread, since ⑤rushed, last-minute work rarely meets their own high standards.

Setting a goal such as 'I will study harder' rarely leads to ①meaningful improvement. According to psychologists Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, ②specific and challenging goals produce far better performance than vague or easy ones. This idea, known as goal-setting theory, suggests that ③clear targets direct attention and sustain effort over time. To apply this theory effectively, many educators recommend the SMART framework, which requires goals to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For instance, a student following this framework might say, 'I will memorize thirty new words every week for two months.' Because the goal includes a clear number and a deadline, progress becomes easy to ④track and evaluate. Challenging goals also tend to increase motivation, since people often work harder when a target feels meaningfully ⑤easy rather than trivially simple.

The gig economy has grown ①rapidly over the past decade, as digital platforms connect customers directly with independent workers. This model offers clear advantages: workers can choose when and how much they work, providing valuable ②rigidity that traditional employment rarely allows. However, gig workers often ③lack benefits such as health insurance and paid leave, which full-time employees typically receive. Because their income can ④fluctuate sharply from month to month, many gig workers struggle to plan their finances confidently. Governments therefore face growing pressure to ⑤protect independent workers through new policies.

The planning fallacy describes the tendency to ①underestimate how long a task will take, even when experience suggests otherwise. Psychologists who studied this bias found that people focus mainly on an ②idealized, best-case version of a project. They focus less on how similar projects actually unfolded before. Large construction projects offer another example. Officials frequently predict completion dates that later prove far too ③optimistic once delays appear. One reason this bias persists is that people ④rarely review their history of missed deadlines, relying instead on hopeful imagination. By anchoring predictions to real outcomes, planners can produce estimates that are considerably more ⑤inaccurate.

Telemedicine, which allows patients to consult doctors through video calls rather than in-person visits, has expanded rapidly since its early adoption. However, critics contend that virtual appointments cannot fully replace physical examinations, which remain essential for detecting certain conditions. Despite such concerns, most healthcare experts believe telemedicine will continue to grow, complementing rather than replacing traditional in-person care. As this shift continues, ___________.

Many people believe that a new habit becomes automatic after only twenty-one days, but researchers who examined real behavior found a different number. This project, called the 66-day habit formation study, tracked volunteers who tried to adopt a new daily habit, like drinking water with lunch. Researchers measured how automatic each action felt over time and found that habits needed ___________. Yet the actual time varied widely, ranging from about eighteen days for simple habits to over two hundred days for difficult ones. This wide range explains why the popular twenty-one-day claim, though easy to remember, rarely matches real experience.

Psychologist Roy Baumeister proposed a concept called ego depletion theory, which suggests that ___________. 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. As this resource becomes depleted throughout the day, later decisions require more effort and are more likely to fail. 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. Some researchers argue that short breaks, adequate sleep, and blood sugar levels can help restore this depleted resource. 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.

The two-minute rule offers a simple but powerful strategy for anyone who struggles to begin a new habit. (A) Once the habit of showing up regularly is established, the duration or intensity of the activity can gradually increase without much resistance. (B) The idea behind this rule is that most people quit a new habit not because the activity itself is difficult, but because starting feels intimidating. (C) By reducing a habit to something as simple as reading one page or doing one push-up, the initial hesitation to begin nearly disappears.

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.