Pre-Intermediate Reading Exercise

The Man Who Bought an Island

If you won the lottery, what would you do? Many people would buy a fast car or a big house. But in 1962, a British man named Brendon Grimshaw did something different. He purchased a small, remote island in the Seychelles for just £8,000. The island, called Moyenne, was completely abandoned and overgrown with bushes.

Brendon quit his job as a newspaper editor and moved to the island to live a simple life. For almost 50 years, he worked to transform Moyenne into a natural paradise. With the help of one local man, he has planted over 16,000 trees by hand. He also created 4.5 kilometres of nature trails. His work was focused on conservation. He wanted to bring back species of plants and animals that had disappeared from the island.

One of his greatest achievements was re-introducing the giant Aldabra tortoise. When he arrived, there were none, but now over 100 of these giant animals walk freely around the island. Over the years, property developers have offered him millions of dollars for Moyenne Island. A Saudi Prince once offered him $50 million. But Brendon has always refused. He said, "If I sold the island, the new owners would build a big luxury hotel, and the paradise would be lost."

Before he died in 2012, Brendon made an agreement with the Seychelles government to make the island a National Park. His legacy is that Moyenne Island is now protected forever. It is a special place where nature, not money, is the most important thing.