Venezuelan Mendoza crowned '08 Miss Universe

Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza, was crowned Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam's resort city of Nha Trang on Monday.

The 22-year-old brunette was given her crown, made of white and yellow gold and precious stones, by last year's winner, Riyo Mori of Japan, at the pageant finale watched by nearly a billion television viewers worldwide.

"I am excited. I cried a lot. I am really glad I made it," Mendoza, the 57th winner of the title, later told reporters.

The model and interior design student was among four finalists from Latin America, including first runner-up Taliana Vargas, 20, from Colombia.

The rest of the top five were from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Russia.

This year's event went more smoothly than the 2007 pageant in Mexico, which was marked by protests, a banned dress and the withdrawal of Miss Sweden after critics at home complained the contest degraded women.

However, misfortune befell Miss USA for a second straight year. During the evening gown parade, Crystle Stewart of Texas slipped on the runway. She finished in the top 10.

The annual Miss Universe pageant was first held in Long Beach, California, in 1952.

The event was taken over in 1996 by US real estate mogul Donald Trump.

Vietnam spent nearly $20 million on the event, including $7 million on a new resort and convention centre to host the pageant, in a bid to promote tourism to the Southeast Asian nation.

After celebrating at home with her family, Mendoza will spend her year-long reign traveling the world to speak out on humanitarian issues.

"I think I will jump on my family and they will jump on me. I want to have my mum's food," she said.

“2008环球小姐”总决赛于本周一在越南旅游胜地芽庄市举行，委内瑞拉小姐达雅娜•门多萨摘得桂冠。

22岁的门多萨有着深棕色的头发。在颁奖典礼上，去年的“环球小姐”、来自日本的森理世为她戴上了镶有白金、黄金和宝石的桂冠。当天的总决赛吸引了全球近十亿电视观众观看。

第57届“环球小姐”冠军门多萨之后在接受记者采访时说：“我很激动，流下了很多泪水。能成为环球小姐，我真的很高兴。”

这位模特兼室内设计专业的学生是进入决赛的四位拉美选手之一，20岁的哥伦比亚小姐塔利亚娜•瓦格斯夺得了亚军。

跻身前五名中的其他几位佳丽分别来自多米尼加共和国、墨西哥和俄罗斯。

与去年在墨西哥举行的“环球小姐”总决赛相比，今年的比赛要顺利得多。去年的总决赛可谓插曲不断，出现了抗议示威，禁穿服装和退赛等一系列事件。当时瑞典小姐因本国一些批评人士抨击“环球小姐”大赛是对女性的羞辱而退出了比赛。

美国小姐则连续两年遭遇不幸。在今年的晚礼服秀上，美国小姐克莉丝托•斯图尔特不慎滑倒，最终进入比赛前十名。

一年一度的“环球小姐”选美大赛于1952年首次在加利福尼亚的长岛举行。

1996年，该比赛由美国地产巨头唐纳德•特朗普接手承办。

越南为举办此次大赛投入了近2000万美元，其中700万美元用于为比赛修建新度假胜地和会议中心。该东南亚国家希望通过举办此次比赛促进本国旅游业的发展。

门多萨与家人庆祝胜利后将会踏上一年的环球之旅，进行人道主义宣传。

她说：“我想我见到家人时，我们一定会跳起来互相拥抱。我现在很想吃妈妈做的菜。”

Vocabulary:

first runner-up: 亚军（季军为second runner-up）