Thousands of French teenagers were stumped by a question in their English exam paper using the word ‘coping.’ The question, based on Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement, asks how the character Robbie Turner – falsely accused of rape – is “coping with the situation.”
A disgruntled 17-year-old, known only as Arthur, launched a petition describing the question as “incomprehensible” and “impossible” and called for the notorious ‘Question M’ either to be annulled when grading the exam, known in France as the baccalaureate or for bonus points to be awarded to those who managed to answer it. More than 12,000 pupils had signed it by Tuesday morning.
Arthur told a local TV station that ‘coping’ is not a word in common usage and would only be familiar to someone with “excellent” English.
Others defended the question. Fellow student Hugo Travers, 18, tweeted: “In 2015, you find a question hard and you write a petition full of errors. No, just no.”
Read next: Why You Should Write in Your Books
Download TIME’s mobile app for iOS to have your world explained wherever you go
Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.
- The Fight to Save the Salmon
- Inside the World of Black Bitcoin, Where Crypto Is About Making More Than Just Money
- The 'Great Resignation' Is Finally Getting Companies to Take Burnout Seriously. Is It Enough?
- Suddenly, Everyone on TV Is Very Rich or Very Poor. What Happened?
- Colin Powell Reflects on His Mistakes in Unpublished TIME Interview
- Business Travel's Demise Could Have Far-Reaching Consequences
- If the U.S. Spends Big on Climate, the Rest of the World Might Follow
