Never try to tense up. If you are relaxed you have a better chance of surviving:)
The correct option is this: TABLEWARE WAS RARER IN ELIZABETHAN TIMES THAN IT IS TODAY.
From the passage, it can be seen that, during Elizabethan times, people has to go to invited diners armed with their own spoons and knives. During dinner, cups were not placed on the table because they were scarce, instead many guests share one cup. All these show that tableware were scarce commodities during that time.
"us" is the bold pronoun. A p<span>ronoun </span><span>substitutes for an implied noun or an antecedent. It helps reduce repetition. </span>
