When Governor Pataki first took office in 1995，many New Yorkers had lost hope in the State’s future due to years of high taxes，massive job losses，and spiraling（盘旋）increases in crime and welfare dependency．Under the Governor’s bold（大胆的）leadership，the State has been transformed，and today New York’s future has never been brighter．
Spurred on by Governor Pataki’s enactment of more than100billion in tax cuts，New York’s economy has been dramatically strengthened and more than 600，000new private sector jobs have been created since 1995．As a result of the Governor’s tough criminal justice policies，the State has experienced a record drop in its crime rate and New York is now the safest large state in America．Following the enactment of the Governor’s comprehensive welfare reforms，New York’s welfare rolls have been reduced by more than one million recipients and now stand at their lowest levels since the 1960’s．In addition，record investments have been made in New York’s public education system，the environment and health care．
In the wake of the devastating（破坏性的，全然的）September 11th terrorist（恐怖分子）attacks，Governor Pataki has led New York through a heartbreaking（悲伤或失望到难忍程度的）time of mourning（悲恸，服丧）and remembrance，and on to a period of rebirth，recovery and revitalization．To ensure that New York continues moving forward，and to honor the memory of the heroes who were lost in the attacks，the Governor has made a personal commitment to rebuilding Lower Manhattan—making it stronger，better and more vibrant（生气勃勃的）than ever before．
The centerpiece［中心装饰品，（餐桌中央的摆饰）］of this historic rebuilding effort will be an enduring，inspirational（有灵感的）memorial that will pay tribute（贡品，礼物）to those who perished（毁灭，死亡，腐烂）on one of the darkest days in America’s history．The Governor has also launched a comprehensive effort to attract new jobs and economic activity to Lower Manhattan，and the former site of the World Trade Center is being revitalized（新生）with a worldclass transportation hub and gleaming new office buildings，including the 1，776foot high Freedom Tower—an architectural wonder that will serve as a soaring reflection of New York’s indomitable（不屈服的，不屈不挠的）spirit．
To help ensure an even brighter，stronger future for the Empire State，Governor Pataki has launched an unprecedented（空前的）effort to make New York a worldwide powerhouse（发电站）in high technology research，job creation and economic growth．The centerpiece of this effort is his multibillion dollar hightech biotechnology（生物工艺学）Center of Excellence initiative，which is anchored by major research centers in Albany［奥尔巴尼（美国纽约州的首府）］，Buffalo［布法罗（美国纽约州西部一城市）］，Greater Rochester，Long Island and Syracuse［锡拉库扎（意大利西西里岛东部一港市）］．Based on a strong public and private sector partnership between the State’s leading academic institutions and industry leaders like IBM，Kodak，Corning and Dell，the Centers of Excellence will help to create thousands of new private sector jobs while positioning the State to meet the complex challenges of the 21st century economy．
Governor Pataki has also made the fight for a cleaner，healthier environment a hallmark（特点）of his time in office．New York has become a leader in open space preservation（保存），with nearly 1million new acres protected since 1995．The Governor has played a strong leadership role in the cleanup of the majestic（宏伟的，庄严的）Hudson River and Long Island Sound，and he helped to successfully negotiate the historic agreement to protect the New York City Watershed．From adopting the toughest emission reduction and acid rain standards in the nation，to an unparalleled commitment to clean，renewable（可更新的，可恢复的）energy sources，no State is doing more than New York to enhance the quality of our natural environment．
Prior to the time Governor Pataki first took office，New York had earned an international reputation as a dangerous place with a skyrocketing（流星焰火）crime rate．But Governor Pataki successfully fought to enact more than 100new laws to help toughen penalties and close criminalfriendly loopholes（枪眼），and these sweeping（规模大的）reforms helped produce record reductions in crime．In fact，under the Governor’s leadership，the crime rate has now plunged（投入，陷入）in New York State for eleven consecutive（连续的，联贯的）years，and New York has moved from being ranked as the 6th most violent state in the nation，to the 6th safest state—as well as the safest large state in the entire country．Since 1995，overall crime has been reduced by 47％，and violent crime has been reduced by more than 50％．
Governor Pataki was born in Peekskill，New York on June 24，1945and raised on his parents family farm．He is a 1967graduate of Yale University and a 1970graduate of Columbia Law School，both of which he attended on academic scholarships．The Governor and his wife，the former Elizabeth（Libby）Rowland，reside in Garrison，New York，along the lower Hudson River．They have four children：Emily，Teddy，Allison and George Owen．Before being elected Governor，George Pataki served 10years in the New York State Legislature．He was also the youngest Mayor ever elected in his hometown of Peekskill，and was reelected with the largest plurality in the City’s history．
State Bird州鸟
在1970年，蓝知更鸟成为纽约州的州鸟。蓝知更鸟被认为是快乐的象征，通常它们能长到5．5英寸。它们头部为浅蓝色，胸部为褐色。在农场和林地都可以看见它们。它们的叫声会令人愉悦，这也是蓝知更鸟成为其他几州的州鸟主要原因。
Once common throughout the Northeast，the bluebird fell prey（被掠食者）to changing land use practices．Until the 1920s，the countryside was a patchwork（拼缀物，拼凑物）of small farms with apple orchards（果园，果园里的全部果树）and fields separated by overgrown fencerows（篱笆占据的土地）．Bluebirds nested in holes in fenceposts or apple trees and patrolled orchards，fields and gardens for insect food．A great many of these small unprofitable（无利益的，不赚钱的，没有用的）farms were abandoned（被抛弃的）when their tenants（承租人）abandoned the land for jobs in the cities．Fenceposts rotted and field gave way to trees—inhospitable［（地带，气候等）不适合居住的］to bluebirds．
