영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

Safety signs surround us so constantly, from a yellow diamond ①warns of a curve ahead to a red octagon commanding a full stop, that most people stop consciously reading them soon after learning to drive. This is precisely the outcome that sign designers hope ②to avoid, since a sign that requires careful thought to interpret in an emergency has already failed at its purpose. Colors and shapes are chosen deliberately rather than randomly: red almost universally ③signals danger or prohibition, yellow signals caution, and green marks safety. Symbols replace text wherever possible for the same reason, ④allowing a running figure or a flame icon to communicate instantly to someone who may not speak the local language. Ignoring a familiar sign because it has become part of the background remains one of the most common and ⑤preventable causes of accidents in public spaces.

Economists have long debated whether prosperity and environmental quality are fundamentally opposed, or whether the relationship between them ①changes shape as an economy matures. The Environmental Kuznets Curve, a hypothesis ②borrowed from earlier theories of income inequality, proposes that pollution initially rises alongside economic growth before eventually declining once a society crosses a certain threshold of wealth. In its early stages, industrializing nations prioritize output over conservation, ③treats clean air and water as expendable costs of development to be addressed later. Beyond a certain point, however, rising incomes generate both the technological capacity and the political will ④to demand stricter regulation, so degradation begins to reverse even as production keeps expanding. Some scholars regard this trajectory as a reassuring paradox, suggesting that the very growth ⑤blamed for ecological harm may eventually finance its own repair. Critics, by contrast, argue that the curve rests on a narrow selection of pollutants that happen to decline with wealth, while ignoring greenhouse gases and resource depletion, which show no comparable tendency to fall.

People routinely seek out information that confirms what they already believe while ①overlooking or dismissing evidence that contradicts those beliefs, a pattern known as confirmation bias. This tendency operates not because individuals are deliberately dishonest, but because the mind finds it cognitively less ②taxing to absorb information that fits an existing framework than to reconstruct that framework from scratch. Investors who believe a particular company will succeed, for instance, tend to interpret ambiguous news about that company ③unfavorably, while investors who are skeptical of the same company interpret identical news unfavorably, even though both groups are examining the same underlying facts. Social media platforms can ④intensify this effect by algorithmically presenting users with content similar to what they have previously engaged with. Over time, such selective exposure can harden initial impressions into convictions that feel objectively verified, even though they rest on a systematically ⑤filtered sample of evidence.

Time blocking is a time-management technique in which a person divides the day into fixed blocks. Each block is then assigned to a single task. Instead of relying on a loose to-do list, the person decides exactly when each task will start and end. This approach ①lowers the mental effort of deciding what to do next, since the schedule already provides the answer. It also ②limits multitasking, because each block is reserved for only one activity at a time. For instance, a student may block ninety minutes for math practice, leaving no room for messages or web browsing. Because each block has a ③vague boundary, unfinished work is ④less likely to quietly spread into the next task. Many people who adopt time blocking feel ⑤more organized throughout the day.

A shocking headline can spread across social media within minutes, long before anyone checks whether it is actually true. Studies show that false stories often travel ①slower than accurate ones, partly because surprising or emotional claims get shared more quickly than careful, balanced reporting. To handle this flood of information, students today need a skill that previous generations rarely had to practice: checking a source before believing it. Simple habits can make a ②real difference, such as looking for the original source of a claim, checking the date an article was published, and searching to see whether other trustworthy outlets are reporting the same story. Media literacy classes now teach students to ③pause before they share anything, asking who wrote it and why. This small pause, teachers say, is often the only thing standing between a curious reader and a piece of ④convincing misinformation, protecting not only the reader but everyone in their online ⑤network.

Among strategies for improving ①concentration, the Pomodoro Technique remains one of the most widely recommended methods for students and workers. This technique involves working with full attention for twenty-five minutes, then taking a short five-minute break before starting the next session. After completing four of these cycles, a longer break of fifteen to thirty minutes is usually taken to allow mental ②recovery. The method assumes that sustained focus becomes harder to maintain as time passes, so frequent short breaks prevent mental ③fatigue from building up. Students preparing for exams report finishing reading assignments faster when they follow this structured rhythm instead of studying without interruption. Office workers find that dividing large projects into short, timed intervals makes overwhelming tasks feel more ④manageable. Because each interval has a clear start and end, procrastination becomes ⑤more tempting, since beginning a single twenty-five-minute session requires less commitment than beginning an entire project.

Facing a shortage of caregivers and a rapidly aging population, several countries have begun deploying robots designed to remind elderly residents to take medication and offer simple conversation. Early trials show that many residents report reduced loneliness, particularly when a robot's presence allows a human staff member to spend more time with each patient. Critics, however, worry that _______________, especially in facilities already struggling with tight budgets.

Daniel's career reflects how much the space industry has changed since he was a child. (A) As a result, he came to believe that opportunities in space exploration were no longer limited to a small number of government scientists. (B) By the time he entered university, private companies had begun launching satellites and building reusable rockets. (C) This shift eventually led him to join a startup developing lunar landing equipment, a job that barely existed when he first imagined his future.

Among the many strategies proposed to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, one of the oldest draws on an agricultural technique predating modern industry, converting organic material into a stable form of charcoal known as biochar. (A) When mixed into farmland, biochar also improves soil structure, retaining moisture and nutrients otherwise lost, which can boost crop yields in depleted soils. For example, farmers cultivating nutrient-poor tropical soils have reported measurable increases in productivity after adding biochar. (B) Biochar is produced through pyrolysis, a process in which crop residues or wood chips are heated in an environment with little or no oxygen, preventing the material from burning away as in an open fire. This process leaves behind a carbon-rich solid that resists decomposition far longer than raw organic matter, locking carbon in a form remaining stable in soil for centuries. (C) Nevertheless, researchers caution that the climate benefits of biochar depend on the feedstock and method used, since poorly managed pyrolysis can release as much carbon as it sequesters, undermining its own purpose.

주어진 문장: This kind of accuracy might seem convenient at first, but it also raises troubling questions about surveillance. Online advertising algorithms analyze enormous amounts of user data to determine which products a person is most likely to purchase. ( ① ) Every click, search, and pause while scrolling provides information that these systems use to refine future advertisements. ( ② ) As a result, the ads that appear on a person's screen often feel remarkably specific, sometimes referencing items browsed only minutes earlier. ( ③ ) Supporters argue that this level of precision benefits consumers by reducing exposure to irrelevant advertisements and highlighting products they genuinely need. ( ④ ) Critics, however, worry that constant exposure to tailored ads can encourage unnecessary spending, since algorithms are specifically designed to identify and exploit individual weaknesses. ( ⑤ ) Because these algorithms operate largely without public oversight, few consumers fully understand how their personal data shapes what they eventually buy.