很多年前，有一位学大提琴的年轻人去向20世纪最伟大的大提琴家卡萨尔斯讨教：我怎样才能成为一名优秀的大提琴家？卡萨尔斯面对雄心勃勃的年轻人，意味深长地回答：先成为优秀而大写的人，然后成为一名优秀而大写的音乐人，再然后就会成为一名优秀的大提琴家。 (翻译备注: “大写” 在这里的意思是有品格, 做人堂堂正正)
Many years ago, a young man learning cello went to Casals, the greatest cellist in the 20th century, for advice: how can I become an excellent cellist? Seeing such an ambitious young man standing in front, Casals answered emotionally: you should first learn to be an excellent and good-virtue man, then learn to be an excellent and good-virtue musician, and finally become an excellent and good-virtue cellist.

听到这个故事的时候，我还年少，对老人回答中所透露出的含义理解不多。然而，在以后的工作生涯中，随着采访接触的人越来越多，这个回答在我脑海中便越印越深。
When I first learnt this story, I was still too young to interpret the essence of Casals’ remarks. But now, with my treating with more and more people in my work, his remarks become increasingly impressive in my mind.

在采访北大教授季羡林的时候，我听到一个关于他的真实故事。有一年秋天，北大新学期开学，一个外地来的学子背着大包小包走进了校园，实在太累了，就把包放在路边。这时正好一位老人走来，年轻学子就拜托老人替自己看一下包，自己则轻装去办理手续。老人爽快地答应了。近一个小时过去，学子归来，老人还在尽职尽责地看守着。学子谢过老人，两人分别。几日后北大举行开学典礼，这位年轻的学子惊讶地发现，主席台上就座的北大副校长季羡林，正是那一天替自己看行李的老人。
When I interviewed Ji Xianlin, a renowned professor in Peking University, he told me one of his true stories. In the autumn of one year, a new semester began and a student from other province was carrying tons of luggage on campus. After a while, he felt very tired and put his luggage by the road. At that moment, an old man was walking towards him. The student asked the old man to help him take care of his luggage for a while and he went to deal with the admission formalities. The old man promised without the least hesitation. After almost one hour, the student came back and saw the old man still keeping an eye on his luggage responsibly. He thanked the old man sincerely and they parted later. After several days, the school was holding the opening ceremony and the student astonishingly found that the vice-president of Peking University, Ji Xianlin, was exactly the old man who helped him take care of his luggage!