Rank the following four phrases by how close each is in meaning to the reference phrase, from closest to most distant.

Reference: "The committee postponed the vote."

Candidates:
A. "The vote was delayed by the committee."
B. "The committee cancelled the vote."
C. "The council deferred the ballot."
D. "The committee voted to postpone other business."

For each candidate:
- Give a similarity score from 0.00 to 1.00.
- Give one sentence justifying the score.

Then answer:
1. Why are B and D traps? For each, name the specific surface feature (shared vocabulary, shared syntax) that makes it look closer than it actually is.
2. C shares almost no words with the reference. Explain why lexical overlap is a poor proxy for meaning here.
3. A is a voice alternation of the reference. Is it fully equivalent, or does the passive shift emphasis in a way that matters? Defend your answer.