How to be invisible.

Have you ever wanted to become invisible?  Just imagine.  You can go anywhere you like and nobody else will see you.  Well you can, sort of.

The writers of fairy tales sometimes put invisibility into their stories.  Perhaps a spell or a special piece of clothing will turn the hero into someone nobody can see.  Scientists are trying to develop special equipment that does the same thing.  So far they have made a type of coat that stops heat-sensitive cameras from seeing you.  They have also made aeroplanes that radar cannot detect.  Earlier this year there was another news story on the topic, and they said they were getting closer to a full cloaking device.

I can't promise the technology of science fiction, but I can tell you how to get the same practical effect.  Just wait for the fog to appear.  When it gets foggy, you become invisible.  At least, you become invisible to drivers.  Alright, this may look obvious, but not to everybody.  I was on the bus a couple of days ago and looked through the front window.  Although I could see car lights a long way down the street, the first time I saw a pedestrian was about twenty metres away.

This is where you can play a game called 'Spot the stupid person'.  These people are invisible until the bus or car is almost on top of them and then they walk straight out into the road.  They work according to a strange logic that says 'If I can see the car, then the car driver can see me!'  If you think of this for a moment, you'll see the problem with it.  You can see the car because the car has two bright lights on the front of it.  Unless you are carrying an enormously powerful torch, the reverse is not true.

So why do people do it?  Why do people walk straight out in front of a car when they are completely invisible themselves?  Is there something added to the local drinking water and, if so, has anyone told the health authorities?  There is one thing you can be quite certain of:  Do this yourself and you will find that you are invisible.  However, it will probably be the last thing you ever find out.

Glossary

invisible                      niewidzialny

a spell                         zaklęcie

heat-sensitive              wrażliwy na ciepło

a cloaking device = something that makes a person or thing invisible

fog                              mgła

obvious                       oczywisty

a pedestrian                pieszy

according to               według

the reverse = the opposite

Language note

When it gets foggy, you become invisible.

This is an example of a conditional sentence.  The first half and the second half are both in the Present Simple so we call this the Zero Conditional.

How many other conditional sentences can you find in the text?  Can you find any that are a different type of conditional?

KEY:

'If I can see the car, then the car driver can see me!'

If you think of this for a moment, you'll see the problem with it. 

This is called the First Conditional.  It is a possibility, not a general rule.

Unless you are carrying an enormously powerful torch, the reverse is not true.

'Unless you are…' means 'If you are not…'

This is still the Zero Conditional, although it starts with the continuous form instead of the simple.

Weather wordsearch

V A T B B D S U Y F H Z W D Q

T K M F L F N Q C I G N T Z S

A N Y M I A F U A U V L T W V

C F L N Z R C Y Z M P M P H S

T A Q C Z Q D K O L Q Q Z I V

P Q W F A Q Y W I I S S D W D

U E G U R N M M O C E R G G G

O J P D D O I J U N E I N X K

U I B J A O S W A E S U C O D

P B P H Q R T T D Y G N V K K

O K W S V I D S K W X P U E Z

T H T C E Y F R P I G B C B U

W Y B J O S N A M M X D W P A

O H I V G I D X V K U S P Y A

R R T M W Q S R P X O F P Z F

Clues:

1. A small layer of ice, usually early in the morning.
2. An extremely heavy snow storm.
3. Banks of snow blown into piles by the wind.
4. Something invisible on the road that is dangerous to drivers.
5. Not as thick as fog, but similar.

KEY

1. frost
2. blizzard
3. snowdrift
4. black ice
5. mist

And what are these?

Invisible ink is something you can write with.  You can only see the message when you hold the paper up to a strong light.  During World War One, the British government made it illegal!

Invisible mending is a professional way to repair clothes.  It's expensive, but afterwards it looks as good as new.