Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence.The enigma of quantum mechanics remains inscrutably elusive despite of decades of intensive research by the world's leading physicists.
- Adespite of decades in
- Bdespite decades of
- Cdespite of decades to
- Ddespite decades with
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
The underlined portion contains a prepositional error: "despite of".The preposition "despite" should never be followed by "of". It is used alone (e.g., despite the rain).Alternatively, the phrase "in spite of" requires the preposition "of". Both express the same meaning, but mixing them into "despite of" is grammatically incorrect.Therefore, the correct formulation is "despite decades of".This corresponds to Option B.