万花筒 2009-10-04&10-05 画地图牛人

Give Terry Downing 90 seconds; he'll sketch¹ you out fifty states. (Done.) Give him about five minutes, you'll be amazed at what appears.

I start with Kansas, and I head north toward Dakotas. And then I head back down south toward Texas. And then all the square states, they just follow an alignment² route fast.

It's not his job, just a hobby.
I'm just finishing up the west coast.
A good party trick. He jokes it earned him a beer or two over the years.
New England, I find easy. It's the Great Lakes region in the south that I find trouble with.

He admits each map is not always perfect.
Oops, sorry Kentucky.
Terry's been doing this for years. Here's one of the first maps he drew when he was in just fifth grade. As you can see by high school, it got a lot more detailed³.
I remember a few times, teacher's getting upset at me. Because we're doing math, but not me, I'm drawing the states.

He also knows nicknames.
Kansas is the sunflower state. (Capitals.) Capital is Topeka. (And...) The largest city is Wichita. (For all 50 of them.) Denver is both the capital and the largest city.

He says it's his way of appreciating where you live, although he knows others may see it differently.

I have been accused of being nuts.(Drawing on talent.) The largest city is Providence⁴. (To map out an unusual interest.) Nashville is its capital. (Kim Wilhelm,) Hawaii is the Aloha state. (KWCH12,) Virginia Beach is the largest city.(I Witness News.)

 

1 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

2 alignment   

n.队列；结盟，联合

参考例句：

• The church should have no political alignment.教会不应与政治结盟。
• Britain formed a close alignment with Egypt in the last century.英国在上个世纪与埃及结成了紧密的联盟。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。