<span>The correct answer is "better than he did last year'. This is an adverbial clause that modifies the verb plays. It shows the manner in which he plays and the manner is "better than he did last year'. The trombone is an object and Gary is the subject, leaving this to be the adverbial clause of manner.</span>
Those old-timers were rather womanish, some of them, he thought. All a man had to do was to keep his head, and he was all right. Any man who was a man could travel alone.
It led the US to war because there was a loss of American life in the incident.
Since historical fiction usually talks about a certain era in history, I'd say the correct answer is that 'it's set against a historical backdrop'. hope it helps you
