Governor Bill Richardson was elected Governor of New Mexico in 2002by the largest margin of any candidate since 1964．Governor Richardson just completed his third legislative session，successfully cutting taxes for more than 500，000working New Mexicans，creating opportunities through a statewide PreKindergarten program，revamping（修补）the state’s higher education system，and increasing access to quality health care．
In just over two years，Governor Richardson has made good on his campaign promises to improve education，cut income taxes and the tax on food，build a highwage economy，develop a statewide water plan and make New Mexico safer by getting tough on DWI，domestic violence and sex crimes．Governor Richardson has been credited for implementing the most forwardlooking clean energy agenda（议程）in the nation．
As a result，New Mexico is now a national leader in job growth and economic momentum（动力，要素）．The state has a balanced budget（预算）and one of the highest budget reserves（储备，保存，保留）in the country．
Governor Richardson currently serves as Chairman of the Democratic（民主的，民主主义的）Governors’Association．Governor Richardson is also past chairman of：
Western Governors’Association
Border Governors’Conference
2004Democratic National Convention
Governor Richardson served for 15years as New Mexico’s Representative（代表）in the 3rd Congressional District．Governor Richardson served in 1997as the U．S．Ambassador（大使）to the United Nations，and in 1998，he was unanimously（全体一致地，无异议地）confirmed by the U．S．Senate as Secretary of the U．S．Department of Energy．Governor Richardson has been nominated（提名）several times for the Nobel Peace Prize．
State Bird州鸟
传说中的长尾鸟是以它与众不同的长相而闻名的，它能吃响尾蛇，能急速穿过美国沙漠。它常见于华纳兄弟娱乐公卡通漫画上。长尾鸟是一种体形庞大、毛色黑白相间、浑身班驳的陆地鸟，有着很特别的鸟冠，结实的脚，长长的尾巴和大大的鸟嘴。
The legendary Roadrunner is famous for its distinctive（与众不同的，有特色的）appearance，its ability to eat rattlesnakes（〈美〉［动］响尾蛇）and its preference for scooting（溜走）across the American deserts，as popularized（普及）in Warner Bros．cartoons．
The Roadrunner is a large，blackandwhite，mottled（杂色的，斑驳的）ground bird with a distinctive head crest．It has strong feet，a long，whitetipped tail and an oversized（太大的）bill．
It ranges in length from 20to 24inches from the tip of its tail to the end of its beak（鸟嘴，喙）．It is a member of the Cuckoo（［动］杜鹃鸟，布谷鸟）Family（Cuculidae），characterized by feet with 2forward toes and 2behind．
When the Roadrunner senses danger or is traveling downhill，it flies，revealing short，rounded wings with a white crescent（新月，月牙）．But it cannot keep its large body airborne（空运的，空气传播的）for more than a few seconds，and so prefers walking or running（up to 17miles per hour）usually with a clownish（滑稽的）gait．
Facts：
1．Roadrunners are quick enough to catch and eat rattlesnakes．
2．Roadrunners prefer walking or running and attain speeds up to 17mph．hour．
3．The Roadrunner is also called the Chaparra（丛林，茂密的树丛）Cock．
4．The Roadrunner reabsorbs water from its feces（粪，屎）before excretion（（动植物的）排泄，排泄物）．
5．The Roadrunner’s nasal（鼻的）gland（［解剖］腺）eliminates excess salt，instead of using the urinary（尿的）tract like most birds．
6．The Roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico．
State Flower州花
丝兰花在1927年3月14日成为本州州花。它实际上是西南部沙漠的本土植物，由于从茎中长出的花朵呈白色且多而密，故被称为“上帝之灯”。丝兰花不仅仅是一种很引人注目的花，而且它的根部和叶部更是制造香皂和竹蓝的重要资源。这种花长见于美国北达科他州密苏里河的南部和西部。
New Mexico school children labored months on considering the state’s flowers．Finally，they favored the yuc
ca．It was seconded by the New Mexico Federation（同盟，联盟）of Women’s Clubs and was officially adopted on March 14，1927．
Glauca is the Latin word for“greenishgrey．”New Mexico’s state flower is in fact a plant native to the deserts of the Southwest．The yucca is also known as the“Lamparas de dios”which translates to“Lamps（灯）of the Lord”due to the bright mass of white flowers that protrude（突出）from a center stalk（茎，柄）within the plant．The Dakota（达科他（美国过去一地区名，现分为南、北达科他州））Indian name for it is Hupestula；Omahas［奥马哈人（内布拉斯加东北部的印第安人）］and Poncas［彭加人（在内布拉斯加州和俄克拉何马州保留地的美洲印第安人部落）］call it Duwaduwahi；Pawnees know it as Chakidakahtsuor Chakilakahtsu．Its needlesharp leaves have given it the common name，Spanish bayonet（刺刀）．
Also called“soapweed”，“beargrass”，and“Spanish bayonet”，yucca is mostly found south and west of the Missouri River in North Dakota．The plant grows from southeastern Alberta south to Missouri，Texas，and New Mexico at elevations（高地，海拔）up to 8，500ft．
The yucca is not only an attractive plant；it is has also been an important resource in past decades as its roots and palmlike leaves provided materials for the making of soap and baskets for those residing in the Southwest．Yucca is included in the agave（［植］龙舌兰属植物）family（Agavaceae）which contains about 600species arid regions of the world．Members of this family are noted for the production of fiber（光纤）（e．g．sisal）and alcoholic drinks（tequila（蒸馏酒），pulque［（墨西哥人和中美洲人大量饮用的）龙舌兰酒），and mescal［（墨西哥）麦斯卡尔酒）．The genus Yucca contains about 40species，the most famous being the Joshua（［圣经］约书亚，约书亚书）tree which reaches 30feet tall in the Mohave（莫哈维族（北美印第安人一分支））desert．
Description：Yucca is perennial（终年的，（植物）多年生的）from a fibrous（含纤维的，纤维性的）horizontal or upright stem bearing one or more erect crowns．Acaulescent（［植］无茎的）shrub（灌木，灌木丛）with long stiff evergreen（常绿的）leaves radiating（发光，辐射）from a basal rosette（基生莲座叶丛）．
Leaves：Sharptipped leaves up to two feet long are rounded on the back and have inrolled margins bearing white filaments（细丝，灯丝）．The leaves contain tough fibers．Flattened or inrolled，stiff，40—70cm（16—28in）long and about 1cm（0．4in）wide at base，spiny（多剌的，剌状的）at apex（顶点），glaucous（覆有白粉的，蓝绿色的）green with greenish white margins often becoming filiferous（有丝状物的，产丝状物的）．
Inflorescence（花序）：A raceme（总状花序）．
Flowers：Ten to fifteen flowers form along a spike（穗）about three feet long．Flowers are greenishwhite and up to 21／2inches long．Numerous，large，with 3petaloid（花瓣似的，花瓣状的）sepals（萼片）and 3petals（花瓣），greenishwhite or purplish．
Fruits：At maturity，the large capsules（（植物）蒴果）enclose long black seeds．Oblong（长方形的，椭园形的）cylindrical（［计］圆柱的）capsules 4．5—6cm（1．8—2．4in）long．
Root：The root can be several inches in diameter（［计］圆柱的）and descend up to 20feet．
Habitat：Prefers dry，rocky slopes（斜坡，斜面）．
