11.   His interest was piqued as a child growing up in post-World War II America, when the threat from the Soviet Union seemed real and menacing.

12.   Now, the threat would seem to be moot, but the bartering continues, in the context of the campaign.

13.   On Tuesday, before the deal with Microsoft was sealed, this threat may have seemed especially frightening.

14.   So far, the threat seems less serious this spring than it has in years past, he said.

15.   Suddenly, that threat seemed imminent.

16.   That fact makes his veiled threats about retirement seem questionable.

17.   The anthrax threat seems to have eased.

18.   The latest perceived threat seems to be the Internet, which not only keeps theatergoers in their homes but is seen as a competing delivery system for theatrical material.

19.   The threat seemed to fade as the auction business boomed alongside the soaring stock market.

20.   The threat seems unenforceable, primarily because so many leaks come out of the union office itself.