【正确答案】People in many places of China, which boasts a vast territory and encompasses a large population, speak their own dialects. Dialects vary greatly in pronunciation but slightly in vocabulary and grammar. Some dialects, especially those from the north and the south, are so different that their speakers often have trouble understanding each other. Although dialects are considered as an integral part of the local culture, the number of people who can speak dialects has been undergoing a continuous decrease in recent years. In order to encourage people to speak local dialect more often, some local governments have taken measures, such as setting up dialect courses in school and broadcasting dialect  programs on radio and TV, with a hope to preserve the local cultural heritage.

【答案解析】 1．第一句中，“中国幅员辽阔，人口众多”可以理解为是“很多地方人们都 说自己的方言”的原因，因此前后分句可以用表示原因或结果的司 as/so/because/therefore等连接；本句也可以像参考译文一样将“作为 一个幅员辽阔，人口众多的国家”处理为非限制性定语从句。
   2．第二句中，“发音上差别最大”和“词汇和语法差别较小”是逻辑上的转折关系，因此两个分句用表示转折关系的连词but、while或副词 however连接。“在……方面的差别”用介词in表示；“差别”可以用动 词vary或differ表示，也可以将其转化为动词短语have difference； 差别上的“大小”可以用形容词big或small、slight表示。
   3．第三句的句子主干是“有些方言……差异很大”，造成的结果是“说不 同方言的人常常很难听懂彼此的讲话”，因此整句话可以用so...that 句型来翻译；“很难听懂彼此的讲话”可以直译为have difficulty in figuring out what the other is talking about，为了使句子简洁，也可将 其意译为“很难理解彼此”，即have trouble understanding each other。
   4．第四句中，前后两个分句之间为转折关系，因此也可以用转折连词but 或转折副词however连接。“近年来能说方言的人数不断减少”的主 干是“人数减少”，“近年来能说方言的”修饰“人数”，故可译为the number of... has continuously decreased/dwindled或译为suffer/undergo/experience a constant decrease/dwindling。
   5．第五句中，“为了……”是要达成的目的，可译作状语；句子主干是“政 府……采取措施”；“如在学校开设方言课，在广播和电视上播放方言节目”可译作插入语；“以期保存本地的文化遗产”是表达期望 的状语，译作介词短语with a hope to或分词短语hoping to/attempting to等都可以。