High School students in New Zealand who didn't know what the word "trivial" meant in an exam question have demanded not to be marked down as a result.

近日，不清楚考试题目中“trivial（微不足道）”这个词的含义的新西兰高中生，正呼吁学校不要因此而扣分。

More than 2,600 people signed an online petition over the "unfamiliar¹" word.

共有超过2600名学生签署了一份关于这个“陌生”词汇的在线请愿书。

The students were asked to write an essay based on the Julius Caesar quote: "In war, events of importance are the result of trivial causes."

这些学生需要在考试中根据朱利叶斯·凯撒的一句话写一篇文章：“在战争中，重要事件都是由于微不足道的原因造成的。”

Examiners said the language used was expected to be within the range of the year 13 students' vocabulary.

考官表示，该题中的语言文字属于13年级学生的词汇范围。

However, in a statement, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority added: "If candidates have addressed the quote and integrated their ideas with it, then they will be given credit for the strength of their argument and analysis and will not be penalised for misinterpreting the word 'trivial'."

不过新西兰学历认证局（NZQA）在一份声明中补充道：“如果考生回答了试卷中的这一问题，并将他们的想法与之相结合，那么就会凭借自己论证和分析的水平得到分数。而即使错误理解了‘trivial（微不足道）’这个词也不会被扣分。”

It added: "There have been no changes as a consequence² of the petition."

新西兰学历认证局还表示：“学生请愿不会对此造成任何变化。”