I’m Illinois, the 24th largest state, and the 21st to be admitted to the Union in 1817. There are two sides to me. First, I’m farmland, rolling hills and small country towns. And then, I’m a city, not my capital city of Springfield, though that’s a great place, but the windy city, Chicago, where half my people live. You can always count on having a hot time in Chicago, but one night, in 1871, it got a little too hot. Rumor has it that a fire started in Mrs. O’Leary’s shed when a cow kicked over a lantern, and that fire ended up destroying much of the city. Today we have the three largest buildings in the world, the largest grain exchange in the country, and the world’s busiest airport, O’Hare International. Before I go, I want to tell you about a favorite son of mine, Abraham Lincoln. Abe was a poor farmer’s son, who taught himself to read and write. He studied law and went into politics. He became the sixteenth, and some say one of the greatest presidents this country ever had. I am proud to call myself Illinois, the land of Lincoln.

13 我是美国

我是第二十四大州伊利诺斯，于1817年做为第二十一州加入联邦。我有两种面貌。首先，我有农田、迤逦的山岭和小城镇。我又是城市--并非首府斯普林菲尔德，尽管那是个好地方--而是居住着我半数居民的风城芝加哥。在芝加哥你总能期冀到炎热。但是1871年的一天晚上，温度有些过高了。传闻说一场大火起于欧力里夫人家的牛圈里，牛踢倒了一只灯笼。火灾摧毁了相当部分的芝加哥城。今天，我们拥有世界上的三大建筑，全国最大的谷物交易所，世界上最繁忙的机场，欧海尔国际大厦。在我离开前，我要给你讲讲我最疼爱的一个儿子--亚伯拉罕•林肯。亚伯是一个穷农夫的儿子，靠自学学会读和写。他学习法律，后进入政界。他荣任第十六届美国总统，有些人说他是本世纪最伟大的总统之一。我很骄傲地宣称自己为伊利诺斯州--林肯之乡。