1. (1) It appears that animals may be able to predict earthquakes. (2) Prior to a major quake in China, hundreds of snakes suddenly appeared from hibernation and froze to death in the snow, (3) fish were seen leaping from rivers and lakes, and (4) cows and horses refused to enter barns. Also, (5) prior to a quake in Fremont, California, a flood of callers reported strange behavior from their pets and domestic animals.
2. (1) Contributions to relief organizations are often wasted. (2) Food sent to war-torn countries rarely reaches its destination, because (3) food distribution is controlled by the warring groups, and (4) these groups sell the food to buy weapons and ammunition.
3. (1) Research leading to the development of a scramjet engine is worthwhile. (2) Commercial aircraft incorporating such an engine could cross the Pacific in as little as two hours. (3) This would relieve the fatigue of flights from New York to Tokyo. Also, (4) such an engine could power future orbiting spacecraft.
The following arguments were abstracted from newspaper articles, editorials, and letters to the editor. Use the method presented in this section to construct argument patterns. If a statement is redundant or plays no role in the argument, do not include it in the pattern.