I think it's D because you don't have to read every word in the text. you just have to understand what you know
Dried would be the pronoun that functions as an adjective
The author explicitly says that spirit can be found in the voice of a character.
Explicitly means directly - so it means that the author didn't hide the fact that he knew what could be found in the voice.
Here is what he says:
<em>That is wholly appropriate, for in the breath—the voice—of a character lies its essential spirit.</em>
So the correct answer is definitely spirit.
It's essentially time and age. So, death would be the most applicable answer.