Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.
The weather was very hot. The children continued playing football in the schoolyard.
A. Because of the weather was hot, the children continued playing football in the schoolyard.
B. Because the hot weather, the children continued playing football in the schoolyard.
C. In spite of the hot weather, the children continued playing football in the schoolyard.
D. Despite the weather was hot, the children continued playing football in the schoolyard.