阅读理解
I consider myself one of the luckiest people I know.
I lost my biological mother when I was 9 and when she was alive she was not much of a mother to
me.
I met my step-mom for the first time when I moved to America to be reunited with my father. From
the beginning she made sure to let me know that I was safe and welcome.
I remember when I first saw her at the airport. It was different but not uncomfortable. After I was
picked up from the airport we went home and she unpacked my luggage. Then she took me shopping
for new clothes since the ones I had brought with me from Africa were a bit worn.
That night before I went to bed she came to my room, which was the first room I had ever had for
my own, with the first bed I didn't have to share. She told me she was glad to have me and that she
would take good care of me.
Before she walked out of my new room, she asked me for a hug. I had no idea what she was talking
about. I did not know what the word hug meant, not because I didn't speak English, but I had just never
heard the word before, let alone knew what it meant. So, I just looked at her with a questioning
expression on my face.
But she didn't give up. She called my father into the room and asked him to explain to me what she
meant. When my father was explaining I looked at her and wondered why she wanted to hug me. She
then told me it was because she loved me and opened her arms wide. Shyly I opened mine and we
hugged.
That was my very first hug and I was 11 at that time. I'm 23 now and, thankfully, I have received
many hugs since then.
I consider her my birth mother because life began when I came to stay with her. For the first time
there were no kids for me to take care of and I became a child for the first time. There was no work
waiting for me every day other than the occasional chores that she gave me to teach me responsibility.
Today I say thank-you to my mother; thank you for giving me my childhood back after it had been
taken away from me. I am who I am today because of your love!
1. What was the author's life in Africa?
A. Difficult.
B. Amusing.
C. Challenging.
D. Satisfactory.
2. The author was puzzled at her new mom's request for a hug because _______ .
A. her new mom didn't open her arms wide in time
B. the word" hug" made no sense to her at that time
C. her English wasn't good enough to understand it
D. she didn't hear what her new mom was talking about
3. We may learn from the passage that the author _________.
A. didn't need to do any work in her second home
B. met her new mom when she was nine years old
C. felt safe and loved by what her new mom did
D. had a very big family to support in Africa
4. What can be the best title for the passage?
A. My New Home
B. My First Hug
C. My Childhood
D. My African Memory