TASK DEFINITION: Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.
PROBLEM: In my language, when I write an email to my professor, boss, etc, there is a greeting part in the first part of email right after 'Dear prof. ...'(in my language of course), e.g. 'How are you', 'I hope everything is alright' and so on. But I don't have any idea how can I write a proper email with such a greeting in English? Or do I have to ignore it because the email is kinda formal?.

SOLUTION: I almost always start formal e-mails with Dear Professor _, I hope this note finds you well. Some guidelines will suggest ending your salutation with a colon rather than a comma, but in many circumstances a comma is acceptable. If the person's title is 'professor,' you should spell it out (not 'prof.') and begin it with a capital letter when it precedes the person's name (as it would in your example). 'I hope this note (or letter) finds you well' politely establishes a friendly connection between you and the recipient of your letter and in most circumstances is a great way to start it. Especially if you're asking for something, it's good to indicate your concern for the person you're writing to. For the same reason, it's a good idea to end the letter with a phrase or sentence that will similarly show interest in their work or their well-being. 'Best regards,' is fine, but if you can tailor it in a way that's a bit more thoughtful, it's better. 'I hope your book/project continues to go smoothly.' (This can be followed by a 'Best regards.') If this is a person you don't know, you may have to settle for a generic 'Best regards' alone.

PROBLEM: I just noticed that the word in the movie title The Pursuit of Happyness is spelled with a y instead of an i. But my spell checker highlights 'happyness' as a mistake. Why is it spelled differently here? Shouldn't it be happiness?.

SOLUTION: From the article on Chris Gardner on ABC's site: The word 'happiness' in the title is deliberately misspelled, just as it was on the wall of a day care center where Gardner once sought care for his young son, Chris Jr., during some of his worst days.' Chris (Will Smith) even points out the misspelling to the Chinese care-giver that the mural decorating his son's daycare is spelled incorrectly. Chris wanted to make sure that his son was taught things the correct way, so that he could grow up to be an educated man and make something great of himself. Chris 'took offense' to the fact that the world happiness was spelled wrong on the wall and became irritated by it. But the word comes to signify Chris' own pursuit of happiness. To quote from the movie: It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what.

PROBLEM: What did 'Four-F.' mean in the United States of the 1940s? Here is the quote from Catch-22: They had to send a guy from the draft board around to look me over. I was Four-F. I had examined myself pretty thoroughly and discovered that I was unfit for military service.

SOLUTION:
It's a classification for military service. 4-F means 'Registrant not acceptable for military service.' The context clue here you might have used to deduce an area of inquiry would be the reference to a 'draft board', which is part of the Selective Service System that determines the eligibility and thus the classification of potential draftees.