很多年前，有一位學大提琴的年輕人去向20世紀最偉大的大提琴家卡薩爾斯討教：我怎樣才能成為一名優秀的大提琴家?卡薩爾斯面對雄心勃勃的年輕人，意味深長地回答：先成為優秀而大寫的人，然后成為一名優秀而大寫的音樂人，再然后就會成為一名優秀的大提琴家。 (翻譯備注: “大寫” 在這里的意思是有品格, 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.

聽到這個故事的時候，我還年少，對老人回答中所透露出的含義理解不多。然而，在以后的工作生涯中，隨著采訪接觸的人越來越多，這個回答在我腦海中便越印越深。

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.

在采訪北大教授季羨林的時候，我聽到一個關于他的真實故事。有一年秋天，北大新學期開學，一個外地來的學子背著大包小包走進了校園，實在太累了，就把包放在路邊。這時正好一位老人走來，年輕學子就拜托老人替自己看一下包，自己則輕裝去辦理手續。老人爽快地答應了。近一個小時過去，學子歸來，老人還在盡職盡責地看守著。學子謝過老人，兩人分別。幾日后北大舉行開學典禮，這位年輕的學子驚訝地發現，主席臺上就座的北大副校長季羨林，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!