I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route. He replied, "You mean fortunately." He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.

    My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to complain as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.

    Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, "Character cannot be developed in ease. Only through experiences of suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved."

    One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity （逆境）. From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents and difficulties. Some are of our making but many are no fault of our own. While we cannot choose the adversity, we can choose our attitude towards it.

    Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident. He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aviators in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans. He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said, "Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't do this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind, you'll never use crutches （拐杖） or a stick, and then have a go at everything. Go to school, and join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible."

    The biographies （传记） of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won.

    Nevertheless, there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity.

材料一：罗斯福高度赞扬苏联军队在反法西斯战争中作出的巨大贡献，把发生在苏联的一次胜利称为二战的转折点。斯大林也曾盛赞美英两国一起完成的一次计划周密、规模宏大的登陆战役。有数据表明，在反法西斯战争期间，英美向苏联支援战机18303架，坦克1．3万多辆，反坦克炮5800多门等。

材料二：作为反法西斯正义战争的产物，雅尔塔体系具有相当的历史进步性。这些历史进步性对战后世界产生了积极的影响。它制约了美国与苏联在产生任何争端时的行为方式，即双方不是以战争手段，而要用和平手段、协商谈判来解决处理……在整体上维持了世界的大和平状态。它将昔日的战争策源地德、日、意等法西斯国家转变为资产阶级民主国家，从而埋葬了发动世界大战的重要根源。它所确立的联合国安理会的“大国一致原则”，使任何一个大国要想发动战争特别是世界大战都受到约束。

——徐蓝《试论雅尔塔体系对战后国际关系的影响》

材料三：二战后仅25年，一个崭新的世界政治格局开始出现。头几年还十分盛行的世界两极开始消失，一股股新的力量在萌动这些活跃的“地缘战略棋手”在世界棋盘上纵横捭阖，以自己的力量、自己的声音，震荡着世界，改变着世界。

——【美】布热津斯基《大棋局》

月夜忆乐天兼寄微之^①

刘禹锡

今宵帝城月，一望雪相似。

遥想洛阳城，清光正如此。

知君当此夕，亦望镜湖^②水。

展转相忆心，月明千万里。

【注】①此诗写于829年，当时诗人在长安，白居易（乐天）在洛阳，元稹（微之）在越州（今浙江绍兴）。②镜湖：越州境内的一个湖。