托福写作高分范文：Piano

（单词翻译:单击）

 The ancestry¹ of the piano can be traced to the early keyboard instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries --- the spinet²， the dulcimer， and the virginal. In the seventeenth century the organ， the clavichord³， and the harpsichord⁴ became the chief instruments of the keyboard group， a supremacy⁵ they maintained until the piano supplanted⁶ them at the end of the eighteenth century. The clavichord’s tone was metallic⁷ and never powerful; nevertheless， because of the variety of tone possible to it， many composers found the clavichord a sympathetic instrument for intimate chamber⁸ music. The harpsichord with its bright， vigorous tone was the favorite instrument for supporting the bass⁹ of the small orchestra of the period and for concert use， but the character of the tone could not be varied¹⁰ save by mechanical or structural¹¹ devices.