PROPERTY IN LAND.

It was possible for Maslova's case to come before the Senate in a fortnight, at which time Nekhludoff meant to go to Petersburg, and, if need be, to appeal to the Emperor (as the advocate who had drawn¹ up the petition advised) should the appeal be disregarded (and, according to the advocate, it was best to be prepared for that, since the causes for appeal were so slight). The party of convicts, among whom was Maslova, would very likely leave in the beginning of June. In order to be able to follow her to Siberia, as Nekhludoff was firmly resolved to do, he was now obliged to visit his estates, and settle matters there. Nekhludoff first went to the nearest, Kousminski, a large estate that lay in the black earth district, and from which he derived² the greatest part of his income.

He had lived on that estate in his childhood and youth, and had been there twice since, and once, at his mother's request, he had taken a German steward³ there, and had with him verified the accounts. The state of things there and the peasants' relations to the management, i.e., the landlord, had therefore been long known to him. The relations of the peasants to the administration were those of utter dependence⁴ on that management. Nekhludoff knew all this when still a university student, he had confessed and preached Henry Georgeism, and, on the basis of that teaching, had given the land inherited from his father to the peasants. It is true that after entering the army, when he got into the habit of spending 20,000 roubles a year, those former occupations ceased to be regarded as a duty, and were forgotten, and he not only left off asking himself where the money his mother allowed him came from, but even avoided thinking about it. But his mother's death, the coming into the property, and the necessity of managing it, again raised the question as to what his position in reference to private property in land was. A month before Nekhludoff would have answered that he had not the strength to alter the existing order of things; that it was not he who was administering the estate; and would one way or another have eased his conscience, continuing to live far from his estates, and having the money sent him. But now he decided⁵ that he could not leave things to go on as they were, but would have to alter them in a way unprofitable to himself, even though he had all these complicated and difficult relations with the prison world which made money necessary, as well as a probable journey to Siberia before him. Therefore he decided not to farm the land, but to let it to the peasants at a low rent, to enable them to cultivate it without depending on a landlord. More than once, when comparing the position of a landowner with that of an owner of serfs, Nekhludoff had compared the renting of land to the peasants instead of cultivating it with hired labour, to the old system by which serf

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1 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 derived
vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取
参考例句：
Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 steward
n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员
参考例句：
He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。 He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

4 dependence
n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属
参考例句：
Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。 He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

5 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 proprietors
n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 )
参考例句：
These little proprietors of businesses are lords indeed on their own ground. 这些小业主们，在他们自己的行当中，就是真正的至高无上的统治者。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 Many proprietors try to furnish their hotels with antiques. 许多经营者都想用古董装饰他们的酒店。 来自辞典例句

7 emaciated
adj.衰弱的，消瘦的
参考例句：
A long time illness made him sallow and emaciated.长期患病使他面黄肌瘦。 In the light of a single candle,she can see his emaciated face.借着烛光，她能看到他的被憔悴的面孔。

8 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 procured
v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条
参考例句：
These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

10 larks
n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了
参考例句：
Maybe if she heard the larks sing she'd write. 玛丽听到云雀的歌声也许会写信的。 来自名作英译部分 But sure there are no larks in big cities. 可大城市里哪有云雀呢。” 来自名作英译部分

11 naively
adv. 天真地
参考例句：
They naively assume things can only get better. 他们天真地以为情况只会变好。 In short, Knox's proposal was ill conceived and naively made. 总而言之，诺克斯的建议考虑不周，显示幼稚。

12 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 machinery
n.(总称)机械，机器；机构
参考例句：
Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？ Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

15 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

16 mow
v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆
参考例句：
He hired a man to mow the lawn.他雇人割草。 We shall have to mow down the tall grass in the big field.我们得把大田里的高草割掉。

17 implements
n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效
参考例句：
Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 flirted
v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She flirted her fan. 她急速挥动着扇子。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 During his four months in Egypt he flirted with religious emotions. 在埃及逗留的这四个月期间，他又玩弄起宗教情绪来了。 来自辞典例句

19 briefly
adv.简单地，简短地
参考例句：
I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。 He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

20 mattress
n.床垫，床褥
参考例句：
The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。 The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

21 investigation
n.调查，调查研究
参考例句：
In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。 He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

22 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

23 perfectly
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。 Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

24 unreasonable
adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的
参考例句：
I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。 They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

25 acting
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。 During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

26 croaking
v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说
参考例句：
the croaking of frogs 蛙鸣 I could hear croaking of the frogs. 我能听到青蛙呱呱的叫声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 mingling
adj.混合的
参考例句：
There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。 The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

28 inspector
n.检查员，监察员，视察员
参考例句：
The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。 The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

29 descend
vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降
参考例句：
I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。 We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。