Select one sentence in this excerpt that contains a figurative expression.
A. Fleming was 12 years old and the best skater in her hometown when she heard the news.
B. A plane carrying the U.S. figure skating team to the World Championships crashed near Brussels, Belgium.
C. It was a huge, huge loss that cut off our sport at the knees, Fleming said later.
D. At the time, however, Fleming was too young to fully understand what had happened.
The correct answer is C: “It was a huge, huge loss that cut off our sport at the knees,” Fleming said later.
Explanation: The figurative expression in this sentence is “cut off our sport at the knees.” This phrase suggests that the loss was so significant that it severely hindered or damaged the sport, much like how physically cutting someone at the knees would prevent them from standing or moving. This is an example of a metaphor, where a situation is compared to a physical action to convey its impact more vividly.