영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

Consider a large heap containing ten thousand grains of sand. Nearly everyone agrees that removing a single grain from such a heap leaves another heap behind; surely one grain could never make the difference between a heap and a non-heap. Yet if this principle is applied repeatedly, grain by grain, the heap eventually ②grows to a single lonely grain, or even to no grains at all, and logic alone seems to force us to accept that this final result still counts as a heap. Something has clearly ①gone wrong along the way, since no reasonable person would call one grain of sand a heap, but pinpointing exactly which single removal transformed a heap into a non-heap seems ③impossible. The puzzle exposes a deep discomfort with vague terms like "heap," "tall," or "bald," concepts that seem to admit no sharp ④boundary yet are used confidently in everyday language. Some philosophers conclude that classical logic itself may need to be ⑤revised to accommodate the genuine vagueness built into ordinary human language.

Have you ever felt a ①boring class lasted forever while an exciting weekend disappeared in an instant? This common experience reflects what psychologists call the distortion of time perception: subjective time can differ from actual clock time. Researchers explain that people who focus intensely on an enjoyable activity process fewer separate moments, so time seems to pass ②slowly. In contrast, bored or anxious people pay ③closer attention to each moment, making time feel as though it is dragging. When people become deeply ④engaged in a task, they often lose track of time, unaware of how many minutes have passed. For example, athletes and musicians often say that hours felt like minutes while they were fully ⑤absorbed in performance.

An echo chamber refers to an online environment where people are mainly exposed to opinions that already ①match their own beliefs. This phenomenon occurs because social media algorithms tend to recommend content similar to what users have previously liked or shared, gradually ②narrowing the range of perspectives they encounter. As a result, individuals inside an echo chamber ③frequently engage with viewpoints that challenge their existing assumptions, which allows their original beliefs to grow increasingly extreme over time. For example, someone who frequently reads articles supporting one political party may begin to see the opposing party as entirely ④unreasonable, having never seriously considered its arguments. Political polarization, a significant issue in many countries today, is often linked to this pattern of ⑤selective exposure.

Psychologist Roy Baumeister proposed a concept called ego depletion theory, which suggests that willpower functions like a muscle that gradually ①strengthens after repeated use. According to this theory, every act of self-control, from resisting a snack to concentrating on difficult homework, draws from the same ②limited mental resource. As this resource becomes ③depleted 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 ④struggle 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 ⑤restore this depleted resource.

Many companies today advertise their products as environmentally friendly, yet not all of these claims are accurate. This practice, known as greenwashing, involves exaggerating or fabricating a product's positive impact on the environment. Some brands print vague terms such as "natural" or "eco-conscious" on packaging without providing any evidence to support these labels. Consumers, who are increasingly concerned about climate change, often trust such claims without questioning them closely. As a result, they may pay higher prices for products that are no more sustainable than ordinary alternatives. Genuine environmental efforts, which usually require significant investment and long-term planning, are far more costly than simply changing a label. Therefore, governments should establish clear standards that require companies to ___________.

The clothing industry has become one of the largest contributors to environmental pollution worldwide. (A) Fast fashion refers to cheap, trendy clothing produced quickly and replaced almost as fast as it is bought. Because these garments are designed to be worn only a few times, huge amounts of fabric end up in landfills every year, and the dyeing process pollutes rivers near factories. (B) For example, some companies collect old clothes, break down the fibers, and weave them into new fabric, while others let customers rent outfits for special occasions rather than buying garments they will barely wear. These approaches keep resources circulating within the system longer, reducing demand for raw materials. Therefore, shifting from a throwaway habit toward a circular one may be essential for making the fashion industry sustainable. (C) In contrast, a growing number of brands are turning toward the circular economy, an economic model in which materials are reused, repaired, or recycled instead of being thrown away after a single use.

Goffman's original theory focused on face-to-face interaction, but researchers have expanded it to explain behavior on social media. (A) Unlike face-to-face encounters, online platforms allow users unlimited time to edit captions, retouch photos, and delete unflattering content before anyone sees it. (B) This expanded control means that online impression management can be even more deliberate and polished than anything Goffman originally observed in daily conversation. (C) As a result, some scholars argue that today's online performances create unrealistic standards that traditional face-to-face interactions never produced.

A few years ago, spotting a manipulated video required a trained eye and specialized software. (A) Perhaps more troubling than any single fake video is the broader effect on public trust, sometimes called the liar's dividend, in which genuine footage can be dismissed as fabricated simply because deepfakes exist. (B) Today, freely available applications allow almost anyone to swap a face or fabricate a voice convincingly enough to fool casual viewers within minutes. (C) This shift has quietly undermined one of the oldest assumptions in human communication: that seeing and hearing something is a reliable way to confirm it happened.

A documentary director named Mira set out on her first trip to a remote Arctic glacier, eager to film its towering cliffs of blue ice. (A) Comparing the two sets of footage side by side, she realized that a transformation she had expected to take centuries was actually happening within a single decade, which convinced her that climate change was an urgent process reshaping landscapes before her eyes. (B) Five years later, however, she returned to the very same coordinates, only to discover that the glacier had retreated so dramatically that the ice cliffs had nearly disappeared, leaving bare rock and meltwater behind. (C) Standing before the massive wall of ice on that first trip, she assumed that such an enormous structure could hardly change within a lifetime.

Jiho's path into entrepreneurship began almost by accident, far from the corporate career his parents had imagined for him. (A) Despite warnings from relatives who considered the plan too risky, Jiho and his teammates decided to delay job applications and pursue the idea further. (B) A class project he joined during his final year gradually evolved into something more serious, as restaurants began placing regular orders through their prototype. (C) That decision eventually paid off, as the team secured a small investment after nearly failing twice.