A child survivor of the Indian Ocean tsunami and a girl from the United States who offered help met for the first time after the disaster.
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed Nada Luthfiyyah’s small town in Aceh. Her parents and two brothers were among the 160,000 people who died in the disaster. Maggie Hamilton’s classmates in the state of Michigan decided to make and sell bracelets (手镯) to raise money for the victims. Maggie, who was 9 years old at the time, wrote a letter to survivors to offer help. Nada was selected from her class to respond with a letter of thanks.
Three and a half years later, the two girls met for the first time. Their meeting was arranged by the Indonesian government, and was used as a symbol of the two countries’aid relationship. Their letters were quoted by diplomats (外交官)of both countries.
Maggie, visiting the town under reconstruction, said she did not expect that her letter would draw so much attention, but, she said, the experience helped to make her more active in volunteering work. "I’ve been volunteering at a nursing home in Ohio. I just want to help people whenever I can," Maggie said.
Juanda, the spokesman for Indonesia’s tsunami reconstruction agency, says the meeting of the two girls serves as a symbol of their informal relationship. It will represent the international community’s role in Aceh’s future. "I think what we can learn from this experience is that Nada from Aceh and Maggie from the U.S. are able to share their experiences, friendship, knowledge and support," Juanda says.
Maggie says she wants to learn Indonesian and hopes to have Nada visit her home in Michigan sometime, perhaps next year.
1. Nada and Maggie first made contact with each other through ______.
A. letters B. visiting the diplomats
C. arrangements by the government D. informal visits
2. From the text we know that ______.
A. Maggie and Nada’s friendship is a symbol of the two countries’ friendship
B. 16,000 people lost their lives in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
C. Maggie volunteered to work in the reconstruction after the tsunami
D. Maggie is now a volunteer working in Nada’s hometown
3. The text mainly tells us that ______.
A. Indonesian and American girls build friendship after a tsunami
B. the Indian Ocean tsunami influenced the USA
C. letters are an advantage in building friendships
D. Indonesia is under construction after a tsunami
