单选题 Their air of cheerful self-sacrifice and endless complaisance won them undeserved praise, for their seeming gallantry was wholly motivated by a ______ wish to avoid confict of any sort.

【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】(cowardly怯懦的)。句意为：他们摆出一副甘于自我牺牲和不停地讨好的姿态，这使他们赢得了不应得的赞扬，因为他们表面上的殷勤完全是受一种怯懦的愿望的驱使：避免任何形式的冲突。A．poignant辛辣的；B．sincere真挚的；C．laudable值得称赞的。