22. According to Paragraph 2, the proposal might be regarded by some as _______

答案：[B] a self-deceiving attempt.

解析：根据题干中的“Paragraph 2”、“the proposal”以及“regarded by some”可定位至第二段首句“Some might see the proposal as a booby prize for the fact.....”。由“booby prize（末等奖）”可知，一些人对此提案的想法并不积极，结合四个选项以及后文的“self-celebration”，可知一些人认为其不会成功，是自欺欺人的尝试，故答案为B。