Question

at a televised hearing on new york citys policing reforms, the mayor portrayed a plan to expand facial - recognition cameras as a civil - rights victory for marginalized neighborhoods; for civil - liberties attorneys, that framing was ____, borrowing the language of equity while further entrenching surveillance practices that had long targeted those same communities.
1 mark for review
which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
a salutary
b specious
c tenable
d pragmatic

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the context. The mayor presents the plan as a civil - rights victory, but civil - liberties attorneys see it as using equity - related language while actually entrenching surveillance on marginalized communities. This means the framing is misleading or false - seeming.

• Option A: "salutary" means beneficial. But the context shows the framing is not truly beneficial, so A is wrong.
• Option B: "specious" means seeming true but actually false or misleading. This fits the context as the framing uses equity language but is actually bad for the communities.
• Option C: "tenable" means defensible or reasonable. The context shows the framing is not reasonable from the attorneys' view, so C is wrong.
• Option D: "pragmatic" means practical. The context is about the truthfulness of the framing, not its practicality, so D is wrong.

Answer:

B. specious