AMERICANS worry about crime. In a big country with hyperactive media, any sensational horror is quickly broadcast from coast to coast, making many people nervous. Last year, for example, after a teenager shot dead ten people in and around a Minnesota high school, pollsters asked a sample of Americans how likely it was that a similar massacre might occur in their own town. Nearly three-quarters said it was "very” or “somewhat” likely.

　　美国人为犯罪发愁。在一个媒体极为活跃的大国，任何骇人听闻的恐怖事件很快就能广为人知，让许多人紧张不安。比如说，去年一位少年在明尼苏达一所中学里及其周边地区开枪打死10人之后，民调者对美国人进行了随机抽样调查，询问类似的杀人案件在他们当地发生的可能性有多大，近四分之三的人说“很有可能”或“大概会”。