The Box: 1st & 2nd Conditionals

I love the idea of the movie and its intriguing development. The situation is unsual, perfect for 1st and 2nd conditional practice.




A. Read the passage below and complete the blanks with the verbs in parentheses, using with the first conditional. You have just received the visit of a total stranger who gives you a mysterious box with a button and makes the following offer to you:



If you _________ (push) the button, two things ________ (happen). First, someone, somewhere in the world, whom you don't know, __________ (die). Second, you ____________ (receive) a payment of one million dollars. Tax free. The payment ___________ (be) delivered by me in cash to you.


There are three restrictions:

1. You are not permitted to know any information about who's making the offer.

2. You are not permitted to discuss the details of this offer to anyone except your husband (wife).

3. You have 24 hours to make your decision.

4. Otherwise, the box will be reprogrammed and the offer will be made to someone else.

B. Now watch the first part of the segment (until the visitor leaves her house) and check your answers.

C. Now discuss the following questions with a partner. Remember that you are talking about an unreal situation, so you must use the second conditional. Then write down your answers. Start them with If...

1. What would you do if you were in her shoes?

If ...

2. How would you feel if you pushed the button?

If ...

3. How would you feel if you didn't push the button?

If ...

4. Would you push the button if you needed that money to save your son/daughter's life? Explain it.

If ...

D. Watch the second part of the segment and answer the following questions:

1. What were some of the things they considered before deciding whether to push the button?

2. What did they decide to do?

3. According to her, why did she do it?

WORKSHEET

Answer key:

A. push / will happen / will die / will receive / will be

B. Answers will vary

100 Feet - 1st Conditional

This segment is about a woman who killed her violent husband and is now in house arrest. The segment shows police officers telling her about how her ankle bracelet works and its misuse consequences. For this blog, I'm writing the matches in the correct order, but you should mix the second column up when you prepare the exercise sheet for your students.

Ask your students to do the matching exercise before they watch the segment:


Before viewing:


Disscuss the following questions with a partner:


1 - What are the advantages and disadvantages of house arrest?
2 - Do you agree with this procedure of the law? Why (not)?
3 - Is it an effective way to rehabilitate prisoners? Why (not)?



Match the condition and the consequence of the following actions.



Conditions:

1 - She passes the 100 perimeter space.
2 - The alarm continues for more than 3 minutes.
3 - She breaks the house arrest rules.
4 - She has any violation.
5 - She attempts to remove the electronic ankle bracelet or tamper with the base unit.
6 - They get a blackout or something.


Consequences:


( 1 ) The alarm activates.
( ) A signal is automatically sent and a car is seen immediately.
( ) She goes back to jail.
( ) It automatically adds 10 years to her sentence.
( ) An alarm automatically alerts the police.
( ) The base unit still works.


Now watch the segment and decide whether your guesses were correct.


Now rewrite the couple of sentences, using the 1st conditional:
Ex:
1 - If she passes the 100 feet perimeter, the alarm will activate.









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