Final answer:
If you contact a live/hot wire and a neutral wire, the most severe and likely outcome is that you may be electrocuted. Proper grounding and circuit breakers are safety measures that prevent such dangerous situations and might instead trigger a power outage.
Step-by-step explanation:
If you come into contact with an energized black wire (the live/hot wire) and are also in touch with a white grounded (neutral) wire, it is likely that you may experience one of several scenarios. Most dangerously, you may be electrocuted, which is a severe electric shock that could be fatal.
This is because the live/hot wire has voltage and current designed to operate an appliance, while the neutral wire is intended to be at zero volts and offers a return path for the electric current. If the insulation is worn and there is no proper earth/ground connection, as shown in an example with an appliance (Figure 23.32), a person touching the exposed live/hot wire and the case at the same time can be severely shocked.
However, with a proper earth/ground connection, the earth/ground wire would cause a circuit breaker to trip, which might result in a power outage but would protect you from electrocution.
Therefore the correct option is 3) You may be electrocuted.