1. I would say the correct answer is <span>A. to describe the place and time in which the story is set. The author provides the WHERE ("in that pleasant district of this and that river", "the remains are still to be seen here and there") and WHEN ("the date of our story refers to a period...") He provides many details - some of them real, others legendary, but the reader nevertheless manages to figure out the setting of the story.
2. In my opinion, the correct answer is A. </span><span>The nobles had again sought to make themselves as powerful as possible. He explains that they were extremely powerful during the reign of Stephen; and then, Henry the Second managed to tame and subjugate them a little bit, but after him they started employing their power again.
3. I would say the correct answer is D. </span><span>fearless. Fearless or valiant is one of the meanings of the adjective "gallant". But it can also be inferred from the context: those "gallant outlaws" are actually a romanticized version of outcasts who rob the wealthy and help the poor, such as Robin Hood.</span>
