I have faith in my family. To have faith in my family is to have an army to fight for you. My mother, sisters, cousins, stepfather, aunts, uncles, and grandmother all are there for me. As a family, I can count on all of them to help me make it through the rough times. We are strong because we are together. When I was a baby my father left our family and this was very difficult for everyone. We all learned to accept the situation. Instead of being depressed and feeling sorry for ourselves, my mother went to school to become a bilingual teacher; both of my sisters had to become very responsible at a young age to take care of me and themselves. I have much respect and love for my family. My faith in them grows stronger each day because they help me so much!
I have faith in humanity. I have faith that justice will be done though the world is full of violence and misunderstanding. I have faith that our world will find harmony and seek peaceful resolutions. Though my high school is very racially mixed, we try to respect each others' differences and become one Oceanside family. I love the ethnic groups and how we learn about customs and cultures. I have faith that the human race will realize that life is precious and that war does not solve problems.
I have faith in myself. I believe that if I put my mind to do something, pray for God' s guidance, and work very hard for what I really want, I can reach that goal. Recently I failed my biology class. My mother said that I would have to give up my dance practices to study more. I convinced her and my counselor, who wanted to put me in a general science class, that I would work harder and improve my grade. So after concentrating more on biology and making time for studying, I have brought my grade up to a B. If I did not have faith in myself I would have taken the easier class, but I stayed in biology. Now, I want to improve all my grades so that I can take tennis classes in the summer. I have faith in myself that I can put more time in my studies. I will work harder so I can do better in my grades. I have faith in myself so I know I can accomplish my goals.
Having faith is the most important law in my life. Faith in family, faith in humanity and faith in myself will lead me to a good future. Nothing great was ever achieved without faith. As the old song goes：
Have faith, Our motto is... have faith, and you won' t miss a life of HAPPINESS when you' re young remember... HAVE FAITH!!!
我对我的生活所遵循的最重要的法则“要有信念”深信不疑：相信家庭和相信人性，并且，最重要的是要相信自己。拥有信念，才会有所成就。信念会带来爱、信任以及对生活的信心。人失去了信念，就会感到迷茫和孤独。拥有信念，就相当于相信自己拥有目标，而且能够实现。
我相信家庭。信任家人，就相当于拥有了一支为你作战的军队。我有母亲、姐姐、堂表兄弟姐妹、继父、姑姑、姨妈、叔叔、 舅舅以及祖母。作为一个家庭，我能在困难时向他们寻求帮助，使我渡过难关。我们之所以强大，就是因为我们团结在一起。当我还是个婴儿时，我的父亲就离家出走了，这对我们每个人来说都是难以承受的事实，然而我们都学会了接受现实。母亲非但没有沮丧，没有为我们感到伤心，还到学校做了一名双语老师。我的两个姐姐从小就承担起照顾我和她们自己的责任。我对家人饱含敬意和爱，我对她们的信任与日俱增，因为她们对我的帮助实在太多太多了！
我相信人性。我坚信世间总有公道，尽管这个世界充满了暴力和误解；我坚信我们的世界将会寻找到和谐与和平相处的办法；尽管我所在的高中是各人种混合的大集体，但是我们尽量尊重各个方面的差异，学校成了一个越洋大家庭。我喜欢那些少数民族的人，并且喜欢研究他们的习俗和文化。我对人类会意识到生命是宝贵的充满信心，因为战争解决不了任何问题。
我相信自己。我相信假如我祈求上帝指引我做自己决意要做的事，并为自己想要得到的东西而奋力拼搏的话，我就一定能达到目标。最近，我生物考试没有及格，母亲说我必须停止练习舞蹈，以便多拿出一点儿时间来学习。我说服了母亲和那个想要把我调到普通理科班的老师，我让他们相信我会用心学习，提高成绩。从那以后，我花费在生物课上的时间和精力多了，我把成绩提高到B等。假如对自己没有信心，我早就选择更容易的课了，但是我还是留在了生物班。现在，为了暑假时能上网球学习班，我想把所有课程的成绩都提高。我对自己能把更多的时间用在学习上充满信心。我会更加努力地学习，以便提高学习成绩；我相信自己，因此我知道我能实现自己的目标。
拥有信念是我人生中最重要的法则。相信家庭、相信人性、相信自己会指引我走向美好的未来。没有信念是无法成就伟大的事业的，正像一首老歌中唱到的那样：
拥有信念，我们的座右铭是……拥有信念，你就会拥有幸福的生活。当你年轻时，你要记得……拥有信念！
你必须相信自己，这是成功的关键。
bilingual [bai'liwl] adj. 双语的
Results most students approved of bilingual teaching of the
subject.
结果，大多数学生对双语教学表示赞同。
violence ['vailns] n. 激烈；暴力；侵犯
It is up to the government to take action on violence.
采取行动对付暴力行为，是政府的职责所在。
ethnic ['enik] adj. 种族的；人种的
Ethnic background continues to be a factor influencing the affluence
of a family.
家庭种族背景仍然是影响家庭经济状况的关键因素。
precious ['pres] adj. 宝贵的；珍贵的；矫揉造作的
Time is a precious thing, so that we shall make the best use of it.
时间是一件宝贵的东西，因而我们应该最大限度地利用它。
信念会带来爱、信任以及对生活的信心。
我对人类会意识到生命是宝贵的充满信心，因为战争解决不了任何问题。
相信家庭、相信人性、相信自己会指引我走向美好的未来。
Instead of being depressed and feeling sorry for ourselves.
instead of：代替；不是……而是……
Faith in family, faith in humanity and faith in myself will lead me to a good future.
lead to：导致；通向
为你自己而站立
Stand up for Yourself
佚名 / Anonymous
I remember thinking about a middle-aged man standing at an adjacent checkout counter. Something set him apart. Even the boy bagging groceries seemed to sense it. He did a speedier-than-usual job as he glanced with respect at the man.
Trying to pinpoint what was different about him, I found that he looked quite ordinary. Although he gave the impression of being tall, I could see he was actually a little shorter than average. His features weren' t particularly outstanding, and he was wearing plain weekend sports attire.
Not until the man was leaving did it strike me. He carried himself as if he were somebody worth caring about, head up and chest out, he walked proudly from the market.
Suddenly, words I' d heard my mother repeat hundreds of times as I was growing up held new meaning. "Stand up straight! Lift yourself by pretending strings are pulling you from the tops of your ears."
I thought of myself being pulled up, and my head and upper torso lifted automatically. I felt taller as I approached the market' s doors. This time I saw reflected a woman who looked as if she knew where she was going! But I rushed home in five o' clock traffic and tried to fix dinner before a seven o' clock meeting, my good posture vanished.