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One Superpower – But There’s a Problem

Imagine that one morning you find a small black box outside your front door. There is no name on it. There is only one message:

CHOOSE ONE SUPERPOWER. YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES.

You open the box and see four buttons.

The first button gives you the power to fly. Amazing! You can fly over houses, trees and cars. You never need a bus again. But there is a problem: you can only fly two metres above the ground. You are fast, but you have to be careful with trees, street lights and very surprised birds.

The second button makes you invisible. You can go anywhere and nobody can see you. You can listen to secret conversations or walk into places where you normally cannot go. But you can only be invisible for ten minutes a day. After ten minutes – pop! – everybody can see you again. So you need to watch the time carefully.

The third button lets you read people’s minds. You can know what your friends, teachers and family are thinking. This sounds useful. You always know when somebody is lying, and you can find out what people really think about you. But there is one big problem: you cannot turn the power off. In a classroom, a shop or a busy street, you hear hundreds of thoughts at the same time. Some are funny, some are boring, and some are things you really don’t want to know.

The last button gives you super strength. You can lift a car, move a huge table with one hand and carry ten heavy bags easily. But every time you use your super strength, you immediately fall asleep for one hour. Imagine stopping a thief and then falling asleep in front of him!

You look at the four buttons.

There are now only thirty seconds left.

Flying sounds fun. Being invisible could be useful. Reading minds could change your life. Super strength could make you a hero.

But every power has a price.

Which button do you press?

Discussion Questions – Superpowers

  1. Which of the four superpowers would you choose? Why?
  2. Which superpower would you definitely not choose? Why?
  3. Do you think flying only two metres above the ground is still useful?
  4. What would you do during your ten minutes of invisibility?
  5. Where would you go if you were invisible?
  6. Would you like to know what your friends are really thinking? Why or why not?
  7. What could be the biggest problem with reading people’s minds?
  8. When could super strength be really useful?
  9. Would you use a superpower to help other people or mostly for yourself?
  10. Could having a superpower make your life more difficult? How?
  11. Which power would be most useful at school?
  12. Which power would be most useful on holiday?
  13. Which power could get you into trouble?
  14. Would you tell your friends about your superpower or keep it secret?
  15. If your best friend had a superpower, which one would you like them to have?
  16. Would you use a superpower to get better results at school?
  17. Is it OK to read someone’s mind if they don’t know about it?
  18. Would you prefer a very powerful superpower with a big problem or a weaker power with no problem?
  19. If you could invent a new superpower, what would it be?
  20. Every superpower needs a problem. What would be the problem with your new superpower?

WOULD & COULD – imaginary situations

A would és could szavakat gyakran használjuk, amikor egy elképzelt, nem valós jelenlegi helyzetről beszélünk.

WOULD = mit tennél / mi történne

would + ige alapalak

  • I would choose invisibility. – A láthatatlanságot választanám.
  • I would help my friends. – Segítenék a barátaimnak.
  • I wouldn’t tell anyone. – Nem mondanám el senkinek.
  • What would you do? – Mit tennél?

COULD = mit tudnál / mire lenne lehetőséged

could + ige alapalak

  • I could fly to school. – Iskolába repülhetnék.
  • We could help people. – Segíthetnénk az embereknek.
  • You could become a superhero. – Szuperhőssé válhatnál.
  • Where could you go? – Hová mehetnél?

WOULD vagy COULD?

would → azt mondom, mit tennék.
could → azt mondom, mit tudnék / mit tehetnék.

If I were invisible, I could go anywhere.
Ha láthatatlan lennék, bárhová elmehetnék.

If I were invisible, I would visit a secret place.
Ha láthatatlan lennék, meglátogatnék egy titkos helyet.

Egyszerű feltételes mondat

If + Past Simple → would/could + ige

If I had a superpower, I would help people.
Ha lenne szuperképességem, segítenék az embereknek.

If I could fly, I would never take the bus.
Ha tudnék repülni, soha nem mennék busszal.

👉 Bár Past Simple áll az if után, itt nem múltról beszélünk. Egy elképzelt jelenlegi helyzetről van szó.

True or False?

Read the sentences and decide if they are True (T) or False (F). Correct the false sentences.

  1. The black box is outside the boy’s front door.
  2. There are five buttons inside the box.
  3. The person has five minutes to choose a superpower.
  4. The flying power lets you fly very high above buildings.
  5. If you choose invisibility, you can be invisible for ten minutes every day.
  6. The mind-reading power can be turned off when you want.
  7. Reading minds can help you know when somebody is lying.
  8. With super strength, you can lift very heavy things.
  9. After using super strength, you have to sleep for an hour.
  10. At the end of the story, there are only thirty seconds left to make a decision.
  11. The text says that invisibility is the best superpower.
  12. All four superpowers have a disadvantage.

Match the words with the definitions

WORDS

  1. invisible
  2. super strength
  3. secret
  4. lift
  5. thought
  6. lie
  7. useful
  8. choice
  9. power
  10. problem

DEFINITIONS

A. a difficult situation
B. to say something untrue
C. very great physical power
D. a decision between things
E. impossible to see
F. information kept hidden
G. an idea in your mind
H. to move something upwards
I. helpful or practical
J. a special ability

KEY: 1–E, 2–C, 3–F, 4–H, 5–G, 6–B, 7–I, 8–D, 9–J, 10–A

Fill in the gaps

Use the words from the box. Use each word only once.

invisible • choose • careful • secret • thoughts • strength • useful • lift • power • asleep

  1. You have five minutes to __________ one superpower.
  2. If nobody can see you, you are __________.
  3. You need to be __________ when you fly near trees and street lights.
  4. You could listen to a __________ conversation.
  5. Reading minds means you can hear other people’s __________.
  6. Super __________ can help you move very heavy things.
  7. A superpower can be very __________ in a difficult situation.
  8. With super strength, you could __________ a car.
  9. Every special __________ in the story has a disadvantage.
  10. After using super strength, you immediately fall __________.

KEY: 1. choose, 2. invisible, 3. careful, 4. secret, 5. thoughts, 6. strength, 7. useful, 8. lift, 9. power, 10. asleep

Match the beginnings (1–10) with the correct endings (A–J).

SENTENCE BEGINNINGS

  1. If I could fly,
  2. If I were invisible for ten minutes,
  3. If I could read people’s minds,
  4. If I had super strength,
  5. If I could stop time,
  6. If I could teleport anywhere,
  7. If my best friend had a superpower,
  8. If my teacher could read minds,
  9. If I could see the future,
  10. If everybody had a superpower,

SENTENCE ENDINGS

A. I would ask them to show me what they could do.
B. I could travel to another country in seconds.
C. the world could become a very strange place.
D. I would know what people really thought about me.
E. I could visit places where nobody normally sees me.
F. I would never be late for school again.
G. I could move very heavy things easily.
H. I would be very careful about what I was thinking in class.
I. I could take a break while everything around me was still.
J. I would know what could happen tomorrow.

KEY: 1–F, 2–E, 3–D, 4–G, 5–I, 6–B, 7–A, 8–H, 9–J, 10–C

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