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0Episode: Daniel Suelo: The Man Who Quit Money
Subtitle: 丹尼尔·苏埃洛：那个放弃金钱的男人
Duration: approximately 7 minutes
Level: B1
PubDate: 2026-10-17
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[Mike]: Welcome back to Learn English with Podcasts! Sarah, quick question. Could you go a whole day without spending a single cent?
zh:欢迎回到 Learn English with Podcasts！Sarah，快问快答。你能一整天不花一分钱吗？
[Sarah]: A whole day? Easy. I could stay home, eat what is in the fridge, and not go anywhere. But a week? That would be hard.
zh:一整天？简单。我可以待在家，吃冰箱里的东西，哪也不去。但要是一星期？那就难了。
[Mike]: Okay, then imagine this. Not a week. Not a month. How about 16 years with no money at all?
zh:好，那想象一下。不是一星期，也不是一个月。整整16年，一分钱都没有，怎么样？
[Sarah]: No way. That cannot be real. People need money for food, for a home, for everything.
zh:不可能。那不可能是真的。人需要钱买吃的、住的地方，什么都得花钱。
[Mike]: It is real. His name is Daniel Suelo. He is an American, a former cook from a small town called Moab, in the state of Utah.
zh:是真的。他叫丹尼尔·苏埃洛，美国人，以前是厨师，来自犹他州一个叫莫阿布的小镇。
[Sarah]: Wait, a former cook? So he had a normal job and a normal life. What happened?
zh:等等，以前是厨师？所以他有过正常的工作和正常的生活。发生了什么？
[Mike]: In 2000, he made a big decision. He took his last $30, left it in a phone booth, and walked away for good.
zh:2000年，他做了一个重大决定。他拿着最后的30美元，放进一个公用电话亭，然后永远地离开了。
[Sarah]: He just left his money in a phone booth? For anyone to take? That is wild. Why would he do that?
zh:他就把钱留在电话亭里？谁想拿就拿？太疯狂了。他为什么这么做？
[Mike]: Here is the important part. He was not broke. He chose this. He did not lose his money. He gave it up on purpose.
zh:重点来了。他不是破产了。这是他自己的选择。他没有失去钱，他是故意放弃的。
[Sarah]: So he is not poor. He just decided to live without money. That is a very different story.
zh:所以他不穷。他只是决定不用钱生活。这完全是另一回事了。
[Mike]: Exactly. And where do you think he lives? Not in an apartment. He lives in caves in the desert canyons near Moab, close to a huge national park.
zh:没错。你猜他住哪？不是公寓。他住在莫阿布附近沙漠峡谷的洞穴里，紧挨着一个巨大的国家公园。
[Sarah]: Caves? Like, real caves in the rocks? That sounds hard and cold.
zh:洞穴？就是岩石里真的山洞？听起来又苦又冷。
[Mike]: Yes, real caves in the sandstone. He has used about a dozen of them over the years. He sleeps in a sleeping bag and keeps his things simple.
zh:对，砂岩里真实的洞穴。这些年他用过大约十几个。他睡在睡袋里，东西很少。
[Sarah]: Okay, but food. Everybody has to eat. Where does his food come from?
zh:好，但吃的呢。人人都得吃饭。他的食物从哪来？
[Mike]: Three ways. He picks wild food, like wild onions and berries. He takes food that shops throw away. And he accepts gifts from friends and even strangers.
zh:三种办法。他采野生的食物，比如野洋葱和浆果；他捡商店扔掉的食物；他还接受朋友甚至陌生人的赠予。
[Sarah]: Food that shops throw away. So, dumpster diving. And I heard he even eats roadkill. Is that true?
zh:商店扔掉的食物，那就是翻垃圾桶了。我还听说他甚至吃路上被撞死的动物。真的吗？
[Mike]: It is true. Roadkill means animals hit by cars on the road. He says he will not let good meat go to waste.
zh:是真的。Roadkill 就是指被车在路上撞死的动物。他说他不会让好好的肉白白浪费掉。
[Sarah]: Wow. I am not sure I could do that. But wait, does he need money for other things? A phone, a car, doctor visits?
zh:哇。我不确定我做得到。不过等等，他别的地方就不需要钱吗？打电话、开车、看病？
[Mike]: He has no job, no bank account, and no car. He does not take government help, and he does not pay taxes.
zh:他没有工作，没有银行账户，也没有车。他不接受政府补助，也不交税。
[Sarah]: Hold on. No job, no home, no money. That sounds like being homeless. Is he just a man who takes from others?
zh:等等。没工作、没家、没钱，听起来就像无家可归。他是不是就是个靠别人接济的人？
[Mike]: That is a fair question, and some people say exactly that. They call him a freeloader. But others say he gives back.
zh:这个问题问得好，确实有人这么说。他们叫他"白吃白喝的人"。但也有人说他是有回报的。
[Sarah]: Gives back how? If he has no money, what can he give?
zh:怎么回报？如果他没有钱，他能给什么？
[Mike]: He volunteers, he helps friends, and he shares whatever he finds. He is not a hermit. He is part of his community and even writes a blog.
zh:他做志愿者，帮朋友，找到什么就分享什么。他不是隐士。他是社区的一份子，甚至还写博客。
[Sarah]: Wait, a blog? But a blog needs a computer and the internet. That costs money!
zh:等等，博客？可写博客需要电脑和网络。那都要花钱啊！
[Mike]: Good catch. He uses a computer at a friend's place or at a library. You can live without money and still be part of the modern world.
zh:观察得很细。他用朋友的电脑或者图书馆的电脑。你可以不用钱生活，同时仍然和现代世界保持连接。
[Sarah]: Okay, that makes sense. So why did he start? There must be a story behind it.
zh:好吧，有道理。那他为什么会开始？背后一定有故事。
[Mike]: There is. Before this, he felt trapped and unhappy. He was even depressed for a while. He said he was sick of the endless race for money.
zh:有的。在这之前，他感到被困住、不快乐，甚至一度抑郁。他说他厌倦了为钱无休止地奔波。
[Sarah]: So it was not about being lazy. It was about wanting to be free.
zh:所以这不是因为懒，而是因为想要自由。
[Mike]: Right. And here is the idea that changed everything for him. He says money only exists because we all agree that it does.
zh:对。还有一个彻底改变了他的想法。他说，金钱之所以存在，只是因为我们都同意它存在。
[Sarah]: Hmm, think about it. A dollar bill is just paper. A number in an app is just a number. We all just believe in it.
zh:嗯，想想看。一美元纸币不过是一张纸。App 里的一个数字不过是个数字。我们只是都相信它而已。
[Mike]: Exactly. We believe in it so strongly that we spend most of our lives chasing it.
zh:正是。我们如此坚定地相信它，以至于把一生大部分时间都用来追逐它。
[Sarah]: So is money the villain here? Should we all quit money too?
zh:那钱就是坏蛋吗？我们是不是也都不该用钱了？
[Mike]: Not at all. Daniel himself says he is not asking anyone to copy him. Money is a tool. A hammer is not good or bad. The problem is when the tool runs your whole life.
zh:完全不是。丹尼尔自己说，他没有让任何人照做。金钱是个工具。锤子本身没有好坏。问题在于当这个工具支配了你的整个人生。
[Sarah]: I like that. So the lesson is not "quit money". It is "do not let money own you".
zh:我喜欢这个说法。所以重点不是"放弃金钱"，而是"别让金钱拥有你"。
[Mike]: Well said. But there is one more part that really surprised me.
zh:说得好。不过还有一点真的让我很意外。
[Sarah]: Of course there is. What is it?
zh:当然有。是什么？
[Mike]: Our whole society is built so that you have to have money. In his words, it is almost illegal to live outside the system. You need money for a home, for official papers, for almost everything.
zh:我们整个社会就是建立在"你必须有钱"之上的。用他的话说，想活在系统之外几乎是不合法的。你需要钱才能有住所、有各种证件，几乎办任何正式的事都需要钱。
[Sarah]: So the strangest thing is not that one man lives without money. It is that our world makes it so hard to try.
zh:所以最奇怪的，不是一个人不用钱生活，而是我们的世界让这种尝试变得如此困难。
[Mike]: That is it. Maybe the most surprising thing about Daniel is not Daniel at all. It is us, and how much power we gave to a piece of paper.
zh:就是这样。也许关于丹尼尔最令人意外的，根本不是丹尼尔，而是我们自己——我们给了那张纸多大的权力。
[Sarah]: That is a strange thought to carry all day. Friends, could you go one day without spending any money? Try it and tell us how it goes. See you next time!
zh:这个念头够你想一整天的。朋友们，你能一整天不花一分钱吗？试试看，然后告诉我们结果，我们下期见！
