VOA慢速英语:Group Says 2009 Was a 'Bad Year' for Journalists

1.A single act of political violence in the Philippines raised the number sharply compared to the year before.

compare to与…相比

例句：The writer was compared to Shakespeare.
      把这个作家与莎士比亚进行了比较。

compared to则通常用做状语。

only, single, sole, unique, alone这些形容词均可表示“唯一的”之意。

only: 普通用词，常可与sole换用，但侧重仅限于指定的人或物，而不需要更多。
single: 语气较强，强调仅此一个，再无第二个。
sole: 语气强于only，指仅有一个或一群，只考虑这一个或这一群。
unique: 非正式用词，侧重在一类中唯一无可匹敌、无与伦比的特征。
alone: 着重专指某人或某物，而不是别的。

2.It was the single deadliest attack on journalists since the committee began keeping detailed records in nineteen ninety-two.

keep的用法：

一、用作连系动词

构成系表结构：keep＋表语，意为"保持，继续(处于某种状态)"。其中表语可用形容词、副词、介词短语等充当。如：
You must look after yourself and keep healthy.(形容词)你必须照顾好自己，保持身体健康。
Keep off the grass.(副词)请勿践踏草地。
Traffic in Britain keeps to the left.(介词短语)英国的交通是靠左边行驶的。
注意：一般情况下，keep后接形容词较为多见。再如：
She knew she must keep calm.她知道她必须保持镇静。
Please keep silent in class.课堂上请保持安静。

二、与介词或副词搭配，构成动词短语

1).keep away意为"(使)离开；(使)不接近"，其后常接介词from。如：
Would you keep your dog away from my boy, please? 请把狗拉得离我孩子远点好吗？
Keep everybody away from the accident.人人远离事故！

2).keep back意为"阻止；留在后面"。如：
She sat down quietly, but she couldn't keep
back her tears.她静静地坐下来，却忍不住流下了眼泪。
 
3).keep together意为"在一起；动作协调"。如：
Keep together, please.请聚在一起。
The eight men kept together during the boat race as though they were one.赛船时，这8个人动作协调，好像一个人似的。

4).keep up意为"持续；使不低落"。如：
The noise kept up all night.噪音整夜持续着。
To keep your strength up, eat well and get enough sleep.为了保持力气，要吃好、睡足。
 
5).keep up with意为"跟上；和……来往"。如：
I'm trying my best to keep up with the others in class.我正在设法赶上班里的其他人。
Do you still keep up with Tom? 你和汤姆还有联系吗？

6).keep...in mind意为"把……记在心里"。如：
The teacher asked us to keep these sentences in mind.老师要我们把这些句子记在心里。
 
三、含keep的常用句型

1).keep doing sth. 意为"继续干某事"，表示不间断地持续干某事，keep后不能接不定式或表示静止状态的v-ing形式，而必须接延续性的动词。如：
He kept working all day, because he wanted to finish the work on time.他整天都在不停地工作，因为他想准时完成工作。
Keep passing the ball to each other, and you'll be OK.坚持互相传球，你们就行。

2).keep on doing sth. 意为"持续做某事"。如：
The pupil kept on asking me the same question.这个学生不断地问我同一个问题。
I kept on thinking about the match in the afternoon.我总是想起下午的那场比赛。

3). keep...from doing sth.意为"阻止/防止……做某事"。如：
The heavy snow kept us from going out.大雪使我们不能出去。

3.It was also a bad year for authoritarian and repressive governments putting journalists behind bars.

put behind bars关起来,监禁

例句：If you continue to steal, you will end put behind bars.
      如果你继续行窃，最终总要落得个坐牢的下场。