当地时间5月28日，第56届“环球小姐”决赛在墨西哥落下帷幕。美国小姐雷切尔-史密斯失足跌倒，仅获得第5名。令人尴尬的不仅在此，当史密斯跌倒时，台下几百名墨西哥观众竟然嘘声一片，折射出近年来美国和墨西哥日益恶化的双边关系。 % T# B8 [5 r; f3 y6 o
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在决赛中的晚礼服比赛过程中，史密斯踩到自己的裙子，一下子跌倒，坐在了地上。这一重大失误使得史密斯失去了夺冠希望，环球小姐的桂冠最终由日本小姐森里摘走。而史密斯跌倒时，台下的几百名墨西哥观众竟然嘘声一片，令史密斯更加尴尬。 ! C1 o$ `4 j- k# a, I* k ; Y6 b1 c4 W9 @1 u1 A. X6 j" Z( ?5 K. W
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实际上，在墨西哥巡演期间，史密斯已经遭遇了多次被嘘的经历。在上周于墨西哥市中心举行的墨西哥民族服装狂欢游行中，史密斯却怀抱一把吉他，充满猫王风格，显得颇为另类，遭到了墨西哥民众的嘘声。第二次被嘘发生在比赛评委对史密斯提问时，场内观众再次嘘声一片，并高呼“墨西哥！墨西哥！”，完全淹没了史密斯的声音。整个过程中史密斯保持镇定，她回答评委的问题说，“我对拉美的教育充满了热忱，当我真的站在这里时，我的兴趣进一步被激发”，这时史密斯小姐突然用西班牙语高呼，“晚上好，墨西哥！非常感谢！”但是这一讨好观众的举动却仅仅得到了稀稀拉拉的一点掌声，更多的却是嘲笑。 8 O) n$ t: N' O5 l3 S1 n
/ a5 f$ ]- p; g 环球小姐比赛落下帷幕后，美国两国媒体继续过招。墨西哥媒体认为，美国小姐史密斯摔了一跤还得到第5名，而墨西哥小姐却仅拿到第10名，这也是美国滥施影响的表现。墨西哥EL环球报称，公道自在人心，评委的判断不符合事实。而美国国家广播电台则警告说，墨西哥的9000名观众需要注意自己的言行，不然会给墨西哥国家形象抹黑。 ! X6 ^0 g) C7 N7 v" A; J" C& J- H% G- t; K. U' D
* v( |* k3 F. |5 F0 q ? 5 M% @3 E/ ^9 \9 a8 e( Y9 NMonday was a rough night for Miss USA Rachel Smith. After being booed by the crowd during the interview portion of the Miss Universe pageant, she fell during the evening gown competition. 3 F0 Z- C/ v# u& m5 l
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Boos for Miss USA Aimed at U.S. Lawmakers4 t1 l) C+ W7 ?6 Z
Heckling Rachel Smith Was a Reaction to the Proposed Immigration Legislation1 r" w% \; Y- t/ h' _, _- ]' u MEXICO CITY, May 30, 2007 - Many here south of the border reveled in her disastrous evening: First Miss USA Rachel Smith slipped and fell on her bottom during the Miss Universe evening gown competition. Then she was booed by hundreds in the Mexican audience. & n9 e' @; y$ g" `* y" i5 ~
, r3 U; d4 E, c7 ^$ CThe treatment of the Tennessee beauty queen was nothing personal. It had more to do with Mexico's sometimes tense relationship with its powerful northern neighbor. ! A' O' |5 }' k; O: E& Y" {+ m
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U.S. athletes have sparked a similar response. Mexican crowds booed the U.S. national anthem and some chanted "Osama! Osama!" during soccer games against the U.S. in 2004 and 2005. ; j6 X* z+ A ~7 R1 U* N' }2 ]; u. [ / M- d; A$ T' S) _, ^Smith was booed repeatedly during her stay in Mexico, including when she carried a guitar and wore an Elvis-style suit during a parade of national costumes held in downtown Mexico City. ( r% A; l& n$ \1 e7 O+ N- g
! t, ] f t6 D$ Q; s7 T3 U% uShe kept her poise during an interview Monday night with pageant judges, despite the boos and chants of "Mexico! Mexico!" that drowned out her answer. + k4 {! B. z X- }+ Y1 N5 X"I am very passionate about education and being in South Africa sparked my interest in that," said Smith, a journalism graduate who volunteered for a month at talk show host Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. * o7 y; i, Q M7 c! X1 U. F 1 ^6 S7 g; b% }4 P% |( gThen she paused, smiled and spoke in Spanish. "Buenas noches Mexico. Muchas gracias!" which earned her some applause and some chuckles. 7 X$ }2 g+ A4 V3 `5 I4 X R % G9 J3 O' G+ P. p' T TU.S.-Mexico relations worsened in the past year after the U.S. National Guard was sent to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist the U.S. Border Patrol and help build hundreds of miles of wall to keep out illegal migrants. ' F3 b8 Z: R1 L# ^, f4 \# V( G
Mexicans are also upset over a U.S. Senate proposal for a sweeping immigration reform bill that would limit the consideration of family ties, capping visas for foreign parents of U.S. citizens at 40,000 a year. The plan would change a system that favored family ties for four decades. ! W& ]2 {# ?3 b o! q! |% BMany Mexicans also feel that the United States exerts its influence to tip the balance in its favor, whether in global politics or sports events. 9 u9 I4 Z0 |5 y O! o2 i+ O1 Q4 k) @1 R
On Tuesday, Mexican media lamented the fact that their contestant, Rosa Maria Ojeda, did not make it to the top five in the pageant while Smith did, despite falling down on the runway. Smith's fifth place finish only added to the theory that the United States always is favored. 4 w+ f+ [7 L4 q5 s9 sThe Mexican newspaper El Universal said Ojeda's fans were not as upset about her top-10 finish as they were that "the judges did not penalize that fact that Miss USA totally fell on her seat after she stepped on her dress." # b2 ^% {. Q( u* J1 p) @
The newspaper said that when the show went to a commercial break, an NBC representative warned the audience of 9,000 to behave because "this gives the world a bad image of Mexico." . @* q8 Y' T! bDonald Trump, who co-owns the pageant, brushed off the ruckus as Mexicans' frustration with Washington politics. R. q- |0 D' ]' j9 N
Smith did not comment publicly after the contest. On Tuesday, she flew back to the United States. 9 D( j$ m; t2 g& R7 p3 y7 Z5 y1 H" B
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