Select the word which means the same as the group of words given. Essence or main point of any passage, lecture or book

Correct — B. The definition asks for the essence or main point of a passage, lecture or book — the substance of it boiled down to a sentence.

Gist is the word English keeps for exactly that: the general sense of what was said or written, as in get the gist of the argument → option (b).

The rivals each shift the target. One is far wider, one moves to importance, and one is a figurative noun that needs a phrase around it.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Meaning — Meaning is what any word, sentence or act signifies. It is far wider than the definition, which asks for the condensed main point of a whole text.
• (c)
  Significance — Significance is the importance or implication of something, not its content. A passage can have great significance and no summarisable gist.
• (d)
  Heart — Heart does name a centre, but only inside a phrase such as the heart of the matter. It is not the one-word substitute for the summarised sense of a text.

The options in this family are separated by how narrow each one is, not by whether it is positive or negative.

Meaning is the widest, and true of a single word as much as of a book. Significance shifts from content to importance. Heart names a centre but is figurative.

Gist is the only one whose ordinary use is exactly this: the sense of a speech, article or argument, summarised. When several options are defensible, SSC wants the closest, and closeness is decided by scope.

Key facts

• Gist means the main or essential point of a speech, passage or argument.
• Significance means importance or implication rather than content.
• The everyday phrase is get the gist of, used of what someone said or wrote.

Common traps

• Picking Meaning because it is true of gist but too wide to be the substitute asked for.
• Reaching for Heart from the phrase the heart of the matter.
• Reading Significance as significance of the passage and treating that as its content.

No directly related past PYQ was found.