영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

When Mina was a freshman, she often ①spent her allowance within a few days. Her older cousin told her about the marshmallow experiment, a famous study ②in which children could eat one marshmallow immediately or wait for two. Researchers found that children who waited longer ③shown better academic performance and self-control years later. Inspired by the study, Mina began ④saving half of her allowance each week instead of spending it all on snacks. After three months, however, she had saved enough to buy a bicycle she had ⑤wanted for over a year.

Psychologists have long studied a mechanism called the variable reward schedule, in which rewards ①arrive unpredictably rather than after every single action. Slot machines famously exploit this principle, and social media notifications operate on strikingly similar logic. When someone posts a photo, they cannot predict exactly when likes will appear, nor ②how many they will eventually receive. This uncertainty triggers a small burst of dopamine each time the phone ③is checked, regardless of whether the result is disappointing or thrilling. Consequently, users often refresh their feeds compulsively, ④hoping the next check will finally bring a satisfying reward. What makes this troubling is that technology companies deliberately designed notification systems using insights borrowed from gambling research, rather than ⑤stumble upon them by accident.

Sociologist Erving Goffman argued that people constantly perform for others, much like actors ①managing their image on a stage, a concept known as impression management. This idea applies vividly to social media, where users select flattering photos and delete posts ②that might damage their reputation. Such careful curation allows people ③to present an idealized version of themselves that emphasizes achievements while hiding struggles or ordinary moments. However, when this performance becomes constant, a troubling gap can form between one's authentic self and the polished character ④displaying online. Maintaining that gap requires considerable emotional energy, and studies suggest it often leads to anxiety and exhaustion. Furthermore, comparing one's own carefully staged life to others' equally staged posts can distort what people believe is normal. Therefore, individuals should recognize that some self-presentation online is inevitable, but they must also protect space where imperfection ⑤is allowed to remain visible.

The twenty-hour rule proposes that years of practice ①are not needed to become skilled at a new activity. Only about twenty hours of effort are needed to reach a useful level. Unlike theories ②claiming true mastery requires ten thousand hours, this rule targets a more modest goal. According to supporters, practicing any new skill produces the fastest visible improvement, since a beginner ③has room to grow. Someone learning guitar can typically strum simple chords and follow a basic song within twenty hours of ④daily practice. Advocates emphasize that the twenty hours must be deliberate and focused, broken into short daily sessions rather than one long stretch, and ⑤aims at fixing weaknesses rather than repeating what one already knows.

A growing number of people are practicing what is now called digital detox, the deliberate decision to stop using smartphones for a set period. Rather than checking notifications every few minutes, participants unplug for a weekend, a week, or sometimes even longer. Numerous studies suggest that this temporary withdrawal produces ①real benefits for both the mind and the body. First, attention spans fragmented by constant notifications gradually ②recover, allowing people to concentrate on single tasks for longer stretches. Second, avoiding screens before bedtime ③worsens sleep quality, since blue light emitted by devices is known to disrupt natural sleep cycles. Third, people freed from their phones often rediscover the pleasure of face-to-face conversations that had been replaced by texting. Critics argue that complete disconnection is impractical in a hyperconnected society, yet even brief, regular breaks appear to ④restore balance. Therefore, scheduling periodic digital detox sessions deserves ⑤serious consideration.

As solar and wind power expand ①rapidly across national grids, engineers face a challenge that receives far less public attention than the construction of the generating facilities themselves. Unlike conventional power plants, which can adjust their output to match demand at almost any moment, solar panels and wind turbines generate electricity only when sunlight or wind is available, producing supply that fluctuates ②rarely. One proposed solution involves large-scale battery storage systems, which absorb ③surplus electricity generated during periods of high output and release it later when generation declines. Another approach relies on expanding transmission networks across wider regions, so that electricity generated in a sunny area can be redirected to places experiencing a ④shortfall. Without such investment, integrating renewable energy could ⑤paradoxically undermine the very reliability that modern electricity grids are expected to provide.

A documentary director named Mira first traveled to a remote Arctic glacier to film its towering cliffs of blue ice, which seemed frozen in time. Standing before the massive wall, she assumed such an enormous structure could hardly change within a lifetime. Five years later, however, she returned to the very same coordinates, expecting her camera to capture an identical scene. Instead, she discovered that the glacier had retreated so dramatically that the ice cliffs, once visible from her original position, had nearly disappeared, leaving bare rock and pools of meltwater behind. Comparing the two sets of footage side by side, Mira realized that _______________. This encounter convinced her that climate change, which she had previously regarded as a distant statistic, was in fact an urgent process reshaping landscapes before her eyes.

Until last spring, Minji rarely thought twice about tossing a paper cup into the trash after finishing her coffee. _______________. That changed when her class was assigned a documentary about plastic waste drifting through the ocean, footage she initially expected to find boring. Instead, watching seabirds mistake plastic fragments for food left her strangely unsettled, and she found herself thinking about the assignment long after class ended. The next morning, almost without deciding to, she slipped her old tumbler into her backpack instead of buying a disposable cup on the way to school. It felt like a small, meaningless gesture at first. However, as weeks passed, she realized that consistently choosing the tumbler, declining a plastic straw, and reusing a shopping bag were quietly adding up. Small choices, she discovered, become meaningful once repeated.

People rarely realize how many different roles they play throughout an ordinary day. (A) A single online post, however, reaches all of these audiences simultaneously, blending roles that were once kept apart. (B) They might act formally with a manager, casually with old friends, and gently with a younger sibling, switching tones without much thought. (C) This blending, known as context collapse, can leave posters uncertain about which version of themselves to display.

주어진 문장: At first glance, this seems to suggest that Dunbar's theory no longer applies in the digital age. Anthropologist Robin Dunbar proposed a concept now known as Dunbar's number, suggesting that human beings can only maintain about one hundred fifty stable social relationships at any given time. ( ① ) This limit, he argued, comes from the size of the human brain, which restricts how many meaningful connections a person can cognitively manage. ( ② ) In contrast, many social media users today have hundreds or even thousands of online friends and followers, a number far exceeding what Dunbar's research predicts. ( ③ ) However, having numerous digital contacts does not necessarily mean that all of these relationships are close or emotionally supportive. ( ④ ) Most users, when asked, admit that they interact regularly with only a small fraction of their total followers, while the rest remain largely unnoticed. ( ⑤ ) Therefore, Dunbar's number reminds us that genuine, lasting relationships require consistent effort and attention, something that a large online network alone cannot provide.