Metro Pocket Guide

Metrorail(地铁)

    Each passenger needs a farecard to enter and go out. Up to two children under five may travel free with a paying customer.

    Farecard machine are in every station, Bring small bills because there are no change machines in the station and farecard machine only provide up to $ 5 in change.

    Get one of unlimited Metrorail rides with a One Day Pass. Buy it from a farecard machine in Metro stations. Use it after 9:30 a.m. until closing on weekdays, and all day on weekends and holidays.

    Hours of Service

    Open: 5 a.m. Mon-Fri           7a.m. Sat—Sun.

    Close midnight Sun—Thur.      3. a.m. Fri— Sat. nights

    Last train times vary. To avoid missing the last train, please check the last train time posted in the station.

Metrobus

    When paying with exact change, the fare is $ 1.35. When paying with a smatTrip CARD the fare is $1.25

    Fares for the Senior /disabled customers

    Senior citizens 65 and older and disabled customers may ride for half the regular fare. On Metrorail and Metrobus, use a senior/disabled farecard or SmarTrip card. For more information about buying senior/disabled farecards, farecard or SmarTripR card and passes, please visit MetroOpenDoors.com or call 202-637-7000 and 202-637-8000.

    Senior citizens and disabled customers can get free guide on how to use proper Metrobus and Metrorail services by calling 202-962-1100

Travel tips

    Avoid riding during weekday rush periods –before 9:30 a.m. and between 4 and 6 p.m.

    If you lose something on a bus or train or in a station, please call Lost & Found at 202-962-1195.

    Throughout much of human history, man has been the measure of many, if not all, things. Lengths were divided up into feet and smaller units from the human hand. Other measures were equally characteristic. Mediterranean traders for centuries used the weight of grains of wheat to define (定义) their units of mass. The Romans used libra, forerunner of the pound, by referring to the weight of a carob (角豆树) seed.

    The sizes of similarly named units could also differ. The king's foot, used in France for nearly 1, 000 years after its introduction by Charlemagne in around 790 AD, was, at 32.5cm, around a centimeter shorter than the Belgic foot, used in England until 1300.Greek, Egyptian and Babylonian versions of water in a fixed container varied from one another by a few kilos, Nor was there agreement on such things within countries. In France, where there was no unified (统一的) measurement system at the national level, the situation was particularly terrible. The lieue (former measure of distance), for example, varied from just over 3 km in the north to nearly 6 km in the south.

    Although John Wilkins, an Englishman, first put forward a decimal system (十进制) of measurement in 1668, it was the French who in 1799 made it law. The Système International d'Unités (SI, or the metric system, as it is better known) developed from it and became the official measurement in all countries except Myanmar, Liberia and the United States. Now the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris is set to give the metric system its biggest shake-up yet.

    At a meeting in Versailles, France, on November 16th, 2018, the world's measurement bodies are almost certain to approve a decision that will mean four out of the seven base SI units, including the kilogram, will follow the other three, including the metre, in being redefined in terms of the values of physical constants (物理常数).Each of the chosen constants has been measured incredibly precisely, which would mean that from May 20^th 2019 the constants will themselves be fixed at their current values for ever. Any laboratory in the world will then be able to measure, for example, the mass of an object as precisely as the accuracy of their equipment will allow.

    I was driving my newly acquired motorcycle across the vastness of North Dakota when all of the sudden it froze up on the road. I would later be told the belt had slipped and this caused one of the pistons(活塞)to break a cylinder(气缸)head, or something like that.

    Anyway, I sat on the side of the road for what seemed like hours. I even pretended to have been in an accident, which didn't help. Finally, a young man pulled over and offered me a ride, but given that he already had two motorcycles in the back of his truck, he could only take me.

    He drove me to the next town, where I asked to be dropped off Rather than drop me off, he waited while I asked around if anyone could help me to pick up my motorcycle. One elderly gentleman was working and said that I could use his pickup! Can you imagine that a stranger gave me the keys to his pick up. It was quite an experience, I must say. So, as I drove back 20 miles to get my motorcycle, the gentleman who first stopped to help me followed me. We both put the motorcycle in the back of the truck and then I followed him another 50 miles or so and we both unloaded the motorcycle at his place. Then, he followed me back to the small town so I could return the man's truck. I didn't have much cash on me, maybe $40, but I gave it to the man for the use of his truck.

    Two strangers helped rescue me from spending the night on the side of the road in ND. I don't recall their names, but when I close my eyes I can see their faces as if it were yesterday. Thank you, strangers. You may be reading this right now.

    In my senior year of high school, I got a part-time job working at the local coffee shop. One miserable rainy day, Hank, one of my regular customers came in looking depressed and defeated. My co-worker and I asked what the problem was and if we could help, but he said he wouldn't want to tell any details. He just felt like going into bed, pulling the sheet up over his head, and staying there for a few years, and I knew exactly how he felt.

    Before he left, I handed him a bag along with his iced coffee. He looked at me questioningly because he hadn't ordered anything but the coffee. He opened the bag and saw that I had given him his favorite type of doughnut (油炸圈饼).

    "It's on me,"I told him."Have a nice day."

    He smiled and thanked me before turning around and heading back out into the rain.

    The next evening, when I was in the middle of making coffee, Hank drove up to the window. But instead of ordering anything, he handed me a single pink rose and a little note. I waited until I saw his Jeep leave the parking lot, then I ran to the back of the shop and read the note. It read:

    Christine,

    Thanks for cheering me up yesterday. It is so nice to meet someone that's genuinely sweet, warm and thoughtful and unselfish. Please don't change your ways because I truly believe that you will succeed. Have a great day!

    Hank

    As time went on, I did come across more complaining customers. But anytime I felt depressed, I thought of Hank and his kindness. Then I would smile, hold my head up high, clear my throat and ask politely," How can I help you?"