McDonald’s in Singapore started selling cartoon character miniatures depicting the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac calendar on January, but the pig was replaced by love god Cupid as McDonald’s said it did not want to offend Muslims.
新加坡麥當勞一月開始銷售描繪中國十二生肖動物的卡通公仔，但把豬換成愛神邱比特，麥當勞說，這是因為不想得罪穆斯林。
But the move, just ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday and Valentine’s Day in February, backfired and upset many in the predominantly ethnic Chinese nation. They complained in chatrooms and blogs that they would not have a chance to buy the animal sign of their birth year.
但是在中國農曆新年假期和二月情人節之前，此舉反而弄巧成拙，惹惱這個華人居多數國家的許多人。他們在網路聊天室和部落格上抱怨，這樣他們就不能買到他們的生肖公仔。
McDonald’s apologized and brought a pig back to its toy menu, "We’re sorry, and we’re grateful," the fast food chain said in a half-page advertisement in the Straits Times newspaper, saying it never intended to offend anyone.
麥當勞道歉，並把豬放回玩具清單上。「我們感到抱歉，我們覺得遺憾」，這家速食連鎖店在海峽時報刊登的半版道歉啟事中說，他們從來就無意冒犯任何人。
"I understand that we need to respect our Muslim citizens as Singapore is a multiracial and multicultural society," Pauline Koh, whose daughter was born in the Year of Pig, wrote to the Straits Times.
「我了解我們需要尊重我們的穆斯林公民，因為新加坡是個多民族、多元文化社會」，寶琳．高在海峽時報撰文說，她的女兒就是在豬年出生。
"However, in this case, the Pig is one of the Chinese zodiac signs -- part of Chinese culture and customs -- and it is just a soft toy, not food," she wrote.
「不過，在這次的事件中，豬是中國十二生肖之一，這是中國文化與風俗的一部分，而且這只是絨毛玩具，不是食物。」她寫道。
新聞辭典：
snort：動詞，鼻子發出噴氣聲，表示生氣、輕蔑或不認同。例句：She snorts at him.（她對他嗤之以鼻。）
blunder：動詞，（因大意或愚蠢）犯錯誤，脫口說出秘密；名詞，錯誤、失策。例句：He blundered out a big secret of you.（他不小心洩漏了你的一個大秘密。）
12 animals（signs） of the Chinese zodiac：中國十二生肖。例句：What’s your Chinese zodiac sign under your birth year?（你出生年份的生肖是什麼？）
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