Answer:
adaptation
Explanation:
A person freed from some "cave" or kind of prison , dark place, maintaining opinions about the shadows. In this scenario this person should take some time to adapt to the bright light. Each person has your bit of time to adapt to a new situation. For example when you are crossing a tunnel you instantly become a bit blind. In this situation I don´t think that the person could be exposed to ridicule down there.
A is the answer I have seen the question before
A gerund is a verbal ending in -ing that functions as a noun.