C is the correct answer.
“是(shì)” is an equative-verb which equates two nouns (or nominal expressions) as in: “我是美国人(Wǒ shì měiguó rén), I am American.”
“下雨(xiàyǔ), to rain” is not a noun. In this case, “今天是下雨(Jīntiān shì xiàyǔ)” is not a correct sentence.
“雨(yǔ), rain” is a natural phenomenon, which cannot be equal to ”今天(Jīntiān), today. ” So the sentence “今天是雨(Jīntiān shì yǔ)” is not a correct sentence either.
In Chinese, we use “Time + Weather Phenomenon Word” to express the weather during a certain time. More examples are “明天下雨吗？(Míngtiān xiàyǔ ma?), Will it rain tomorrow?” and “去年冬天经常下雪(Qùnián dōngtiān jīngcháng xiàxuě.), Last winter it often snowed.” So “今天下雨(Jīntiān xiàyǔ)” is the correct answer.
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