It was a normal Tuesday morning in 2050. Fourteen-year-old Alex woke up when his smart bedroom opened the curtains automatically. While he was getting dressed, a small robot was making breakfast in the kitchen.
Alex left home and got into his self-driving school bus. While he was travelling to school with his friends, he was playing a game on the window screen. Suddenly, the bus stopped.
Alex looked outside. Nothing was moving. The traffic lights were dark, delivery drones were lying on the ground, and other self-driving cars stopped in the streets. A few seconds later, every screen went black.
The students soon discovered that the whole town had lost electricity and internet connection. Robots weren’t working, shops couldn’t accept digital money, and people couldn’t use their smart devices.
Alex and his friends walked to school. When they arrived, the electronic doors didn’t work. Finally, a teacher found an old key and opened them.
The classroom computers and the school AI were also offline, so the teachers used books, paper and pencils. During lunch, something even stranger happened. While the students were eating, they started talking to each other instead of looking at screens.
In the afternoon, Alex was walking home when he noticed how different the town looked. Children were playing outside, neighbours were talking, and people were helping each other.
At 6:47 p.m., the electricity suddenly came back. The robots woke up and the screens turned on.
That evening, Alex picked up his smart glasses, but then he put them back on the table. “Not yet,” he said. He went outside to play football with his friends.
Vocabulary – Szószedet
| English | Magyar |
|---|---|
| smart bedroom | okos hálószoba |
| automatically | automatikusan |
| self-driving | önvezető |
| delivery drone | szállító drón |
| traffic lights | közlekedési lámpák |
| lose electricity | elmegy az áram / áram nélkül marad |
| internet connection | internetkapcsolat |
| smart device | okoseszköz |
| electronic doors | elektronikus ajtók |
| notice | észrevesz |
Questions – A Normal Day in 2050
- What was Alex doing when the school bus suddenly stopped?
- What signs showed that something serious had happened in the town?
- Why did Alex and his friends have to walk to school?
- How did the teachers continue the lessons without computers and AI?
- What was different about lunchtime that day?
- What did Alex notice while he was walking home?
- Why do you think people started talking to each other more?
- Which technology in the story would you like to have in real life? Why?
- Which technology would you not like to depend on?
- Do you think people already depend too much on phones and the internet? Why or why not?
- What would be the biggest problem for you if the internet disappeared for 24 hours?
- What were you doing the last time there was a power cut or the internet suddenly stopped working?
- Could you study for a whole day without a computer, phone or internet? What would be difficult?
- Do you think schools in 2050 will use AI more than human teachers? What could be the advantages and disadvantages?
- At the end of the story, Alex decided not to use his smart glasses immediately. Why do you think he made that decision?
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Fill in the gaps – Past Simple or Past Continuous
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use the Simple Past or the Past Continuous.
- While Ben __________ (walk) home, he __________ (see) a delivery robot in the middle of the road.
- The students __________ (work) on a science project when all the computers suddenly __________ (turn) off.
- Mia __________ (not use) her phone when the internet __________ (stop) working.
- What __________ you __________ (do) when the lights __________ (go) out?
- While we __________ (wait) for the self-driving bus, we __________ (hear) a strange noise.
- The teacher __________ (talk) about future technology when somebody __________ (ask) a difficult question.
- Tom __________ (break) his smart glasses while he __________ (play) basketball.
- The robots __________ (clean) the school corridors when the electricity __________ (go) off.
- While Anna __________ (try) to open the electronic door, her friend __________ (look) for another entrance.
- The children __________ (not play) computer games when their parents __________ (come) home.
- Where __________ Leo __________ (go) when you __________ (see) him?
- While everybody __________ (look) at the dark screens, one student suddenly __________ (start) laughing.
- The family __________ (eat) dinner when their house robot __________ (stop) working.
- I __________ (not notice) the problem because I __________ (talk) to my friend.
- While people __________ (wait) for the electricity to come back, some neighbours __________ (organize) a football game.
Match the sentence halves – Simple Past & Past Continuous
Match the sentence beginnings (1–12) with the correct endings (A–L).
| Sentence beginning | Sentence ending |
|---|---|
| 1. While Emma was travelling in an air taxi, | A. while he was trying to repair his virtual reality headset. |
| 2. Jack was having an online lesson | B. the automatic windows suddenly closed. |
| 3. While the family was watching a hologram movie, | C. when the navigation system gave her the wrong direction. |
| 4. Sophie received an emergency message | D. while thousands of people were travelling to work. |
| 5. While Daniel was charging his electric bike, | E. the temperature inside the house suddenly dropped. |
| 6. The city transport system crashed | F. when a strange message appeared on his screen. |
| 7. While Laura was shopping in a virtual store, | G. when someone rang the old-fashioned doorbell. |
| 8. The security robot stopped Tom | H. she discovered a completely new part of the city. |
| 9. While the smart house was controlling the temperature, | I. when its battery suddenly caught fire. |
| 10. Noah found an old paper newspaper | J. the sound system suddenly stopped working. |
| 11. While hundreds of people were waiting for their food, | K. because he was entering the building without his digital ID. |
| 12. The family was preparing dinner | L. the restaurant robots suddenly stopped serving customers. |
Key: 1–H, 2–F, 3–J, 4–C, 5–I, 6–D, 7–B, 8–K, 9–E, 10–A, 11–L, 12–G
Match the words with their definitions
Match the words and expressions (1–12) with the correct definitions (A–L).
| Word / Expression | Definition |
|---|---|
| 1. power cut | A. a machine that can do jobs automatically |
| 2. virtual reality | B. something you use to prove who you are electronically |
| 3. device | C. a situation when a machine or system suddenly stops working |
| 4. artificial intelligence | D. a period when there is no electricity |
| 5. digital ID | E. a machine or piece of electronic equipment made for a particular purpose |
| 6. automatic | F. a computer-created world that looks and feels real |
| 7. navigation system | G. to need someone or something in order to function successfully |
| 8. depend on | H. technology that allows computers to learn, solve problems and make decisions |
| 9. crash | I. a system that helps you find the correct way to a place |
| 10. recognize | J. working by itself without a person controlling it |
| 11. emergency | K. to know someone or something because you have seen them before |
| 12. robot | L. a serious and unexpected situation that needs quick action |
Key: 1–D, 2–F, 3–E, 4–H, 5–B, 6–J, 7–I, 8–G, 9–C, 10–K, 11–L, 12–A
Finish the sentences – Life and Technology in 2050
Choose one ending (A, B or C) and finish the sentence. Then explain your choice.
- I think life in 2050 will be…
A) easier because technology will help us more.
B) more difficult because we will depend too much on technology.
C) different, but not necessarily better or worse. - If robots do most everyday jobs, people will…
A) have more free time.
B) become too lazy.
C) find other things to do. - I would like to travel in a self-driving car because…
A) it could be safer than a normal car.
B) I could relax during the journey.
C) I think it would be an interesting experience. - If the internet stopped working for a week, the biggest problem would be…
A) communication.
B) work and school.
C) everyday services like shopping and banking. - In the future, schools should…
A) use much more technology.
B) use technology but also keep traditional lessons.
C) limit technology in the classroom. - I think having a robot at home would be…
A) useful because it could do boring jobs.
B) uncomfortable because I wouldn’t want a machine around me all day.
C) interesting at first, but probably normal after some time. - If AI became better than humans at many jobs, people should…
A) learn new skills.
B) work fewer hours.
C) continue doing some jobs without AI. - I would / wouldn’t like to live in a completely smart home because…
A) it could make everyday life easier.
B) I wouldn’t want technology to control everything.
C) I would worry about what happened during a power cut. - I think people in 2050 will spend…
A) more time online than people today.
B) less time online because they will get tired of technology.
C) almost all their time in a mixture of real and virtual worlds. - For me, the best future would be a world where…
A) technology does most of the difficult and boring work.
B) people use technology but don’t depend on it completely.
C) people decide carefully which new technologies they really need.