영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

문제 1

Traditional economic models predict that a rational individual offered any positive sum of money, however small, should accept it without hesitation, since even a modest gain is preferable to ①receiving nothing at all. A simple experimental exercise known as the ultimatum game, in which one participant proposes how to split a sum of money and a second participant may either accept or reject the proposed division, consistently ②contradicts this prediction. When the proposer offers a division perceived as unfair, the second participant frequently rejects the offer entirely, leaving both parties with nothing rather than ③accepting an outcome viewed as insulting. This behavior indicates that individuals value fairness as an end in itself, sometimes willingly ④sacrificing material gain to punish perceived exploitation. Neuroscientific investigations complement this finding, revealing that unfair offers ⑤activates brain regions associated with disgust and negative emotion.

문제 2

Audiobooks have grown rapidly in popularity over the past several years, and many commuters now ①listen to novels instead of reading printed pages. Publishers report that audiobook sales ②continues to rise every year, while the growth of printed book sales has slowed. Part of the appeal is convenience, since listeners can enjoy a story while ③driving, exercising, or doing housework. Some traditional readers argue that listening to a book is not the same as truly reading it, because the listener does not process written words directly. Researchers who study this question have found that comprehension scores for listeners and readers ④are usually very similar, as long as the material is not too complex. The biggest difference tends to appear with dense, technical material, which is often easier to follow in print because readers can pause and ⑤reread difficult sentences at will.

문제 3

Last year our art club received a set of digital drawing tablets, and I assumed switching from paper ①feeling like cheating, since a screen seemed to remove the physical struggle of real drawing. After a few weeks of practice, though, I noticed the tablet ②demanded a different kind of skill rather than an easier one. Because there is no paper texture to guide the pen, beginners often press too hard or draw shaky lines until their hand ③adjusts to the smooth glass surface. What the tablet does offer is the freedom ④to undo a mistake instantly and experiment with colors without wasting a single sheet of paper. Several club members who once avoided painting because they feared ruining their work now ⑤try bold new styles daily.

문제 4

Yesterday, I visited my school's career counselor because I felt ①excited about my future. I told her that I enjoyed both science and art, but I could not decide which subject to pursue. She listened ②carefully and then asked me a simple question: what activities make me lose track of time? I answered that designing posters for school events always felt ③exciting. She smiled and said that this kind of clue often ④reveals a genuine interest, more than any test score can. Our short conversation gave me a ⑤clearer sense of direction than weeks of worrying alone had.

문제 5

Many English teachers now ask students to write a short review after finishing a book, rather than simply filling out a reading log. At first, students often ①complain that summarizing a plot is enough work already, so writing an opinion on top of that feels unnecessary. However, a review requires something a summary does not: a clear judgment supported by ②specific evidence from the text. To defend an opinion about a character or a theme, students must return to the book and ③ignore exact passages that support their view. This process forces readers to notice details they might have skipped during a first, quick reading. Teachers who assign reviews regularly report that their students remember plot details more ④accurately and discuss characters' motivations more confidently than students who only summarize. In this sense, writing a review is not extra work added onto reading; it is a way of reading more ⑤carefully in the first place.

문제 6

Students who read many books across many different subjects often develop a habit that quieter learners sometimes ①lack: the habit of comparing new information with what they already know. A student who has read about ancient wars, ocean ecosystems, and modern economics can more easily ②notice when two different subjects share a similar pattern. This kind of connection-making is closely related to what psychologists call critical thinking, since seeing a familiar pattern in an unfamiliar topic allows a person to ask ③sharper questions instead of accepting new information at face value. Extensive reading also builds a large mental library of examples, which makes it ④harder to evaluate whether a new claim sounds reasonable or exaggerated. Teachers often notice that widely read students argue more carefully, supporting their opinions with ⑤specific examples rather than vague generalizations.

문제 7

When people evaluate their personal contribution to water scarcity, they often consider only the water that flows directly from household taps, overlooking a far larger quantity consumed indirectly through the goods they purchase. The water footprint, a concept that extends this ①broad view, measures the total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services an individual or a nation consumes. Central to this concept is the notion of virtual water, the water embedded ②invisibly within a product, from irrigating cotton fields to livestock raised for meat. For instance, producing a kilogram of beef can require several thousand liters of water, whereas a kilogram of vegetables typically demands a fraction of that amount. Nations that import water-intensive goods rather than producing them domestically are importing virtual water from regions that may face ③severe shortages. Critics caution, however, that focusing ④exclusively on aggregate volume can mislead policymakers, since a liter of water drawn from a region suffering drought carries far greater consequences than one drawn from a water-⑤abundant area.

문제 8

Classical economic models typically assume that people discount future rewards at a constant rate. Empirical observation, however, reveals a different pattern: people apply a much steeper discount to the immediate future than to the distant future, a phenomenon termed hyperbolic discounting. This dynamic helps explain chronic procrastination, since tasks that carry long-term benefits are perpetually deferred in favor of activities offering ___________ satisfaction.

문제 9

When an oil tanker ruptures and crude spreads across open water, cleanup crews increasingly reach not only for skimmers and floating booms but also for something far smaller: bacteria that eat oil. (A) Scientists have learned to accelerate the process by adding nutrients that help native microbial populations multiply faster, or by introducing engineered strains, and because the method relies on living organisms rather than heavy machinery, it also tends to leave a far gentler footprint on the surrounding ecosystem than excavation or chemical treatment ever could. (B) Certain naturally occurring microbes possess enzymes capable of breaking hydrocarbon molecules apart, using the carbon as an energy source and gradually converting a toxic slick into carbon dioxide and harmless byproducts. (C) Bioremediation, as this approach is called, works far more slowly than mechanical cleanup, often taking months rather than days, but it can reach contamination trapped in soil or sediment that skimmers and booms can never reach.

문제 10

Students often groan when a classic novel appears on their reading list, complaining that the language feels old-fashioned and the plot moves too slowly. (A) Readers often discover that a character written hundreds of years ago struggles with feelings that still feel familiar today. For these reasons, many teachers argue that classics deserve a place on every reading list, not because they are old, but because they are still relevant. (B) It is true that classic literature can be harder to read than a modern bestseller written in casual, everyday language. Yet this very difficulty is part of why classics remain valuable for young readers today. (C) Working through unfamiliar sentence patterns and vocabulary trains the brain to handle complex texts, a skill that transfers directly to other subjects and to standardized tests. Beyond language training, classic novels also explore themes such as jealousy, ambition, and loss that have not changed much across centuries.