From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
When trying to make a successful career, which is better: being a generalist or a specialist?
In other words, should you generalize and know a little about a lot of things?
Or should you specialize and have a deep understanding of only one area?
Well, that depends.
"So, when we think about generalizing versus specializing in our career, we're really
talking about can you do a broad number of tasks versus do you drill down and do one
specific thing really well."
That is Natasha Olinger.
Olinger is a human resource expert in Washington, D.C.
She talks about the benefits of both.
However, the main reason for specializing is an important one: more money.
"So, generally speaking, the common wisdom out there is it's always better to specialize
and that you can demand a higher salary if you specialize."
To explain her way of thinking, Olinger uses a fairly common situation – choosing a restaurant.
Say you want to eat a favorite Japanese meal: sushi.
If you go to a restaurant that only serves sushi, you can expect high quality products,
and you also should expect to pay more.
If you go to a place that serves sushi, tacos and pizza, the quality of the sushi may not
be so great, but the prices will probably be lower.
Olinger says the world of work is not all that different.
However, she adds that all is not perfect in the world of the specialist.
If there is a drop in economic activity or possibly a recession, a generalist may get
more job offers.
"Though it's generally considered better to be a specialist, the recession of 2008
really showed us that there are times when being a generalist translates to job security
even though in boom times being a specialist often leads to a higher salary."
So, are some fields best for generalists and others for specialists?
Olinger says the size of the organization can be more important than a sector, or industry.
"I would say the biggest difference -- in terms of, is it better to be a generalist
or specialist -- is more the size of the organization, oftentimes, than the sector.
So, smaller organizations tend to need more generalists.
And larger companies tend to need more specialists.
And this is oftentimes regardless of industry."
So Olinger suggests thinking about the size and type of business you would like to do
it for.
Small businesses often need people who can do many things.
Also, companies that are just getting started often need people who are able to perform
many different tasks.
For example, your job description may be that of a graphic designer, but you may also have
to do some writing.
A person who can do many different things is often called a Jack-of-all-trades and is
able to wear many hats.
"I would say, think about the type of organization in which you want to work.
If you want to work for a smaller organization or possibly a start-up where, you know, you're
going to have to kind of wear all different kinds of hats...then you would want to focus
more on generalizing and learning kind of a broad set of skills."
Larger companies can be just the opposite.
They often need specialists -- experts in a given field.
In fact, they may require that you stay in your lane, meaning you do your job and nothing
else.
"If you really want to go into a much larger corporation you probably want to specialize.
They're going to be looking for someone who can solve a very specific type of problem
that they have.
And there probably isn't going to be as much room or really need to wear all those
different hats and kind of pinch hit where needed."
When planning your career path, the best advice might be to "know yourself."
Some people like to know a little about a lot of things.
They might lose interest in working on the same thing day after day.
These people might be happier in a career that lets them perform different duties.
But what if you really love learning everything there is to know about just one subject?
You like the idea of being an expert.
In that case, it is probably a good idea for you to specialize.
However, if you are preparing to specialize in something, you had better make sure that
you really like it.
But perhaps the best solution is a mix of generalization and specialization.
Some career planners call this a "T-shaped" career.
The top of the T would be the generalized part.
The upright stem of the T would be the deeper understanding of a person's general knowledge
– their expertise.
Olinger agrees.
She suggests that combining the two may be the best answer.
"I think, ideally, the most successful candidates -- in terms of balancing the ability to demand
a higher salary and having their jobs be quote, unquote 'recession-proof' -- tend to balance
specialized skills with general skills."
She notes, that a lot depends on where you are in your career.
It may be easier to be a generalist when you are younger and then slowly specialize as
you get older.
However, experts advise workers to keep their skills up-to-date and be willing to make changes,
when needed -- no matter what industry you work in or how old you are.
And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
I'm Anna Matteo.
The Halloween holiday is October 31.
Tens of millions of children will put on costumes that night and visit their neighbors' homes.
The neighbors will give them candy.
Americans are expected to spend about $9 billion on Halloween this year.
Most of the money is spent on costumes, decorations and candy.
The National Retail Federation estimates that more than 175 million Americans are planning
to take part in Halloween activities this year.
The online candy seller CandyStore.com looked through 11 years of data to learn which Halloween
candy is most popular in each American state.
The company found that, overall, Skittles, M&M's and Snickers are the most popular candies.
The favorite candy of Texans, though, is Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
And candy corn came in first in the states of Alabama, Michigan, Idaho and New Mexico.
But children who live in Oregon may be among the luckiest in America; larger-size candy
bars are a usual treat in the northwestern state.
What will children wear this Halloween?
The National Retail Federation says princess, superhero and Batman costumes are the most
popular choices among kids.
Adults, however, favor frightening characters, like witches and vampires.
Even America's animals are getting into the action.
Dog and cat owners plan to dress their animal friends as pumpkins, hotdogs and bumblebees,
the retail group says.
I'm Caty Weaver.
The American space agency is reporting that its Parker Solar Probe now holds the record
for the closest approach to the Sun by a human-made object.
NASA officials said the robotic spacecraft passed the old record of nearly 43 million
kilometers from the Sun's surface on October 29.
Officials said this information comes from the Parker Solar Probe team.
The old record for closest solar approach was set by a German-American spacecraft, called
Helios 2, in April 1976.
The Parker Space Probe is expected to continue setting records as it moves even closer to
the Sun.
NASA officials say the spacecraft will get as close as 6.16 million kilometers from the
surface during one of its visits.
They expect that to happen in the year 2024.
"It's been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we've now come closer
to our star than any other spacecraft in history," noted Project Manager Andy Driesman.
He is with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
The Parker Solar Probe also was expected to set a new record for the fastest spacecraft
traveling relative to the Sun.
The current record, held by Helios 2, is 246,960 kilometers an hour.
The Parker Solar Probe team is measuring the spacecraft's speed and position using NASA's
Deep Space Network (DSN).
The network sends a signal to the spacecraft, which then sends a signal back to DSN ground
stations in Australia, Spain and the United States.
Space agency officials said the Parker Solar Probe's speed and position were estimated
using DSN measurements made on October 24.
The team used that information along with known orbital forces to estimate the spacecraft's
speed and position from that point on.
The Parker Solar Probe will continue flying closer to the Sun's surface until it reaches
its first perihelion — the point closest to the Sun in its orbit — on November 5.
The spacecraft will have to deal with extreme heat and radiation levels as it moves closer
to the surface.
However, the probe is expected to make observations that will add to scientists' understanding
of the Sun.
I'm Jonathan Evans.
Cyrene is an ancient city in eastern Libya that was founded by the Greeks more than 2,600
years ago.
The historic site once appealed to tourists.
But today, it suffers greatly from damage and lack of care.
Cyrene is one of Libya's five UNESCO World Heritage sites -- places that are considered
to have special cultural or physical importance.
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The sites also include the ruins of the Roman city of Leptis Magna and Sabratha, a site
famous for its amphitheater.
There are also prehistoric rock cuttings in the Akakous mountains in the southern Sahara
Desert, near Libya's border with Algeria.
But since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, insecurity and looting have harmed
many of these areas.
Tourist once walked to Cyrene, a city founded by Greeks and later expanded by Romans.
It is in the mountains around 200 kilometers east of Benghazi, within the small community
of Shahat.
But today, foreign tourists no longer visit Cyrene.
Only Libyan families come to its sites.
Some locals have taken the land for themselves.
Others have written graffiti on the ancient city's structures and walls.
Local officials are trying to stop the damage.
Ahmad Hussein is an official in eastern Libya.
He said, "In Cyrene, instead of speaking to one owner, now we speak to 50…"
He said owners have built houses on the ancient sites.
A 2013 law permitted people to reclaim land that was taken from them under Gaddafi's
rule.
That ruling worsened the problem.
Some people took the amount of land they felt they deserved.
Hussein said he wants to hold those people responsible for their actions.
Protecting sites like Cyrene has become more difficult in part because Libya has two governments.
One government, in Tripoli, is supported by the United Nations.
Eastern Libya has another government.
There has been some success, however.
Hussein said about 1,700 objects that were stolen from historic sites have been returned.
The returned objects had been looted inside the country.
Many other objects have been illegally taken out of the country.
Leptis Magna is an ancient site in northwestern Libya.
It has mostly avoided damage because of local people who are fans of history.
The site, which is near the city of Misrata, is also more secure than other places.
The site of Sabratha has been repeatedly hit by fighting between warring groups.
Last year, UNESCO appealed for help in protecting the site.
But the site received no help.
In Tripoli, the capital, one director is trying to save 18 Roman graves.
The graves are around 1,700 years old.
They were found in 1958 in the western town of Janzour.
The director is al-Amari Ramadan Mabrouk.
He said, "There is no support for this site."
Sometimes, Libyan families come to the site.
But mostly, the graves remain covered with spiders and dust.
Mabrouk said, "I cannot give a number for tourists who visit Libya…but I can say that,
before 2011, tourism was popular in Libya."
I'm Alice Bryant.
The number of English language learners in American public schools continues to rise.
About 9.5 percent of public school students were English language learners in 2015, the
U.S. Department of Education reports.
That was about 4.8 million students across the country.
That number had risen from 8.1 percent – or 3.8 million students – in 2000, the department's
National Center for Education Statistics said.
The results were also reported by the Pew Research Center.
English language learners, also known as ELLs, are students with limited English abilities.
American public school systems seek to identify these students and develop programs to help
them improve their English.
The goal is to give students the language skills they need to fully take part in educational
activities and help them succeed in the classroom.
Studies have shown clear links between English-language proficiencyand improved educational results.
The state with the highest number of ELL students is California.
Twenty-one percent of its public school students were English language learners in 2015.
The next highest states were Texas and Nevada.
Nearly 17 percent of both states' students were ELLs.
In eight states, ELLs made up 10 percent or more of the total public school students.
Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia saw a rise in the number of ELL students from
2010 to 2015.
The largest increase – 3 percent – was reported in Massachusetts.
In 14 states, the percentage of ELLs fell in 2015 compared to 2010.
The largest drop, which was 4 percent, was reported in the western state of Nevada.
Spanish is by far the most common language spoken at home by ELLs.
About 77 percent of the students said they mainly spoke Spanish at home, the education
report said.
Twenty-one percent of Spanish-speaking ELLs live in California.
Arabic is the second most common language spoken at home by ELL students.
Across America, 2.4 percent of English learners reported speaking mainly Arabic at home.
But that percentage was much higher in some U.S. states.
For example, about 24 percent of ELLs reported speaking Arabic at home in the northern state
of Michigan.
Chinese is the third most commonly spoken language by American ELL students.
About 2 percent of the total – or about 101,000 students - identified themselves as
Chinese speakers at home.
Pew's report also noted that across all 50 states, Chinese is among the five most
common languages spoken by ELLs.
Vietnamese is the fourth most common language.
About 81,000 ELL students reported speaking Vietnamese at home.
That is 1.7 percent of all ELLs.
In Hawaii and Alaska, however, the most common language spoken by the states' ELLs were
none of the major languages reported across the country.
Instead, the most commonly spoken languages match each state's main immigrant or indigenous
populations, the Migration Policy Institute reported.
In Hawaii, 21 percent of students reported speaking Ilokano, a language native to the
Philippines.
In Alaska, 40 percent reported speaking Yupik – a family of languages used by the Yupik
indigenous population.
About 14 percent of ELLs live in cities, the National Center for Education Statistics reported.
Nine percent live in suburban areas.
And around 6.5 percent lived in small towns, while 3.6 percent were in rural areas.
Not surprisingly, most English language learners were in lower grade levels.
In 2015, 67 percent of students were either in kindergarten or grades 1 through 5.
The other 33 percent were in sixth through 12th grades.
However, 62 percent of American public school districts reported having at least some high
school English language learners.
I'm Bryan Lynn.
Jair Bolsonaro was elected Sunday to be the next president of Brazil.
Results showed that the Social Liberal Party candidate won 55 percent of the vote over
Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad.
His presidency may help build stronger relationships between Brazil and the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump called to congratulate Bolsonaro on his victory Sunday night.
American officials say Bolsonaro and Trump spoke of "a strong commitment to work side-by-side"
on issues affecting Brazil, the United States and beyond.
Bolsonaro has been a longtime supporter and fan of Trump.
In July, Bolsonaro said of Trump, "Just like he wants to make America great, I want
to make Brazil great."
Bolsonaro ran a campaign that promised to change what he sees as a corrupt political
system that has forgotten ordinary citizens.
His insulting comments about gays, women and minorities have pleased his followers.
They think of him as not afraid to speak the truth even when it may offend some people.
Bolsonaro told Reuters last year before his candidacy, "Trump faced the same attacks
I am facing - that he was a homophobe, a fascist, a racist, a Nazi.
But the people believed in his platform.
I was rooting for him."
Bolsonaro has already made plans to change Brazilian foreign policy.
Following the lead of the United States, he has said he will move Brazil's embassy in
Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Similar to Trump, Bolsonaro is rethinking his country's membership in multinational
organizations and agreements.
That includes the Mercosur trade group, the BRICS group of large developing economies
and the Paris climate agreement.
Those changes would undo 13 years of diplomatic efforts led by the country's Workers'
Party.
Party leaders worked to build relationships with Brazil's South American neighbors and
other developing countries.
Bolsonaro is also questioning Brazil's relationship with China.
China is Brazil's biggest foreign buyer of soybeans, iron ore and other goods.
But Bolsonaro is worried by recent Chinese purchases of Brazilian energy and public service
companies.
"The Chinese are not buying in Brazil.
They are buying Brazil," Bolsonaro has warned repeatedly.
Such talk is likely to please Trump.
Recent U.S. taxes on Chinese goods have started a trade war between the two countries.
Many people blame the U.S. for unsettling supply systems and economic markets worldwide.
Bolsonaro plans to turn a number of Brazil's state-owned companies into private companies.
He also wants to ease environmental restrictions to make room for more mining and farming.
Experts say that, like Trump, Bolsonaro was able to use voters' fears and dissatisfaction
with the government to win the presidency.
Brazil now struggles with high levels of crime.
In recent years, an investigation into government activities found corruption at the highest
levels.
One former president is in jail and another was removed from office.
And Brazil's economy has yet to fully recover from a large recession.
More than 13 million Brazilians are unemployed.
Bolsonaro will take office on January 1, 2019.
I'm Jonathan Evans.
Barcelona's Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, Spain, is finally getting a building
permit, more than 130 years after work on the structure began.
City officials announced the permit agreement earlier this month.
It ended a long argument over the legality of the continuing work on the cathedral.
Under the agreement, the cathedral will pay city officials 36 million euros.
The money will be used to help pay for improvements to city streets and Barcelona's public transportation
system.
Building equipment has long surrounded the tall spires of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi's
most famous building.
The building of Sagrada Familia began in 1882.
It is set to be completed by 2026, 100 years after Gaudi's death.
He was struck by a vehicle in Barcelona in 1926.
He lay on the street in pain for hours.
By the time he arrived at a hospital, it was too late.
At the time of his death, workers had completed only about 25 percent of the cathedral.
Progress has been slow in the years since.
Work was stopped during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.
Many of Gaudi's original plans were lost.
Building began again in the 1950s.
Gaudi's design for Sagrada Familia includes modernist, Art Nouveau and traditional Gothic
elements.
It also includes 18 towers.
Eight of them have been built.
Barcelona residents have long argued about Sagrada Familia.
Many do not like Gaudi's design.
Others believe it is too costly to complete.
But art critics admire it greatly.
Art critic Rainier Zerbst said, "It is probably impossible to find a churchbuilding anything
like it in the entire history of art."
Famous architecture critic Paul Goldenberger said Sagrada Familia was the best "interpretation
of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages."
In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI declared Sagrada Familia a basilica, an honor that only the
pope can give.
I'm Caty Weaver.
The American president and his wife have visited the Jewish religious center in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, where a gunman killed 11 people on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Donald and Melania Trump spoke with the leader of the Tree of Life synagogue,
Jeffrey Myers, and the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer.
The Trumps laid stones on markers honoring the victims, a Jewish tradition.
Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and her husband, Jared Kushner, were also in attendance.
Both are Jewish.
Nearby, a large crowd of demonstrators protested Trump's visit.
Some politicians and Jewish leaders had demanded the president stay away from Pittsburgh until
he denounces white nationalism.
Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto, a member of the Democratic Party, said Trump should
not come while families are holding funerals.
"If the president is looking to come to Pittsburgh," Peduto said, "I would ask that he not do so
while we are burying the dead."
Top congressional leaders from both political parties rejected invitations from Trump to
join him in visiting.
The family of one of the victims also rejected meeting with the president.
The family said it objected to a statement Trump made about the shooting.
The president said an armed guard might have prevented the attack had one been deployed
at the synagogue.
The man accused of the attack, Robert Bowers, appeared before a federal judge on Monday.
Officials say Bowers, who is from Florida, called out "All Jews must die," before he
fired at the worshippers in Tree of Life.
Bowers faces 29 federal charges, including some hate crimes.
He could face the death sentence if found guilty.
The Anti-Defamation League has kept records on hatred and violence against Jews since
the 1970s.
It says the Pittsburgh shooting was the worst attack against the Jewish community in U.S.
history.
Earlier Tuesday, families buried three victims of the attack.
About 1,800 people turned out for the funerals of Cecil and David Rosenthal.
The two brothers were loyal members of Tree of Life who would welcome worshippers and
newcomers to the synagogue.
About 2,000 mourners attended the funeral of Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz.
He was known for being friendly and always open to providing medical advice.
I'm Caty Weaver.
For more infomation >> October 30, 2018 Newscast | Cronkite News - Duration: 31:30. 
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