In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives.

“A nationalist is one who thinks _______, or mainly, in terms of competitive _______. His thoughts always turn on victories, defeats, triumphs and humiliations. He sees history, especially contemporary history, as the endless rise and _______ of great power units, and every event that happens, _______ to him a demonstration that his own side is on the upgrade and some hated _______ is on the downgrade.” Thus wrote George Orwell, one of the most intellectually independent commentators of the 20th century, in a 1945 essay.