French Bac in English

I'm English, my son is bilingual, but this does not mean he will be able to pass the French bac in English with ease.  He will need to understand what the examiners want, and to practice how to produce it;  so I've been looking through some past papers   (bac is the equivalent of A-levels, taken at 17 or 18 years old).    

All candidates for the bac have to perform in a wide range of subjects (philosophy, language, sciences, maths geography history and more).  French students are not free, as British students are,  to drop subjects (including foreign language) when they take the bac and specialise in 3 or 4 preferred subjects.

You can pass your bac with or without 'mention'.  Mention can mean:

Mention assez bien (literally good enough, or quite good)
Mention bien (good)
Mention très bien (very good).

I feel I should get a 'mention tres bien' very good in English for the following reasons

• I am English
• I am old and wise
• I am gifted in English and once won the school prize for English Achievement
• The level of English can't be that hard given the wide range of subjects, surely?

I set myself the challenge of doing the English bac for the students who choose to specialise in language (rather than say, maths or the technical bac) and started with 'comprehension'- English comprehension, surely this at least is in the bag! 

I read the text which was two pages of a novel by Kate Atkinson.     I didn't understand much of what was going on, so I read the questions, and I didn't understand the questions, and as for the answers, don't even ask.

I went to find my reading glasses and tried again, but it wasn't any better.  The text was devoid of context,  and littered with obscure vocabulary, subtle psychology and irretrievable cross-references.

Luckily JC enlightened me on the logical and staged French technique.

1. Read the text
2. Read the questions
3. Re-read the text like a detective looking for clues to answering the questions.

After I did this I had some idea what was going on and set out to give a Mention Très Bien answer.

Here is the question, B's answer (the first time he has ever tried such an exercise with no teaching preparation, and in a short time -  I'm impressed).    Then my answer, and a standard answer from the book which would earn the candidate a 'mention très bien'.  

Question;  explain why Frank found himself unexpectedly tongue-tied (50 words).

B's answer:  He found himself tongue-tied because of all the prettiness of the bread and cups, which prevented him from talking about death and the different ways of dying.  He understood that 'the smell of death clearly had no place in the parlour of Lowther Street'. (line reference).

My answer:  Frank felt tongue-tied because the reality of war ('the smell of death', 'trench foot' and 'rats') was so different from his civilised surroundings, so unsuited to polite conversation, that he struggled to find something he could talk about.  Even the mention of the bad tea in the trenches shocked the sisters, so he knew he could not talk about his life as a soldier.

Model answer:  There is such a sharp contrast between the horror of what he has experienced and the softeness and cosiness of this environment, that he cannot find words to express himself and he remains speechless.  His world is far from this one, and he understands that there's no way for the women to grasp his everday life.  Moreover, the warm welcome makes him feel even more ill-at ease and embarassed.

REMARKS

Although my answer was well-written, logical and justifiable, I think I would just miss the mention très bien by not referring explicitly to the contrast between the soft and warm welcome and the cold and hard realities of war.

Another remark:  Sapristi Knuckoes (Goon Shows circa 1950)