A short retelling of the main ideas in a longer piece of writing such as a book, essay, or movie.

• A. Abstract
• B. Summary
• C. Synopsis
• D. Overview

Answer: (B)

Distilling the main ideas from a longer work into a brief form is the idea being tested. A summary is exactly that: it restates the central points, themes, and messages in a concise way, leaving out minor details. An abstract is typically used for academic articles and includes stipulations like purpose, methods, and results, which makes it more specialized and not the usual term for books or films. A synopsis focuses more on the plot and sequence of events, emphasizing what happens rather than the broader ideas or themes. An overview tends to be a broad, general description that doesn’t necessarily condense the work to its essential ideas. So the short retelling of the main ideas from a longer work best fits a summary.