Distance
The base unit for measuring distance is the metre (not the meter, goddammit, the metre). A metre is pretty darned close to a yard. The most useable measure of distance however, is the kilometre (1000 metres). 1.6 kilometres is the same as one of your silly miles.
Volume
The base unit for volume is the litre (not the liter, for fuck sakes, the litre). A litre is very similar to a quart (as a matter of fact, 3.8 litres of fluid is the same as one of your gallons). Millilitres are also used commonly (a millilitre is 1/1000 of a litre - you'd better know that for the testing).
Mass
Mass is like weight, though not exactly like weight. The base unit for mass is the gram. A gram is 1/28th of an ounce, and hence is not very useful as a measurement (unless you're into things that weigh ounces and quarters or eighths of ounces - for those types the gram can be your $20 friend). The more useful measure of mass is the kilogram. If you refer back to the distance segment, you'll notice that both kilogram and kilolitre start with kilo. Can you thus guess how many grams might be in a kilogram? No? That's okay. There are 1000.
Common prefixes and their meanings:
milli = 1/1000 (eg millilitre)
centi = 1/100 (eg centimetre)
deci = 1/10 (eg decimetre OR also commonly referred to in Canada as "the length of EP's dinky")
kilo = 1000 (eg kilogram)
And there you have it. Congratulations on finishing my short guide.
Oh, and if you're one of those that has read this whole thing and are feeling a little put out that I wrote this for retards, but you feel you're not retarded.... I submit the following:
You're still one of those that has read this whole thing.
