영어 모의고사 (자동 편성)

Many people throw away items ①that they no longer need. However, some students have started ②to buy and sell used goods instead of throwing them away. This practice, often ③called secondhand trading, takes place at flea markets or through simple online apps. When you buy a secondhand book or a used bicycle, you save money and reduce waste at the same time. For example, a jacket that no longer ④fit your older sibling can become a treasure for someone else. Giving an old item to a new owner is like giving a toy a second life. In contrast, throwing away useful items increases the amount of trash that ends up in landfills. Therefore, secondhand trading, ⑤which requires little effort, protects both your wallet and the environment. Small choices like this can make a big difference for our planet.

Many students ①take a career aptitude test at some point in high school. This test, ②which is designed to measure a person's interests and strengths, does not simply tell students which job to choose. Instead, it helps them understand themselves better. For example, a student ③who enjoy solving problems might discover a hidden interest in engineering. However, the results should ④be used only as a guide, not as a final answer. Therefore, students should treat the test as a useful starting point for ⑤exploring various career paths, rather than a fixed decision.

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.

Anyone designing a presentation, a curriculum, or a grocery list should attend to a well-documented pattern in human memory known as the serial position effect. When people are asked to recall items from a list right after studying it, they ①consistently remember the items presented at the beginning and end far better than those buried in the middle. The advantage for early items, called the primacy effect, arises because those items receive ②less rehearsal and are more likely to be transferred into long-term storage before subsequent items compete for attention. The advantage for final items, known as the recency effect, occurs because those items remain ③accessible in short-term memory at the moment of recall. Middle items suffer because they must compete for ④limited rehearsal opportunities while lacking the stability afforded by extended processing. Communicators who ignore this pattern risk burying their most important point where it will predictably be forgotten. A more effective strategy, therefore, places the crucial message at the beginning or end, precisely where memory proves most ⑤reliable.

A cotton plant that manufactures its own insecticide sounds like science fiction, yet it has been growing in fields around the world for decades. Scientists achieved this by isolating a gene from a soil bacterium that produces a protein toxic to specific insect pests but harmless to humans, then inserting that gene into the plant's own genome so that every cell manufactures the protective protein. _______________. Supporters point to yield increases and reduced pesticide spraying documented across millions of hectares, while critics worry about weeds and insects evolving resistance to these built-in defenses over time, much as bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics. Regulatory agencies in most countries now require extensive testing before a genetically modified crop reaches the market, evaluating everything from its nutritional content to its potential effects on nearby ecosystems.

A smart thermostat that learns a family's daily rhythm can lower the temperature automatically before everyone wakes up cold, while smart lights that follow a resident's schedule no longer need to be switched on and off by hand. Sensors collect data about temperature, motion, and light throughout the home, and an algorithm gradually learns which settings match each household's actual habits. Yet convenience comes with a trade-off that many households overlook: _______________.

Building a reading habit does not usually start with a big decision to read more. (A) It often starts with very small, easy steps, such as keeping a book in a bag or choosing a fixed time each day to read for just ten minutes. (B) These small routines work because they lower the effort needed to begin; once a student opens a book, continuing to read feels much easier than starting did. (C) Over weeks, these tiny actions add up, and reading slowly becomes something the student simply does, rather than something the student has to force.

The SMART method breaks a goal into five simple parts that make it easier to reach. (A) Next, make sure your goal is measurable, so you can track your progress with clear numbers. (B) Finally, add a deadline to your goal, since a time-bound goal pushes you to take action instead of waiting. (C) First, make your goal specific by describing exactly what you want to do rather than using vague words.

Consumers today increasingly consider more than just price when deciding what to buy. (A) For example, many shoppers now research a company's labor practices before purchasing its products. (B) This growing awareness reflects a shift toward what is often called value-based consumption. (C) As a result, companies face increasing pressure to operate more responsibly and transparently.

주어진 문장: Not everyone welcomes this shift, however, and some worry that it comes at a cost. As technology continues to reshape the job market, educators and employers increasingly agree on which skills will matter most in the coming decades. ( ① ) Technical literacy, including basic coding and data analysis, has become nearly as fundamental as reading and writing once were. ( ② ) Schools have begun redesigning curricula to emphasize problem-solving and adaptability, moving away from rote memorization toward project-based learning that mirrors real workplace challenges. ( ③ ) Most experts insist that a balanced combination of technical skill, adaptability, and communication will define successful careers ahead. ( ④ ) Communication skills matter as well, since many future jobs will require collaborating with both human colleagues and intelligent systems. ( ⑤ )