参加选美大赛的女孩很少有智力超群并关心天下事的,但牛津大学的女硕士洛伊斯•德怕恐怕要颠覆传统,让世人认识到选美佳丽也可能像她这样美貌与智慧兼备。 + v+ k; b* C4 w+ k, f3 t ) s6 Z! v$ j) s+ Y4 ^5 _$ \/ i( b# k 据《每日电讯报》报道,洛伊斯出生于伦敦,幼年随家人迁居爱尔兰。下月,“英国小姐”选美大赛决赛即将拉开帷幕。和洛伊斯同时入围了“英国小姐”选美大赛决赛的参赛佳丽共有50位。这些女孩中有许多人已经在各类选美大赛上小有名气,但优异的自身条件和教育背景还是让年仅23岁的洛伊斯在选手中格外出众。她不会在比赛上说些有关慈善爱心的陈词滥调,作为牛津大学的金融学硕士,她谈论的话题则可能是有关全球的经济动态。 . L. M7 T& b0 j+ B# z* I) _9 [" R* U$ i( U3 x
洛伊斯表示:“我十分喜欢参加选美大赛的经历,这样的活动让我兴奋。”目前,洛伊斯是位于都柏林的牛津三一学院的经济社会研究专业的在校硕士生。她正在联系毕业后去纽约一家投资银行实习。她说:“学校的课程很重,许多人都嘲笑我们学经济的学业太重,考试也难,但是我喜欢我的专业,就像我喜欢目前的选美大赛一样。” ( C+ F- P' v6 L( [" K6 T $ F/ C/ ?, O8 M5 P 在发表对选美大赛的看法时,洛伊斯说:“我是一个典型的女孩,喜欢打扮自己,我不认为展示自己的美有什么不好。‘英国小姐’选美赛就是在展现女性身上最美好的东西——个性、外表和才智。” 5 E" k' w E- Y& ~; h7 \) q, A, m8 p3 E
洛伊斯的母亲是爱尔兰南部一家饭店的老板。她表示,一家人都支持洛伊斯参加选美大赛,家人将于5月21日亲自到伦敦为洛伊斯助阵。 y4 u, j$ e. F, l6 g% S+ f1 p * t R. j J4 L ) \% u6 X$ H8 k d9 q9 j& X, t- H* JOxford girl with beauty and brains on verge of unique double firstBeauty contestants are not usually known for their great intellect or grasp of world affairs. + K) t8 x* H7 U( ^, c0 x- c& b, A
But Lois Day - the first Oxford University student to make the finals of the Miss Great Britain contest - is determined to change all that. For Lois there will be no platitudes about working for charity - instead she can talk about the MSc in Financial Economics she is studying at the university’s Saïd Business School. . i/ ^7 s) @/ m- d4 I1 [3 x; O
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That puts the 23-year-old at odds with her main rivals for the title, including Amanda Harrington, from Birkenhead - the latest winner of Nuts magazine’s Bedroom Babes competition - and Fay Bevan, from Newport, whose CV details a ‘four-page spread in Knicker Draw’. Lois, who was born in London and moved to Ireland as a child, is one of 50 finalists for next month’s competition after making it through to the finals of Miss England last year. "I absolutely loved the experience and I decided that I really wanted to try again. I’m so excited," she said. Lois was an undergraduate at Trinity College in Dublin, where her first-class degree in Economics and Social Studies helped secure her place at Oxford. She said: "The course is hard work - everyone laughs at us 'geeks' in the business school for working so much. The exams are horrendous but I love the course as it is great for preparing for the work I want to go on to do." Lois, who is lining up an internship in a New York investment bank when she graduates, defended the pageant against claims it was sexist. "I’m a real girls’ girl - I love dressing up but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being pretty and a feminist. This competition is about celebrating all the best parts of women - their presence, personality and looks." Lois’s mother Liz, who runs a hotel in southern Ireland, said the whole family, including Lois’s two sisters, would be in London on May 21 to cheer her on.