1. Because of the noise, we couldn't study
2. Because of the noise, Mary can't sleep 
3. Because of the thick fog, the train was late
4. Because he drove too fast, he caused a serious accident
5. Because of getting up early, he wasn't late for the first train
6. Because of Nick's laziness, he is often punished
7. Because of rough water, we didn't go fishing
8. In spite of having a very important job, he isn't particularly well-paid
9.  In spite of not speaking the language, I managed to make myself understand
10.  In spite of Minh's illness, he still came to the meeting
11. Despite promising that he wouldn't be late, he didn't arrive until 9 o'clock
12. although the weather was bad, they went out for dinner
13. Despite not earning much money, she spends like a millionaire