填空题

The nation’s murder rate declined last year for the first time in four years, dropping to the lowest level in 40 years. Experts said (36) rather than national trends were mostly (37) . The rates for all seven major crimes were down and the overall violent crime rate reached a 30 year low, according to the FBI’s annual (38) of crimes reported to the police. There were 391 fewer murders (39) in 2004 than the year before. The total of 16,137 worked out to 5.5 murders for every 100,000 people. That’s a decline of 3.3 percent from 2003 and the lowest murder (40) since 1965, when it was 5.1. "The (41) are relatively small compared to larger, steady drops in the 1990s, and the results are by no means the same across the (42) ," said Professor Alfred Blumstein of Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. "We’re not seeing important national (43) like the shrinking of crack markets in the 1990s," Blum stein added. (44) .Blumstein said Chicago with a decline of 150 murders and Washington, D.. C.; with a decline of 50 accounted for 51 percent of the net nationwide drop. St. Louis, on the other hand, saw an increase of 39 murders. (45) . (46) . said Professor James Fox of Northeastern University. The fastest growing population segment is still people over age 50, who commit few violent crimes, so that should produce some decline in murder, but "it’s not a rosy picture all around the country."