Question

there they were, smiling and waving in the airport lobby—his new family! chris, the father; louise, the mother; and four children. salva would have siblings, just as he had before. he felt his shoulders relax a little on seeing their eager smiles.
salva said \hello\ and \thank you\ many times, for in his fatigue and confusion, these were the only words he felt sure about. he could not understand what anyone was saying, especially louise, who spoke so quickly that at first he was not sure she was even speaking english.
and yes, they did have more clothes for him!—a big puffy jacket, a hat, a scarf, gloves. he put on the jacket and zipped it up. the sleeves were so bulky that he felt as if he couldn’t move his arms properly. he wondered if he looked very foolish now, with his body and arms so fat and his legs so thin. but none of the family laughed at him, and he soon noticed that they were all wearing the same kind of jacket.
the glass doors of the airport terminal slid open. the frigid air hit salva’s face like a slap. never had he felt such cold before! in the part of africa where he had lived all his life, the temperature rarely dropped below seventy degrees.
when he inhaled, he thought his lungs would slowly freeze solid and stop working. but all around him, people were still walking and talking and moving about. apparently, it was possible to survive in such cold temperatures, and he now understood the need for the awkward padded jacket.
salva stood still inside the terminal doors for a few moments. leaving the airport felt like leaving his old life forever—sudan, his village, his family . . . .
tears came to his eyes, perhaps from the cold air blowing in through the open doors. his new family was already outside; they turned and looked back at him.
salva blinked away the tears and took his first step into a new life in america.
from linda sue park, a long walk to water. copyright 2010 by linda sue park
look at the text in bold. what is the effect of this simile?
it reveals how unfriendly the people in america have been to salva.
it emphasizes how shocking and unpleasant the weather is to salva.
it illustrates how emotional salva feels about having to live in this climate.

Explanation:

The simile "The frigid air hit Salva’s face like a slap" compares the cold air to a slap. A slap is a sudden, unpleasant, and shocking sensation. Salva is from a region with warm temperatures, so this cold air is new to him. The simile emphasizes how the cold weather is shocking and unpleasant to him, as a slap is an unexpected and uncomfortable feeling. The first option is incorrect as the air (weather) isn't people being unfriendly. The third option is off - topic as the simile is about the weather's physical impact, not his emotions about living in the climate.

Answer:

It emphasizes how shocking and unpleasant the weather is to Salva.