Final answer:
In Stalin's reign of terror, an estimated 30 million people lost their lives. Therefore, the correct option is c.thirty.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Stalin's reign of terror, an estimated 30 million people lost their lives. The forced collectivization of agriculture brought about a devastating famine in 1932-33, in which between six to eight million people starved to death.
Stalin led periodic purges of his perceived political enemies, known as the Great Purge, during which about one million people were executed. Therefore, the correct option is c) thirty.Winston personally knew many people who had disappeared, as the Party frequently purged those who fell out of favor or who were considered threats.
However, without a direct quotation from the text mentioning a specific number associated with this question, the exact answer cannot be provided with certainty. The text provided does not clearly state a number on how many people Winston personally knew that had disappeared.
It is also worth noting that the context of disappearances could refer to the broader historical setting of the period, such as the disappearances during Stalin's purges in the Soviet Union.
In this real historical context, millions were affected by the regime, and the disappearance of every third person seems unrealistic, but is used to highlight the absurdity and fear of the time.