Because he wrote his name so that it could be read easily, John Hancock has a place in the dictionary.
John Hancock was a wealthy man who helped the patriots in the American Revolution. He was president of the Continental Congress. He was also governor of Massachusetts and one of the first men of sign the Declaration of Independence. Yet he is remembered best for his large signature.
The story is told that when Hancock sat down to sign the Declaration of Independence, he said that he would write his signature large enough for John Bull to read without his glasses. Hancock’s signature on the Declaration is four the three-quarter inches long—an inch longer than his usual signature.
Today John Hancock can be used to mean any person’s signature.
1. The passage is mainly about______________.
A. the American Revolution
B. John Hancock’s handwriting
C. how an American expression began
D. signing the Declaration of Independence
2. Hancock is remembered best because he________.
A. was governor of Massachusetts
B. helped the patriots in the Revolution
C. signed his name in large letters
D. was president of the Continental Congress
3. According to the dictionary, a John Hancock is a________.
A. governor B. man who sign petitions
C. strong patriot D. person’s signature
