How might your understanding of a text improve if you took time to close word gaps when you come to them?

(2B) What does the word ascent mean in the following sentence?

"The room continued its ascent, swaying; Thomas grew immune to the ceaseless rattling of the chains that pulled him upward."

(2B) The word "contrary" means ________ in the following sentence from Chapter 9: 

"Contrary to their original conclusion, she was very much alive."

(2B) The meaning of the word "reserved" iin the following sentence is most similar to which word?

"A mood of reserved shock had come over most of the Gladers."

(2B) In the following sentence, the word "half-shank" means --

"Let this half-shank be a warning to all: You can't escape through the Box Hole."

(2B) "He pushed and swatted at his attacker, a relentless jumble of skin and bones cavorting on top of him..."

In this sentence the word relentless is least similar to which phrase?

(2A) Using the dictionary entry provided in the picture, the meaning of the word "cavorting" in the following sentence is closest to--

"He pushed and swatted at his attacker, a relentless jumble of skin and bones cavorting on top of him..."

(Image from Dictionary.com)