Module 1 Europe Section Ⅳ Other Parts of the Module[原文呈现]The European Union①What Is the European Union?The European Union is an organisation of European countries. The countries are independent② and are governed③ in different ways. In the United Kingdom, for example, the head④ of state is a king or queen. In France, on the other hand⑤ , the head of state is a president. But each of them sends representatives⑥ to the European Parliament⑦，which has some control over what happens⑧ in each of the member countries.How Did It Start⑨The idea of the European Union began in the 1950s⑩. The first members were France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy. Little by little⑪ ， the number increased⑫ during the second half of the twentieth century. By⑬ the year 2000, there were 15 member countries. The new countries were Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.How Many Countries Belong to⑭It Now?In 2004, the European Union increased to 25 members. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, plus⑮ the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta all became members. The expanded⑯ European Union has a population of⑰ more than⑱ half a billion people, twice as big as the population of the United States⑲.[读文清障]①the European Union欧盟②independent adj.独立的③govern/'ɡ vn/ʌvt.统治；治理government n．政府 governor n．统治者④head/hed/n.领袖；领导人⑤on the other hand另一方面；反过来说on the one hand一方面⑥representative/ reprI'zent tIv/ˌən. 代表⑦parliament/'pɑ l m nt/ː ə ən.国会；议会⑧which 引导非限制性定语从句，which 在从句中作主语，不能用 that 来代替。该定语从句中又包含一个 what 引导的宾语从...
