The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian. Five years later the first British card appeared, and now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries. People usually start collecting cards because they are small and light and you do not need much space for them. It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business. In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can only buy telephone cards, and some cards cost up to ￡4,000.The first Japanese card has a value of about ￡28,000. Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collectors' magazine.

材料：美国在建国初，由于国力弱小，加之受华盛顿“中立政策”的影响，没有制定任何针对拉美地区的政策。19世纪后，美国开始加强对这一地区的关注，并进行了长期渗透及武力干涉。1933年罗斯福上台后，正式宣布美国对邻国奉行“睦邻政策”，表示不干涉拉美国家的内部事务。随后罗斯福又呼吁美洲各国互相理解，消除一切阻碍正常贸易发展的人为障碍。1934年，德国在经济和政治上成功地渗入拉美。对此，罗斯福采取一系列措施，包括废除与古巴的不平等条约，从海地撤军等，只以政治、经济手段维护和扩大其在拉美的利益。到1939年欧战爆发前，美国已和11个拉美国家签订了互惠贸易协定，双方贸易迅速发展。

——摘编自刘绪贻等主编《美国通史》