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The reporter had said warily. “Thanks for the compliment, Governor. I suppose there’s some special reason.”
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Skeffington had nodded. “During the long winter months a glowing fire might be welcome,” he had said, “and I have found from long experience that your paper burns very well. Makes good kindling. I don’t imagine, by the way, that most people are aware of that. If they were, your paper’s very small circulation might be substantially increased. Any more questions, gentlemen?”
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● warily：小心翼翼地。这个老政客忽然赞美起敌党的报纸来了，恐怕话中有因。
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● compliment：（隐含的）赞美，捧场。
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● burns（不及物动词）very well：容易着火。
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● Makes的主语It省略。kindling：引火物。他所以要定这份报纸原来是拿它来作生火之用。
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● by the way：顺便可以一提的。“我以为，很多人不知道贵报有这点长处。”原文作：“我不以为很多人知道……。”imagine在这里的意思很轻，同think，suppose的用法相仿。
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● If they were：假如他们知道（were aware）。very small circulation：很小的销路。substantially increased：着实增加。大家都要来订你们的报纸来引火生炉子了。
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● gentlemen：各位先生，指各报记者。这个问题已经充分得到解答，别的还有什么问题吗？
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It had been a typical enough interview, save for the suggestion of retirement. None of Skeffington’s opponents quite believed in this, but on the other hand, neither could they afford to discount it. On the whole, any hint of this kind was felt to be encouraging rather than otherwise, especially when related to certain other signs. For example, there were the heartening rumors of Skeffington’s ill health: among the true optimists it was confidently whispered that a mysterious disease was devouring his brain bit by bit, so that now there occurred intervals in every day during which he reverted to the habits of his childhood and expressed a desire to play marbles or hide-and-seek. The newspaper whose combustibility Skeffington had praised offered support of a more oblique kind. It began to run editorials reminding the voters that while the life span of man undoubtedly had been prolonged, the problem of senectitude had by no means been conquered, and that aged men in positions of public trust could constitute a definite hazard.
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● interview：访问。typical enough：有足够代表性的。他往常跟记者们的谈话，也是语带刻薄的。此次谈话若有什么与以前不同之处，那就是他提到了退休（retirement）。save意即except，但save较古雅。
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● discount it：对于此话半信半疑，把这句话打折扣。neither could they afford：如不相信此话，对他们自己也有害处。
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● any hint of this kind：任何这一类的暗示（关于他的退休）。
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● encouraging rather than otherwise：他的政敌觉得有鼓励的作用，此种作用大于别种作用。related是过去分词，形容hint。他自己既暗示要退休，这种暗示同别种迹象（signs）联系起来时，政敌们更有跃跃欲试取而代之之意。
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● heartening和前面的encouraging相仿，都是从他的政敌的立场说话的。optimists也是政敌之中的乐观主义者。rumors：谣言。
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● it was confidently whispered中的it是代替后面的that a mysterious…这个clause。
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● devouring：吞噬。there occurred中的there和普通there is中的there相仿，没有什么特别意义。intervals：短时期。reverted to：回复到。play marbles：玩（彩石或玻璃的）弹子。hide-and-seek：捉迷藏。
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● combustibility：易燃性。support：（对于上述谣言之）支持。oblique：间接的。
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● run：连续发表。（竞选也是run，run这个字的用处真大。）life span：生命的长度，寿命。
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● senectitude：衰老。此字罕用，美国有些报纸的社论文章做得很古雅，这种罕用字、僻字、古字有时也会搬出来。舞文弄墨，为中外所共喜，不能独责美国报纸的社论作者也。（此处没有用引号，但是这种句子很像有些报纸里社论的句子。）
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● that aged men 中的that是连接词，也是连前面reminding the voters使选民们勿忘此事。aged men in positions of public trust：老年人而居高位，身负万民重托。constitute=make up：形成。hazard：危险。（这种种话无非要叫市长真的任满不干。）
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But Skeffington smashed them all in a matter of minutes.
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On his seventy-second birthday Frank Skeffington had lunch with his nephew, and over the meal told him of his plan to run again. That night, at a birthday dinner given him by the party leaders, he made the announcement public. It was substantially the same announcement that he had delivered in private that noon.
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● smashed：打碎。a matter of有about之意：不消几分钟，把敌方的流言都打碎了。
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● announcement：呼应全文开头的announced his decision。
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