OLD ASSOCIATIONS.

From Kousminski Nekhludoff went to the estate he had inherited from his aunts, the same where he first met Katusha. He meant to arrange about the land there in the way he had done in Kousminski. Besides this, he wished to find out all he could about Katusha and her baby, and when and how it had died. He got to Panovo early one morning, and the first thing that struck him when he drove up was the look of decay and dilapidation¹ that all the buildings bore, especially the house itself. The iron roofs, which had once been painted green, looked red with rust², and a few sheets of iron were bent³ back, probably by a storm. Some of the planks⁴ which covered the house from outside were torn away in several places; these were easier to get by breaking the rusty⁵ nails that held them. Both porches, but especially the side porch he remembered so well, were rotten and broken; only the banister remained. Some of the windows were boarded up, and the building in which the foreman lived, the kitchen, the stables--all were grey and decaying. Only the garden had not decayed, but had grown, and was in full bloom; from over the fence the cherry, apple, and plum trees looked like white clouds. The lilac bushes that formed the hedge were in full bloom, as they had been when, 14 years ago, Nekhludoff had played gorelki with the 15-year-old Katusha, and had fallen and got his hand stung by the nettles⁶ behind one of those lilac bushes. The larch⁷ that his aunt Sophia had planted near the house, which then was only a short stick, had grown into a tree, the trunk of which would have made a beam, and its branches were covered with soft yellow green needles as with down. The river, now within its banks, rushed noisily over the mill dam. The meadow the other side of the river was dotted over by the peasants' mixed herds⁸. The foreman, a student, who had left the seminary without finishing the course, met Nekhludoff in the yard, with a smile on his face, and, still smiling, asked him to come into the office, and, as if

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1 dilapidation
n.倒塌；毁坏
参考例句：
Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation.特别破落的样子倒也找不出。 The farmhouse had fallen into a state of dilapidation.农舍落到了破败的境地。

2 rust
n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退
参考例句：
She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。 The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

3 bent
n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的
参考例句：
He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。 We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

4 planks
（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点
参考例句：
The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。 We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

5 rusty
adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的
参考例句：
The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。 I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

6 nettles
n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 )
参考例句：
I tingle where I sat in the nettles. 我坐过在荨麻上的那个部位觉得刺痛。 来自《简明英汉词典》 This bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard. 那蔓草丛生的凄凉地方是教堂公墓。 来自辞典例句

7 larch
n.落叶松
参考例句：
This pine is called the larch.这棵松树是落叶松。 I shall be under those larch trees.我将在那些落叶松下面。

8 herds
兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众
参考例句：
Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。 There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

9 promising
adj.有希望的，有前途的
参考例句：
The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。 We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

10 embroidered
adj．绣花的
参考例句：
She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。 She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

11 earrings
n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子
参考例句：
a pair of earrings 一对耳环 These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 clattering
发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式）
参考例句：
Typewriters keep clattering away. 打字机在不停地嗒嗒作响。 The typewriter was clattering away. 打字机啪嗒啪嗒地响着。

13 casement
n.竖铰链窗；窗扉
参考例句：
A casement is a window that opens by means of hinges at the side.竖铰链窗是一种用边上的铰链开启的窗户。 With the casement half open,a cold breeze rushed inside.窗扉半开，凉风袭来。

14 rhythmical
adj.有节奏的，有韵律的
参考例句：
His breathing became more rhythmical.他的呼吸变得更有节奏了。 The music is strongly rhythmical.那音乐有强烈的节奏。

15 graceful
adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的
参考例句：
His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了! The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。