Despite the author's attempts to portray the character as entirely virtuous, several key passages reveal a streak of self-serving ambition, making the character's alleged altruism seem rather _____.

✓ Correct Answer: Option B

The author's attempts to portray the character as virtuous are contradicted by 'self-serving ambition'. Therefore, the alleged altruism is likely false or misleading. Both 'spurious' and 'specious' mean superficially plausible but actually false.