영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

A rational approach to decision-making dictates that only future costs and benefits should influence a choice, since resources already spent cannot be ①recovered regardless of what is decided next. In practice, however, people routinely allow such irrecoverable expenditures, known as sunk costs, to shape their subsequent decisions, a pattern referred to as the sunk cost fallacy. A moviegoer who finds a film thoroughly ②disappointing after the first thirty minutes will often remain in the theater until the credits roll, reasoning that leaving early would somehow waste the money already spent on the ticket. Organizations exhibit the same fallacy on a larger scale: a company that has invested heavily in a failing project frequently ③abandons funding it, arguing that stopping the project now would render the prior investment meaningless. Yet continuing to invest in a venture destined to fail merely adds new losses to old ones, ④compounding the very waste the decision-makers hoped to avoid. Economists therefore urge decision-makers to evaluate each choice based solely on its prospective outcomes, treating past expenditures as ⑤irrelevant to the decision at hand.

Conventional economic wisdom holds that more options are always preferable to fewer, since a larger set of alternatives ①increases the likelihood that any individual will find one that precisely matches their preferences. When shoppers are presented with an extensive array of choices, they frequently experience heightened anxiety about making the wrong selection and, paradoxically, become ②less likely to make any purchase or decision at all. Furthermore, individuals who do eventually choose from an overwhelming array often report ③higher satisfaction with their selection than those who chose from a modest handful of options, since the sheer number of unexplored alternatives ④fosters lingering doubt about whether a better choice was overlooked. Businesses that recognize this dynamic have begun deliberately ⑤curating smaller, carefully selected assortments, betting that a narrower range of options can sometimes generate more sales and greater customer satisfaction than abundance.

A striking proportion of individual investors believe their own stock-picking ability to be above average, a statistical ①impossibility given that only half of any population can genuinely outperform the rest, yet a pattern that persists with remarkable consistency across surveys. This tendency, known as overconfidence bias, leads investors to trade more ②frequently than a more cautious assessment of their own skill would justify. Extensive research comparing the trading records of numerous individual accounts has ③demonstrated that investors who trade most frequently tend to earn substantially ④higher returns than those who trade rarely, largely because transaction costs accumulate and because frequent trading often reflects overconfident reactions to short-term noise rather than genuine insight. Overconfidence also manifests in the tendency to underestimate the range of possible outcomes, causing investors to concentrate their holdings in a small number of assets they feel certain about rather than diversifying across a broader portfolio. Paradoxically, then, the very confidence that motivates investors to act decisively often ⑤undermines the outcomes they are trying to achieve.

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.

Remote work has moved from a rare privilege to a common practice for millions of employees worldwide. Supporters argue that remote work increases productivity, since employees avoid long commutes and distracting office environments. It also allows companies to hire talented people regardless of where they live, widening the pool of candidates. Critics, however, worry that remote work weakens teamwork and makes it harder for new employees to learn from experienced colleagues. Without regular face-to-face interaction, some workers feel isolated and struggle to build strong professional relationships. For these reasons, many experts suggest that the future of work will likely be ___________, combining flexibility with occasional in-person collaboration.

My family decided to stay indoors for the entire day because of the extreme heat outside. (A) After lunch, we visited a small museum that had a special exhibition about ocean animals. (B) In the morning, we went to a nearby indoor climbing gym and learned some basic techniques. (C) In the afternoon, we finished the day by playing board games at a cozy cafe.

Mental accounting also shapes how consumers respond to windfalls of different sizes and origins. (A) A modest windfall, such as a small cash-back reward, tends to be absorbed into everyday spending and disappears almost unnoticed within a household's general budget. (B) A substantial windfall, by contrast, such as an inheritance or a large bonus, is more likely to be mentally assigned to a separate category, sometimes labeled as "extra" money reserved for investment or a significant purchase. (C) This difference in treatment suggests that the perceived significance of a sum, rather than its objective purchasing power, determines the mental account into which it is placed.

The subscription economy has changed the way many people think about ownership. (A) As a result, companies can predict their income more accurately and plan their operations accordingly. (B) Rather than buying products outright, consumers increasingly prefer paying small recurring fees for continued access. (C) This shift benefits businesses as well, since steady monthly payments create a stable source of revenue.

Hyperbolic discounting has direct implications for how retirement savings programs ought to be designed. (A) If employees are asked at the moment of hiring whether they wish to increase their contribution rate at a specific point in the future, many agree readily, since the sacrifice feels distant and therefore painless. (B) When that future date eventually arrives, however, the automatic increase proceeds smoothly precisely because the decision was locked in before the immediate discomfort of a smaller paycheck became salient. (C) This design, sometimes described as committing one's future self in advance, effectively exploits the very inconsistency that hyperbolic discounting predicts, turning a psychological weakness into a practical advantage.

Sales events are far more psychologically calculated than they first appear. (A) A crossed-out original price, for instance, makes the discounted price seem like an exceptional deal, regardless of whether it truly is one. (B) Retailers rely on specific visual and verbal cues to make shoppers feel they are getting exceptional value. (C) Combined with phrases suggesting limited availability, these cues push customers toward faster, less deliberate purchasing decisions.