One of the purposes of Mark Twain's Taming the Bicycle is to entertain the reader. Which sentence
purpose?
we examined the machine, but it was not in the least injured. This was hardly believable. Yet the Expert assured me that it was true: in fact.
the examination proved it. I was partly to realize, then, how admirably these things are constructed. we applied some Pond's Extract, and
resumed. The Expert got on the OTHER side to shove up this time, but I dismounted on that side; so the result was before.
The machine was not hurt. We oiled ourselves up again, and resumed. This time the Expert took up a sheltered position behind, but
somehow or other we landed on him again.
He was full of surprised admiration: said it was abnormal. She was all right, not a scratch on her, not a timber started anywhere. I said it
was wonderful, while we were greasing up, but he said that when I came to know these steel spider-webs I would realize that nothing but
dynamite could cripple them. Then he limped out to position, and we resumed once more. This time the Expert took up the position of
short-stop, and got a man to shove up behind. We got up a handsome speed, and presently traversed a brick, and I went out over the top of
the tiller and landed, head down, on the instructor's back, and saw the machine fluttering in the air between me and the sun. It was well it
came down on us, for that broke the fall, and it was not injured.