I wanted to know if you are currently accepting applications. If so, where can I send my information? Additionally, will you be meeting people in-person or online?
Email is one of the most important ways through which we communicate. It has become part of most everyone’s day-to-day life.
Writing a good email can mean the difference between someone reading it and writing back, and someone ignoring it all together. Do you have questions on how to make your message more effective?
Today on Education Tips, we will answer the question, “How can I make my emails better?”
Emails are made up of four different parts:
the subject line,
the opening,
the body, and
the closing.
Let us explore how to make each of these parts better.
Subject line
The subject line is what the other person, or receiver, will read first. The subject line is usually the most important part of an email. It should be short but contain enough details that the receiver recognizes the subject of the email. A good subject line sets the expectations for the email. A bad subject line can mean the receiver will not read the email.
Some people will add the word “important” to the subject line, but this does not provide enough information. Instead of writing “important,” two better choices for subject lines are:
Meeting Tomorrow at 10am to Discuss New Changes Question About Future Classes
Opening an email
As in any form of writing, you should know your audience. The opening of an email depends on things like how formal the relationship is.
If you are sending an email to a friend or someone you work with, two good openings or greetings are:
Good Morning/Afternoon, Hello, or Hello [name],
If you are sending the email to someone you do not know and it is a formal situation, some possible openings are:
Dear [name of department], To Whom it May Concern,
In a formal situation, when you know the name of the person, a good opening is simply:
Dear [title] [family name], As in, Dear Mister Brown,
Body
The body of the email is where you ask for what you need or make clear your reason for writing the email. This could be asking them a question or keeping them informed. The body of the email should prioritize the most important information. It should be direct, and it is wise to keep it short.
If the person you are emailing does not know you, you should introduce yourself in the first few lines. You might write:
My name is Patricia Jones. I am sending this email to get some more information about the job you advertised.
After you have introduced yourself and given your reason for writing, you can follow this with the body of your email. The most important information should come first. This makes your email clear to your receiver and saves them time. Here is an example.
I wanted to know if you are currently accepting applications. If so, where can I send my information? Additionally, will you be meeting people in-person or online?
It is important to clearly explain yourself in as few words as possible. Try to keep your email short, but polite. This is important because you want to make yourself clear to your receiver.
Closings
The last part to a good email is the closing. It is usually one or two words that let the receiver know that this is the end of the email. The ending should include your name and tell the receiver where you work and what you do. A few different closings are:
Kind regards, Best, Thank you,
Some applications create an automatic signature for the sender. This is useful because it saves time when you are writing.
Example email
So, what does a completed email look like? Here is an example email:
Sample Email with a Subject, Greeting, and Closing
If you follow these suggestions, you will find that you receive more responses to your emails. Effective email writing is important especially now when so much of what we do is online.
I’m Gregory Stachel.
And I’m Jill Robbins.
Gregory Stachel wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
私たちが “get wind of something,” 「何かの風を受ける」ということは、今まで秘密にされていたニュースや情報を耳にするということです。当然ながら、その秘密の空気がさらにそれを面白くします。
この表現を使うときは、このことを覚えておきましょう。get wind of something何かの風を受けるときには、間接的にその情報を知ることになります。言い換えれば、私たちはその情報を二次的に、またはthrough the grapevine人づてに、知ることになります。私たちはソースから直接それを聞くことはありません。
Want to Know a Secret? Maybe You'll 'Get Wind of It'
A man rides his bicycle while palm trees sway in the wind as Hurricane Zeta approaches Cancun, Mexico October 26, 2020. (REUTERS/Jorge Delgado/File Photo)
Wind is a powerful force in nature. High wind speeds from tornadoes, hurricanes and other violent storms can cause great destruction.
But wind can also be a force for good.
It can turn machinery that produces energy.
The blades of wind turbines catch the breeze at the Saddleback Ridge wind farm in Carthage, Maine, March 19, 2019.
It can help boats sail great distances. In the wild, wind can provide life-saving information to some animals. And it doesn’t need to be a strong wind. For example, a scent or smell carried by a light breeze can tell a deer about the presence of a hunter just a few meters away.
The wind can provide useful information to people, too!
When we “get wind of something,” we hear some news or information that has been kept private. Naturally, this air of secrecy makes it even more interesting.
When using this expression, remember this: When we get wind of something, we become aware of the information through indirect means. In other words, we learn of it second-hand or through the grapevine. We do not hear it straight from the source.
Wind has destroyed many umbrellas all across the world. Here, a Taiwanese man holds an umbrella against powerful gusts of wind generated by typhoon Lekima in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Aug. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
The wind might give others information that we want to keep quiet. For example, the leaders of the company were worried about investors getting wind of the factory fire. If the investors knew, they would probably withdraw their money and invest elsewhere.
Here is another example: The filmmakers did not want the media to get wind of the actor’s latest arrest. After all, she is playing a police officer in the movie.
At times, the information or news sent by the wind is bad, just gossip or talk, and not really helpful at all. For example, if someone asks me, “Did you hear that so-and-so lost his job?” I can answer, “Yeah, I got wind of that yesterday.”
But sometimes the news or information is not bad. It is just something you want to keep secret.
Like the time I tried to plan a surprise party for my best friend. I did not want him to get wind of it. That would ruin the surprise.
But it is so difficult keeping anything from him. He is nosy and asks a lot of questions, such as: “Why are you calling all my friends?” Why are you buying so much food and drinks?” “Are you planning a party for me?”
So much for that surprise party.
Now this expression is not always about learning private information or keeping secrets. The wind can send us information that we need to make good decisions.
For example, I was just about to buy tickets to a big three-day, outdoor music event. But then I got wind that my favorite performer (and the only reason I was going) had cancelled. Thank goodness a friend of a friend of a friend told me or I would not have known!
この画像は、2020年11月にNASAが提供したビデオアニメーションから得られたもので、マグネター-中性子星として知られる恒星残骸の超減磁版-から噴出する強力なX線バーストを描いている。(Chris Smith (USRA)/NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center via AP)
Ｘ線望遠鏡 NICER 2017年に国際宇宙ステーションに搭載された大面積のＸ線望遠鏡で、中性子星の質量と半径を精密に測定し、中性子内部の状態方程式を観測的に解明することを目指すプロジェクト。56個のＸ線望遠鏡が組み合わされており（軌道上では52個が稼働している）、1.5keV付近では過去最高の 1,900 cm2という大有効面積を持ち、高い集光能力を有する。NICERはNeutron star Interior Composition ExploreRの略。
スウィフト衛星 ガンマ線バースト（Gamma-ray burst, GRB）を解明することを目指して2004年に打ち上げられた宇宙望遠鏡。正式な名称はThe Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory。バースト現象を検出するためのBurst Alert Telescope（BAT）、X線での撮像や分光観測の可能なX-ray Telescope（XRT）、そして紫外、可視光帯域での撮像や分光観測の可能な Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope （UVOT)を搭載している。超新星爆発や中性子連星の合体で発生するガンマ線バーストだけではなく、マグネターが放射するバースト現象も見つけることができるため、マグネターの発見にも大いに貢献してきた衛星である。
高速電波バースト（FRB） 宇宙論的な距離から到来しているミリ秒のタイムスケールを持つ電波での突発バースト現象。電波で極めて明るく、その起源は分かっておらず、近年の天文学でのホットな研究対象になっている。日本語訳は定着していないものの、高速電波バーストと訳される場合が多い。これらのバースト現象のいくつかは、繰り返し同一天体から発生している場合（Repeating FRB）も報告され、対応する母銀河も報告されている。FRBはFast Radio Burstの略。
This image from video animation provided by NASA in November 2020 depicts a powerful X-ray burst erupting from a magnetar – a supermagnetized version of a stellar remnant known as a neutron star. (Chris Smith (USRA)/NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center via AP
A little luck helped astronomers solve a mystery in space: What causes powerful but super-fast energy signals that move through the universe?
Scientists have known about these signals, called fast radio bursts, for about 13 years. And they have seen them coming from outside our galaxy. This makes it harder to know what is causing them. What makes it even harder is that they happen so fast -- in a few one-thousandths of a second.
Then in April, a rare but much weaker burst from inside our own galaxy was found by two dissimilar telescopes. One of the telescopes was a California doctoral student’s handmade equipment, which included metal cookware. The other was based at a $20-million Canadian space observation center.
This undated photo provided by Caltech shows radio astronomer Christopher Bochenek with a STARE2 station he developed near the town of Delta, Utah. (Caltech via AP)
They linked the fast radio burst to a strange kind of star called a magnetar that is 32,000 light-years from Earth. That information comes from four studies in Wednesday’s journal publication Nature.
It was not only the first fast radio burst linked to a source; it was also the first coming from our galaxy. Astronomers say there could be other sources for these bursts. But they are now sure about one of the sources: magnetars.
Magnetars have 1.5 times the mass of our sun, crowded into a space the size of New York’s Manhattan area. They have huge magnetic fields that are full of energy, and sometimes bursts of X-rays and radio waves suddenly come from them. That information comes from Ziggy Pleunis. He is an astrophysicist at McGill University and co-writer of the Canadian study.
The magnetic field around these magnetars “is so strong any atoms nearby are torn apart,” said astronomer Casey Law. He is with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and was not involved in the research.
This November 2016 photo provided by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment collaboration shows the CHIME radio telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in Kaleden, British Columbia, Canada. (Andre Renard/University of Toront
There are maybe 12 or so of these magnetars in our galaxy. They are very young and part of the star birth process. And our Milky Way galaxy is not as full of star births as other galaxies, said Shami Chatterjee of Cornell University. He was not part of either discovery team.
This burst in less than a second had about the same amount of energy that our sun produces in a month. And that is still a lot weaker than radio bursts from outside our galaxy, said Christopher Bochenek. The Caltech radio astronomer helped discover the burst with his handmade equipment.
The radio bursts are not dangerous to us, not even the more powerful ones from outside our galaxy, astronomers say.
The ones that come from outside our galaxy and travel millions or billions of light-years are very powerful. They are tens of thousands to millions of times more powerful than anything we have found in our galaxy, explains Daniele Michilli, an astrophysicist at McGill University. He is co-writer of the study and part of the Canadian team.
Scientists think the bursts may happen more than 1,000 times a day outside our galaxy. But finding them is not easy.
“You had to be looking at the right place at the right millisecond,” Cornell’s Chatterjee said. “Unless you were very, very lucky, you’re not going to see one of these.”
Astronomers have no idea how often the bursts happen inside our own Milky Way galaxy.
“We still don’t know how lucky we got,” Bochenek said. “This could be a once-in-five-year thing or there could be a few events to happen each year.”
Bochenek’s antennae cost about $15,000. Each is “the size of a large bucket," he said. It’s a piece of 6-inch metal pipe with two pieces of round metal cookware around it, the doctoral student explained. They are simplistic instruments designed to look at a huge piece of the sky. And they are meant to see only the brightest of radio flashes.
Bochenek imagined he had possibly a 1-in-10 chance of catching a fast radio burst in a few years. But after just one year, he made a valuable discovery.
The Canadian observatory in British Columbia is much more developed but is aimed at a much smaller piece of the sky. And it was able to find the source of the magnetar in the constellation Vulpecula.
The bursts are affected by all the material they pass through in space. This might help astronomers understand and map the unseen-to-us material between galaxies and “weigh” the universe, said Jason Hessels. He is chief astronomer for the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy and was not part of the research.
Astronomers have had as many as 50 different ideas about what causes these fast radio bursts, including aliens. They say that magnetars may not be the only answer.
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Words in This Story
galaxy – n. any one of the very large groups of stars that make up the universe
source – n. the cause or origin of something
x-ray – n. powerful invisible rays that can pass through various objects
antenna – n. a device (such as a wire or a metal rod) for sending or receiving radio or television signals
bucket – n. an open container with a handle that is used for carrying things, such as liquids
alien – n. a creature that comes from somewhere other than
A Crushed Student Movement, Little Hope Before Myanmar's Election
State Counselor DawAung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, fills out a ballot in her country's election, in voters in Naypyitaw, the nation’s capital, Oct. 29, 2020.
Hnin is a teacher in Myanmar. As a girl, she had great respect for Aung San Suu Kyi, the former opposition leader who now leads the country. But when Myanmar holds elections on Sunday, Hnin will not vote for her.
This will be the second general election since the end of military rule in 2015.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) is expected to win again on the strength of its leader’s strong popularity. Hnin, however, says the Nobel Peace Prize winner failed to keep her promise to unite the country, also known as Burma.
“I have no more trust in her,” said the young woman. She added “the path she is trying to take towards democracy is impossible.”
Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won by a very large victory in 2015. Myanmar in 2020, however, is facing problems that she does not seem able to solve. In addition to the coronavirus health crisis, there is rising economic hardship and growing ethnic and civil conflicts.
Hnin is one of many activists from a student group responsible for anti-government protests and leaflet campaigns across the country in recent months.
The All Burma Federation of Students Union is calling for a boycott of the general election.
Its campaign has been met with a sharpcrackdown. Nine of the group’s members have been sentenced to prison, two of them to five years. They were jailed for “public mischief,” among other charges. Ten other members are in police detention and at least 12 more are in hiding.
Representatives of the NLD and the government did not answer requests for comment from Reuters news agency.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s defenders say the students are not being realistic. Change cannot happen quickly after 50 years of military rule, they say.
‘Better future’
The All Burma Federation of Students Union began a “no more war” campaign in March. The students put up signs and gave out leaflets condemning the war in Rakhine state.
Rakhine borders Bangladesh. In 2017, Myanmar's military began attacking villages in Rahkhine, killing and raping ethnic Rohingyas who lived there and burning their homes. More than 730,000 Rohingyas were forced to flee to Bangladesh. The United Nations condemned Myanmar's military action as genocidal.
Myanmar denies the accusation. It says it acted rightfully to end a rebellion.
Now in Rakhine there is another conflict between government troops and the Arakan Army. The Arakan Army is an ethnic armed group fighting for greater self-rule for Rakhine State.
The army has denied targeting civilians in the latest conflict. Many people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in the fighting. The Myanmar government says the Ararkan Army is a terrorist organization.
In cities and towns across the country, the students have given out leaflets that say “dictatorships must fail.” They also urge the government to lift restrictions on the internet in Rakhine.
Hnin said she sympathized with victims of the war because she grew up in an area also affected by conflict.
The government did nothing to stop the conflict and was a “puppet” of the army, she said. She blames the 2008 constitution, written by the military, that gives the army major powers.
‘Deep freeze’
Maya Tudor teaches at the Blavnik School of Government at Oxford University in Britain. She studies countries moving toward democracy.
Tudor said the NLD had failed to make democratic changes, choosing instead to increase controls on the media and arrest critics.
Government ministers have said peoples’ expectations for the NLD’s first years in office were unrealistically high. They also said the government had removed some of the worst laws from the days of military rule and planned additional reforms.
Ethnic-based parties are expected to pull some votes away from the NLD in the election on Sunday. Voting has been cancelled in more than 50 areas because of unrest.
Richard Horsey is an expert on Myanmar with the International Crisis Group. He said ethnic minorities no longer see Aung San Suu Kyi as their natural leader as they did in 2015. Instead, they now see her as their enemy.
FILE - Kelley Miller, working from home because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, sunbathes as she works at a standing desk she fashioned from a gardening table on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. October 15, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
If you asked me to name the top life lessons of 2020, my list would likely include these words: Technology skills are a necessity.For the past eight months, many people have been working online from home. This kind of work requires a higher level of computer skills than ever before.Now, there is even a term for it: “Digital upskilling.”Patricia Miller works for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Tampa, Florida. She signed up for the company’s “Digital Accelerators” program. The training is designed to strengthen the high-tech skills of PwC’s workforce.Miller told Reuters news agency that before taking the class, she did not know how to write computer code. The program helped Miller to upgrade her digital skills. For example, she learned a coding language called Python.Miller once worked in human resource and project management. The training helped her to become a leader in the office’s information technology (IT) operations team.“And now every time I get to use my coding skills like Python,” Miller said, “I do a little happy dance.”Digital upskilling is not new. However, the COVID-19 health crisis has led to big changes and made this happen even faster.Gianni Giacomelli is chief innovation officer at Genpact, a New York-based business that advises companies on business operations. He also is head of innovation design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Collective Intelligence Design Lab.Giacomelli says that since the COVID-19 pandemic started, many businesses have been fast-tracking their use of digital technologies.“They are enabling people to learn wherever they are, whenever they want, on any device,” he noted.A company can be more successful or earn higher profits if their employees are “up to speed” on the latest technologies.
FILE - South Koreans in traditional scholar costumes use laptops at the digital version of a state examination, which were carried out during the Chosun Dynasty, at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul May 14, 2006.
But what tech skills are we talking about?This past summer, the career website LinkedIn looked at job openings for in-demand work-related skills. Most of the skills were technology related.Working with Microsoft, LinkedIn has set up free training for in-demand jobs. These include positions as a computer software developer, digital marketing representative and IT administrator.But it is not just the technology industry that must digital upskill.“Before, there used to be tech jobs and non-tech jobs. Now there are just ‘jobs’,” said Joe Atkinson. He is PwC’s chief products and technology officer. He added that everyone needs to be at ease when using technology.Experts offer a few suggestions on how companies should support digital upskilling. However, these guidelines can also be helpful for individuals and families.Think smallFor many people, learning just does not get done because the work can seem so massive, even frightening. Breaking larger learning goals into smaller tasks, or projects, can help.“If you ask an employee to find six hours for a learning effort, that’s really hard,” said Atkinson. “But if you ask them to find 15 minutes -- that’s a lot easier.He calls it a “bite-size approach.” And he thinks it can make a big difference.Think as a groupFor some businesses, having an employee learn a digital skill alone on a computer might be a good idea. However, it may not help the company as a whole.Instead, Genpact’s Giacomelli suggests that companies think about the whole company and how employees interact with each other.“Create opportunities for employees to source knowledge and learn from each other,” he said.This idea can be likened to how many families operate. Does someone in the family have knowledge the others do not? Create a way to share it.Create an ongoing learning habitTechnology can change very quickly.For example, the coding language Patricia Miller learned, Python, might be out of date in a few years. So, experts urge you to find ways to always keep learning and improving your technology skills. _______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
lesson – n. something learned through experiencedigital– adj. using or characterized by computer technologyaccelerator – adj. a substance that speeds a chemical reactionmanagement – n. the act or art of managing : the conducting or supervising of something (such as a business)code – n. a set of instructions for a computerupgrade – n. to raise or improve the grade of : such asinnovation– n. a new idea, method, or devicefast-tracking– adj. to speed up the processing, production, or construction of in order to meet a goalopportunity – n. a good chance for advancement or progress
あまり会わなくなった友人がいるとします。そんな時、 you see him once in a blue moonごくまれに彼に会うの、と言えます。話をして以来、永遠のように感じます。まるでdropped off the face of the Earth地球上から消えてしまったかのように！ 同じくこう言えますね、彼に会って以来、永遠に続いているとも。
永遠は長い時間です。だから、 forever and a day 永遠はもっと長いのです！（永遠を超えた永遠。永遠の強調）そして、あなたがあなたの友人を見て以来、forever and a day 永遠だったのです。彼がいなくて寂しいのね! 電話した方がいいわ。
In this July 31, 2015, file photo, a blue moon rises behind the torch of the Statue of Liberty seen from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J. A blue moon happens when the moon rises in its full stage twice during the same month. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez）
Today we are talking about a lunar phenomenon – a moon event. It’s called a blue moon.
The NASAwebsite says that “since the 1940s, the term ‘blue moon’ has also been used for the second full moon in a calendar month.” This usually happens only every two-and-a-half years.
The NASA experts explain that a blue moon is not actually blue in color. In fact, it looks the same as a regular monthly full moon.
What makes a blue moon different is that it does not appear in the sky that often. And this is how we use it as an English expression.
A “blue moon” is a long or seemingly long period of time.
If I say something happens “once in a blue moon,” it is uncommon, infrequent, rare. It happens very seldom. These words all describe something that happens once in a blue moon.
For example, I usually keep busy. So when I’m not working, I like to take sing songs, write stories or read books. But sometimes, I just like to do nothing. So, once in a blue moon, you’ll find me on the couch, watching movies and eating popcorn.
Here’s another example.
Let’s say you have a friend who you do not see very much anymore. You can say you see him once in a blue moon. It feels like an eternity since you have talked. It’s like he has dropped off the face of the Earth! You can also say it has been forever since you have seen him.
Forever is a long time. So, forever and a day is even longer! And it has been forever and a day since you have seen your friend. You miss him! You should call.
And finally, here is our last example. If you have been busy, you may not have had time to practice your English. But just remember, if you only practice once in a blue moon, your English may not improve very quickly.
So, join us again next week for another Words and Their Stories! Until next time … I’m Anna Matteo.
Blue moon of Kentucky, keep on a-shining
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue,
Blue moon of Kentucky, keep on a-shining,
shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue …
Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. The song at the beginning of the program is Billie Holliday singing “Blue Moon.” The song at the end is Patsy Cline singing “Blue Moon.”
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Words in This Story
lunar – adj. of or relating to the moon
phenomenon – n. something (such as an interesting fact or event) that can be observed and studied and that typically is unusual or difficult to understand or explain fully
infrequent – adj. not happening often : not frequent
rare – adj. very uncommon
seldom – adj. not often : almost never
eternity – n. time that seems to be without an end
This microscope image made available by the National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research in 2015 shows human colon cancer cells with the nuclei stained red. (NCI Center for Cancer Research via AP, File)
A group of health experts wants adults to start getting tested for colon cancer at age 45. That is five years younger than the age it formerly recommended for colon cancer screenings.
Screening is a medical term. It means the act of doing a test on a person to look for evidence of a disease or health problem.
In the United States, colon cancer rates have been falling in recent years. But the recent screening proposal, released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, shows that experts are concerned about rising colon cancer rates in people under the age of 50.
Alex Krist is a family doctor at Virginia Commonwealth University and a member of the Preventive Services Task Force. He spoke to The Associated Press.
“We’ve seen more data showing that younger people are getting colon cancer at higher rates,” Krist said. “Basically, a 45-year-old today has the same risk of getting colon cancer as a 50-year-old from years past.”
The Preventive Services Task Force is a volunteer group of doctors. They study evidence and offer recommendations about medical tests and treatments.
The group is suggesting that adults of average risk for colon cancer be screened from ages 45 to 75. How often the tests are done depends on the kind of screening.
A careful examination of the colon – known as a colonoscopy -- is usually done every five to 10 years. Other exams, such as stool-based tests, can be performed every year.
“Most people who get colon cancer have no signs, no symptoms and no risks. And so that’s why we recommend that everyone get screened,” Krist said.
The task force suggestion on screening is not for people who have colon cancer, polyps or a family history of colon cancer or genetic disorders. All of those conditions can increase their risk.
Colon cancer, along with rectal cancer, is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. There will be an estimated 148,000 new cases nationwide this year.
The Task Force’s suggestions are now the same as those from the American Cancer Society. In 2018, the American Cancer Society lowered the screening age from 50 to 45. With the change, doctors should feel at ease recommending colon cancer screens to younger patients, said the cancer group’s Robert Smith.
Earlier testing would help identify polyps or early cancer in younger patients before the disease requires more aggressive treatment, said Doctor Nancy You. She works at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
“We have a lot more treatment options that are less invasive and have better results when we treat cancer at the earlier stages,” You said. “That makes a huge difference to our patients.”
Experts believe it will still be difficult to screen people for colon cancer. Currently, 1 in 4 people between 50 and 75 have never been tested for the disease. Only about 60 percent of U.S. adults are up to date on their colon cancer screenings, Krist said.
A man rides his bicycle while palm trees sway in the wind as Hurricane Zeta approaches Cancun, Mexico October 26, 2020. (REUTERS/Jorge Delgado/File Photo)
State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, fills out a ballot in her country's election, in voters in Naypyitaw, the nation’s capital, Oct. 29, 2020.
FILE - Kelley Miller, working from home because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, sunbathes as she works at a standing desk she fashioned from a gardening table on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. October 15, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
