Leila Lopes from Angola was crowned Miss Universe on Monday night. Lopes is Angola's first winner, and beat out 88 other competitors to win the title during the 60th anniversary of the world's biggest beauty pageant. She replaces last year's winner, Ximena Navarrete of Mexico.
"Thank God. I'm very satisfied with the way God created me, and I wouldn't change a thing," Lopes said when asked her interview question. "I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family, and I intend to follow these for the rest of my life."
The first runner-up was 23-year-old Olesia Stefanko of Ukraine, and the second runner-up was Priscila Machado of Brazil. The third was Miss Philippines and the fourth Miss China.
Before the contest began, judges offered little insight into who they thought might win.
"I know my job and I'll be tough, but fair," said pageant judge and journalist Connie Chung. "You have to keep in mind that these women are not objects just to be looked at. They're to be taken seriously. I want to choose somebody I take seriously and the world takes seriously, too."
Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe organization, was hyped for the night. "It's our 60th anniversary, it's a very big show," she said. "We're anticipating close to a billion viewers from around the world."
Shugart said it was fitting the globe's biggest beauty pageant be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil at this time, as the nation prepares to host some major events in the coming years.
"I don't think there is any doubt in the rest of the world's mind that Brazil is the place, between hosting the Olympics and hosting the World Cup," she said. "I love the fact we're going to kick it off. I always say we're the 'World Cup' of beauty."
The contestants must never have been married or had children and must be at least 18 years of age and under 27 years of age by Feb 1 of the competition year.
There have been no headline-grabbing gaffes going into this year's competition, as opposed to past years that have seen controversies of various stripes. The show itself went off without a hitch.
Some of the contestants have complained to the local news media about the size of bikinis used in some photo shoots, with Miss Mexico Karin Ontiveros saying they were "very small".
That was enough to draw chuckles in Brazil, where women from all walks of life, not just beauty queens, sport barely there swimwear on beaches throughout the country.
Questions:
1. What country is Miss Universe 2011 from?
2. Between what ages must contestants be?
3. Where was the Miss Universe 2011 pageant held this year?
Answers:
1. Angola.
2. 18-27.
3. Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)
About the broadcaster:
?Christine Mallari is an intern at China Daily. She was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in a nearby suburb before moving for college. After recently graduating from the University of Iowa with a degree in English, Journalism and Mass Communications, she moved to Beijing to work with China Daily. Though she has been working in journalism since high school, this is her first time doing so abroad.