VOA慢速英语2015 乌克兰基辅记者被枪杀

Ukrainian Reporter Shot Dead in Kyiv 乌克兰基辅记者被枪杀

Two gunmen shot and killed a leading Ukrainian reporter Thursday. Ukraine's interior ministry¹ reported that Oles Buzina, chief editor of the newspaper Segodnya, was killed near his home in Kyiv.

Mr. Buzina was known for his pro-Russia positions.

On Wednesday, a former Ukrainian lawmaker also known as pro-Russian, was killed in a similar attack. That shooting also happened near his home in Ukraine's capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Mr. Buzina was killed for political reasons.

Putin says Russian economy could improve in two years

Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in a live nationwide call-in show Thursday. The televised show is a yearly event in which Putin takes questions from Russian citizens.

Thursday’s callers discussed the country’s economy, U.S.-Russia relations, the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and the murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov.

Russia’s central bank has predicted the country’s economy will shrink by as much as 5 percent this year. But on Thursday, Mr. Putin said he believes Russia’s economy could increase again in less than two years.

Al-Qaida captures major airport in southern Yemen

Al-Qaida militants² have taken control of a major airport in Yemen's southern port of Mukalla. Officials say the al-Qaida fighters faced little military resistance.

Mukalla is the capital of Yemen's largest province, Hadramawt.

The militants also won control of a major oil center and sea port in southern Yemen.

US CEO cuts own pay to increase employees’ pay

The leader of a credit card payments company in the western U.S. city of Seattle is reducing his own yearly earnings³ to increase employee pay.

Dan Price, the owner of Gravity Payments, told his employees this week that he will cut his $1 million per year salary to $70,000.  He will use that savings⁴ as well as company profits to make it possible for every employee to earn a salary of $70,000.

The company currently pays an average of $48,000 a year to its 120 employees.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。