1 . The European Union(EU) is an organization of European countries. The countries are independent and are governed in different ways. In the United Kingdom ,for example, the head of state is a king or queen. In France, on the other hand, the head of state is a president. But each of them sends representatives to European Parliament, which has some control over what happens in each of the member countries.

The idea of the EU began   in the 1950s. The first members were France, Germany, Belgium,Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy. Little by little, the number increased during second half of the twentieth century. By the year 2000,there were 15 member countries. The new countries were Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

In 2004,the EU increased to 25 members. The Czech Republic ,Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, plus the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta all became members. The expanded EU has a population of more than half a billion people, twice as big as the population of the US.

2 . Mother’s Day is a time of memory and celebration for Mom. The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations date back to ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the Mother of Gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called “mothering Sunday”. Celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent(四旬斋)，“mothering Sunday” honoured the mothers England.

During the time many of the England’s poor worked as servants for the wealthy.AS most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday, the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along.

As Christianity(基督教) spread throughout Europe, the celebration changed to honour the “Mother Church”---the spiritual power that gave   them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival combined with mothering Sunday celebration. People began honouring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother’s Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day devoted to peace. Then in 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign(运动) to establish a national Mother’s Day. Ms Jarvis persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, Virginia to celebrate   Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the 2nd day Sunday of May. By the next year Mother’s Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessmen, and politicians demanding to establish a national Mother’s Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement that Mother’s Day was a national holiday and it was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother’s Day on the 2nd Sunday of May.