On Christmas Eve, 1944, my grandmother urged my uncle, then 12 years old, to slip out of the concentration camp where they were imprisoned near 15 miles east of Vienna to go to Deutsch-Wagram. “People are charitable around Christmastime,” Grandma Lili said to her son, Gyuri. “Ask for some food. Anything they can spare. Tell them that we're on the edge of starvation. Tell them that your 3-year-old sister can not get off the bed because she's outgrown her shoes.”

    In the dark of that night, Gyuri secretly left the camp and walked nearly four miles to Deutsch-Wagram, the closest town. He happened upon a house and knocked on the front door. A woman opened that door. She was probably alone, her man far away, fighting in the war, her children asleep in their beds. The 12-year-old pieced together in German exactly what his mother had told him to say.

     “Come back tomorrow," whispered the woman. The next day, my uncle returned. The woman opened the door with a smile. She piled his hands with bread, clothing, a pair of shoes that her child had outgrown and a pair of socks. The woman had knitted warm socks for my mother. After putting on the socks and shoes that fit, my mother got off the bed in delight. Her ragged shoes were passed on to a younger child who was also living in the camp. They shared their unexpected harvest with the entire camp. It was a quiet celebration of human kindness around Christmastime.

    In April 1945, my mother, uncle and grandmother were liberated. And it was those very socks and shoes that my mother wore as she walked some 28 miles over two days to Bratislava on her walk to a new life.

    To the unknown giver, I thank you. In the desperation of a cold and snowy land, when many hearts were closed and death was more likely than life, especially for Jews, you gave them hope and comfort.

    One day, Mr. Arnold was teaching a lesson, and things were going as normally as ever. He was explaining the story of human being to his pupils. He told them that, in the beginning, men were nomads (游牧); they never stayed in the same place for very long. Instead, they would travel about, here and there, in search of food, wherever it was to be found. And when the food ran out, they would move off somewhere else.

    He taught them about the invention of farming and keeping animals. This was an important discovery, because by learning to cultivate (耕作) the land, and care for animals, mankind would always have food steadily. It also meant that people could remain living in one place, and this made it easier to set about tasks that would take a long while to finish, like building towns, cities, and all that were in them. All the children were listening attracted by this story, until Lucy jumped up:

    “And if that was so important and improved everything so much, why are we nomads all over again, Mr. Arnold?”

    Mr. Arnold didn't know what to say. Lucy was a very clever girl. He knew that she lived with her parents in a house, so she must know that her family were not nomads; so what did she mean?

    “We have all become nomads again,” continued Lucy, “The other day, outside the city, they were cutting the forest down. A while ago a fisherman told me how they fish. It's the same with everyone: when there's no more forest left the foresters go elsewhere, and when the fish run out the fishermen move on. That's what the nomads did, isn't it?

    The teacher nodded, thoughtfully. Really, Lucy was right. Mankind had turned into nomads. Instead of looking after the land in a way that we could be sure it would keep supplying our needs, we kept developing it until the land was bare. And then off we would go to the next place! The class spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what they could do to show how to be more civilized (文明的).

    The next day everyone attended class wearing a green T-shirt, with a message that said “I am not a nomad!”

    And, from then on, they set about showing that indeed they were not. Every time they knew they needed something, they made sure that they would get it using care and control. If they needed wood or paper, they would make sure that they got the recycled kind. They ordered their fish from fish farms, making sure that the fish they received were not too young and too small. They only used animals that were well cared for, and brought up on farms.

    And so, from their little town, those children managed to give up being nomads again, just as prehistoric men had done, so many thousands of years ago.

    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.

    There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckets（桶）. One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.

    Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled（溢出）.The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.

    Sometimes the new bucket would say, "See how capable I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!"

    And all that the old bucket could say was, "I know I'm not very useful, but I can only do my best. I'm happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least. "

    One day, the gardener heard that kind of conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, "You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path. "

    Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare（光秃秃的）earth；on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.

    An “adulting conference” (AC)this week allowed Kentucky high school seniors the chance to learn how to change a tire, how to cook and other basic life skills—things that they may not have learned at home or in classes. A series of photos posted by Bullitt Central High School on social media shows students taking “adulting conference” are learning about personal finances, resumes and other essential skills at the event, which has been widely reported on the local and national news outlets.

    “I saw a Facebook post that parents passed around saying they needed a class in high school on taxes and cooking,” AC organizer Hardin told Louisville's WAVE 3 News. Those skills are taught at school theoretically, she said, but the event gave students a chance to fill in gaps in their knowledge.

    Students could choose to attend three workshops out of 11 total options, the school says. The workshops were held in cooperation with numerous community partners.

    Some young people have left home and graduated school without having those gaps filled, according to a report this week from CBS New York, which documented a trend of young people seeking outclasses to learn basic life skills.

    While attending a cooking class, 29-year-old Elena Toumaras told the station she's struggling with “simple things.”

    “I was so used to, when living at home, my mom always cooking,” she told the station.

    An“Adulting School” in Portland, Maine, aims to use a new online format to teach the youths skills like conflict resolution, sewing and appreciation for all, the station says.

    Students' financial literacy has been of particular concern to some experts, as financial education in schools has stagnated(停滞)in the U.S., with only 17 states requiring students to take classes in personal finance—a number that hasn't risen in years.

    “The majority of U.S. states are failing our students by declining to offer these fundamental courses which are critical to their financial stability and security later in life. And this will be changed.” Nan J. Morrison, president and CEO of the Council for Economic Education, told CNBC.

Inventor, physicist, surveyor, astronomer, biologist, artist... Robert Hooke was all these and more. Some say he was the greatest experimental scientist of the 17th century. In the course of his work, he cooperated with famous men of science like Isaac Newton, and the great architect, Christopher Wren.

Hooke's early education began at home, under the guidance of his father. He entered Westminster School at the age of 13, and from there went to Oxford, where he came in contact with some of the best scientists in England. Hooke impressed them with his skills at designing experiments and inventing instruments. In 1662, at the age of 28, he was named Curator of Experiments at the newly formed Royal Society of London — meaning that he was responsible for demonstrating new experiments at the society's weekly meeting. Hooke accepted the job, even though he knew that the society had no money to pay him!

Watching living things through a microscope was one of his favourite pastimes. He invented a compound microscope for this purpose. One day while observing a cork under a microscope, he saw honeycomb­like structures. There were cells — the smallest units of life. In fact, it was Hooke who invented the term "cell" as the box­like cells of the cork reminded him of the cells of a monastery．

Another achievement of Hooke's was his book Micrographia, which introduced the enormous potential of the microscope. It contains fascinating drawings of the thing he saw under the microscope. The book also includes, among other things, ideas on gravity, light and burning that may have helped scientists like Newton when they were developing their own theories on these phenomena.

Hooke made a valuable contribution to astronomy too. A crater on the moon is named after him in honour of his services to this branch of science.