Question

mary’s flag
betsy ross is recognized as having sewn the first american flag. but there is another famous american flag maker whose work is also honored in the united states. mary young pickersgill was born on february 12, 1776. her parents were william and rebecca young of philadelphia, pennsylvania. she was the youngest of their five children. as the british were advancing in september 1777, during the revolutionary war, mary’s family was forced to leave their home. she was 18 months old when her family moved to lebanon, pennsylvania, with all their household goods.
mary’s uncle helped her family find a place to live in philadelphia. soon after moving, rebecca young, mary’s mother, advertised her flag - making business in the philadelphia newspapers. during the revolutionary war, she was the only person to advertise as a flag maker. she had made the flag that flew over george washington’s headquarters on january 1, 1776. she was able to support her family with this occupation.
at the age of 19, mary married john pickersgill in baltimore on october 2, 1795. john, a u.s. government employee, traveled to london for work. he died in london on june 14, 1805 and mary
why does the author compare the fort mchenry flag to a basketball court?
○ to make the passage more modern
○ to let readers know the fort was very large
○ to show readers that mary would earn a lot of money
○ to give readers a better idea of the size of the flag mary was sewing

Explanation:

The question is about why the author compares the Fort McHenry Flag to a basketball court. Among the options, comparing the flag to a basketball court (a familiar object with a known size) is a common way to help readers visualize the size of the flag. Option A is incorrect as it's not about modernizing the passage. Option B is incorrect as the comparison isn't to show the fort's size. Option C is incorrect as the comparison has nothing to do with Mary's earnings. Option D explains that the comparison is to give readers a better idea of the flag's size, which makes sense as basketball courts have a standard size that readers can relate to.

Answer:

D. to give readers a better idea of the size of the flag Mary was sewing